Candan Esra Deniz
Biotechnology Section, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Arch Microbiol. 2018 Aug;200(6):911-919. doi: 10.1007/s00203-018-1496-0. Epub 2018 Feb 26.
The aim of this study is to investigate the fungal diversity of green turtle nests and to examine phylogenetic relationships among these isolates. During the nesting season, samples of intra-nest sand and failed eggs were collected from 25% of the surviving nests in Sugözü Beaches, which are amongst the most important nesting beaches for endangered green turtles in the Mediterranean. Twenty-three fungi were identified by molecular techniques. Fungal isolates belonged to genera Aspergillus, Emericella, Rhizopus, Actinomucor and Apophysomyces with two undescribed species. Aspergillus variecolor, Aspergillus quadrilinieatus, Aspergillus tubingensis, Rhizopus oryzae, Actinomucor elegans and Apophysomyces variabilis were firstly detected in all sea turtle nests within this study. Our results demonstrate that 36.4% of the nests had fungal contamination. Also hatching success of the nests contaminated by fungi were significantly lower than the uncontaminated nests (P = 0.029). Also, this may represent a threat to marine turtles and a risk for the health of conservation workers. This study is the first molecular phylogenetic study associated with sea turtle nests in the eastern Mediterranean coast and contributes to the wider body of literature on fungal invasion of sea turtle nests with firstly isolated species. These findings are important for improving potential conservation measures for the nest sites.
本研究的目的是调查绿海龟巢穴的真菌多样性，并研究这些分离菌株之间的系统发育关系。在筑巢季节，从苏戈祖海滩25%的幸存巢穴中采集巢内沙子和未孵化成功的卵样本，苏戈祖海滩是地中海濒危绿海龟最重要的筑巢海滩之一。通过分子技术鉴定出23种真菌。真菌分离株属于曲霉属、埃默曲霉属、根霉属、放射毛霉属和附肢霉属，其中有两个未描述的物种。在本研究中，杂色曲霉、四线曲霉、土曲霉、米根霉、雅致放射毛霉和可变附肢霉首次在所有海龟巢穴中被检测到。我们的结果表明，36.4%的巢穴受到真菌污染。此外，被真菌污染的巢穴的孵化成功率显著低于未受污染的巢穴（P = 0.029）。这也可能对海龟构成威胁，并对保护工作人员的健康构成风险。本研究是东地中海沿岸首次与海龟巢穴相关的分子系统发育研究，首次分离出的物种为关于海龟巢穴真菌入侵的更广泛文献做出了贡献。这些发现对于改进巢穴地点的潜在保护措施很重要。
