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Title:   Author  item
                                            NICOLAU-GONCALVES, VIVIAN - Universidade Federal De Minas Geraisitem
                                            Cantrell, Charlesitem
                                            Wedge, Daviditem
                                            FERREIRA, MARIANA - Universidade Federal De Minas Geraisitem
                                            SOARES, MARCO - Universidade Federal De Minas Geraisitem
                                            JACOB, MELISSA - University Of Mississippiitem
                                            OLIVEIRA, FABIO - Universidade Federal De Minas Geraisitem
                                            GALANTE, DOUGLAS - Laboratorio Nacional De Luz Sincrotronitem
                                            RODRIGUES, FABIO - Laboratorio Nacional De Luz Sincrotronitem
                                            ALVES, TANIA - Centro De Pesquisas Rene' Rachouitem
                                            ZANI, CARLOS - Centro De Pesquisas Rene' Rachouitem
                                            JUNIOR, POLICARPO - Centro De Pesquisas Rene' Rachouitem
                                            MURTA, SILVANE - Centro De Pesquisas Rene' Rachouitem
                                            ROMANHO, ALVARO - Centro De Pesquisas Rene' Rachouitem
                                            BARBOSA, EMERSON - Centro De Pesquisas Rene' Rachouitem
                                            KROON, ERNA - Universidade Federal De Minas Geraisitem
                                            OLIVEIRA, JAQUELLINE - Centro De Pesquisas Rene' Rachouitem
                                            GOMEZ-SILVA, BENITO - Universidad De Antofagastaitem
                                            GALETOVIC, ALEXANDRA - Universidad De Antofagastaitem
                                            ROSA, CARLOS - Universidade Federal De Minas Geraisitem
                                            ROSA, LUIZ - Universidade Federal De Minas Gerais
  Submitted to: Environmental Microbiology
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 7/23/2015
                                    Publication  Date: 3/14/2015
                                    Citation: Nicolau-Goncalves, V., Cantrell, C.L., Wedge, D.E., Ferreira, M.C., Soares, M.A., Jacob, M.R., Oliveira, F., Galante, D., Rodrigues, F., Alves, T., Zani, C., Junior, P., Murta, S., Romanho, A., Barbosa, E., Kroon, E., Oliveira, J., Gomez-Silva, B., Galetovic, A., Rosa, C.A., Rosa, L. 2015. Fungi associated with rocks of the Atacama Desert: taxonomy, distribution, diversity, ecology and bioprospection for bioactive compounds. Environmental Microbiology. 18:232-245.Interpretive Summary: The Atacama Desert, located between 17° and 27°S latitude in northern Chile, has been considered to be the oldest hyper-arid desert on Earth, where average annual rains of less than 2 mm is not unusual. Some regions of the Atacama Desert have no rainfall for years and its sedimentary records suggest that the semi-arid to hyper-arid climates have origins from the Jurassic period to the present day. These environmental characteristics make the Atacama Desert an ideal field laboratory for studies about life in the extreme of conditions. This study assessed the diversity of fungi living in rocks from different altitudes in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Eighty-one fungal isolates obtained were identified as 21 species of 12 genera from Ascomycota using molecular techniques. Cladosporium halotolerans, Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium citrinum were the most frequent species, which occur at least in four different altitudes. The diversity, richness, dominance and similarity ranged in the fungal communities across the latitudinal gradient. Nineteen taxa may represent new species. Twenty-one fungal extracts displayed activity against the different targets screened. Our study represents the first report of a new habitat of fungi associated with rocks of the Atacama Desert and indicated the presence of interesting fungal community with potential different ecological roles, including species related with saprobes, parasite/pathogen and mycotoxigenic taxa. The fungal communities associated with rocks of the Atacama Desert may have important implications for further studies to understand the biochemistry and genetic mechanisms used by eukaryotic cells to survive and colonize extreme environments as well as in drug discovery programs.
                                Technical Abstract: This study assessed the diversity of fungi living in rocks from different altitudes in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Eighty-one fungal isolates obtained were identified as 21 species of 12 genera from Ascomycota using molecular techniques. Cladosporium halotolerans, Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium citrinum were the most frequent species, which occur at least in four different altitudes. The diversity, richness, dominance and similarity ranged in the fungal communities across the latitudinal gradient. Nineteen taxa may represent new species. Twenty-one fungal extracts displayed activity against the different targets screened. The extract of Penicillium chrysogenum UFMGCB 8074 afforded the compounds a-linolenic acid and ergosterol endoperoxide, which were active against Cryptococcus neoformans and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), respectively. Our study represents the first report of a new habitat of fungi associated with rocks of the Atacama Desert and indicated the presence of interesting fungal community with potential different ecological roles, including species related with saprobes, parasite/pathogen and mycotoxigenic taxa. The fungal communities associated with rocks of the Atacama Desert may have important implications for further studies to understand the biochemistry and genetic mechanisms used by eukaryotic cells to survive and colonize extreme environments as well as in drug discovery programs.


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