Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Soil Ecology, Halle (Saale), Germany; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Community Ecology, Halle (Saale), Germany; Department of Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Soil Ecology, Halle (Saale), Germany.
Water Res. 2018 Nov 15;145:50-61. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.07.067. Epub 2018 Jul 28.
Although fungi play important roles in biogeochemical cycling in aquatic ecosystems and have received a great deal of attention, much remains unknown about the living fractions of fungal communities in aquifers of the terrestrial subsurface in terms of diversity, community dynamics, functional roles, the impact of environmental factors and presence of fungal pathogens. Here we address this gap in knowledge by using RNA-based high throughput pair-end illumina sequencing analysis of fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene markers, to target the living fractions of groundwater fungal communities from fractured alternating carbonate-/siliciclastic-rock aquifers of the Hainich Critical Zone Exploratory. The probed levels of the hillslope multi-storey aquifer system differ primarily in their oxygen and nitrogen content due to their different connections to the surface. We discovered highly diverse living fungal communities (384 Operational Taxonomic Units, OTUs) with different taxonomic affiliations and ecological functions. The observed fungal communities primarily belonged to three phyla: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Chytridiomycota. Perceived dynamics in the composition of living fungal communities were significantly shaped by the concentration of ammonium in the moderately agriculturally impacted aquifer system. Apart from fungal saprotrophs, we also detected living plant and animal pathogens for the first time in this aquifer system. This work also demonstrates that the RNA-based high throughput pair-end illumina sequencing method can be used in future for water quality monitoring in terms of living fungal load and subsequent risk assessments. In general, this study contributes towards the growing knowledge of aquatic fungi in terrestrial subsurface biogeosphere.
尽管真菌在水生生态系统的生物地球化学循环中发挥着重要作用，并且已经引起了广泛关注，但对于陆地地下水文系统中真菌群落的活性部分，在多样性、群落动态、功能作用、环境因素的影响以及真菌病原体的存在等方面，我们仍然知之甚少。在这里，我们通过使用基于 RNA 的高通量 Illumina 测序分析真菌内部转录间隔区（ITS）基因标记，来填补这一知识空白，以研究海尼希自然保护区断裂交替碳酸盐/硅质碎屑岩含水层地下水文系统中真菌群落的活性部分。所探测的山坡多层含水层系统的水平主要因其与地表的不同连接而在氧和氮含量上有所不同。我们发现了高度多样的活性真菌群落（384 个操作分类单元，OTUs），具有不同的分类归属和生态功能。观察到的真菌群落主要属于三个门：子囊菌门、担子菌门和壶菌门。在中度受农业影响的含水层系统中，铵浓度显著影响了活性真菌群落组成的动态变化。除了真菌腐生物，我们还首次在该含水层系统中检测到了活性植物和动物病原体。这项工作还表明，基于 RNA 的高通量 Illumina 测序方法可用于未来的水质监测，包括活性真菌负荷和随后的风险评估。总的来说，本研究有助于增加对陆地地下水文系统中水生真菌的认识。
