Diversity and physiology of marine lignicolous fungi in Arctic waters: a preliminary account

Information on the diversity of marine fungi in polar environments is lacking, especially marine fungi colonizing wood. During visits to Tromso and Long-yearbyen, Norway, drift and trapped wood was collected to provide a preliminary account of lignicolous marine fungi in Arctic waters. Six marine fungi were recorded from 24 and 27 samples of wood from Tromso and Longyearbyen, respectively. Among these, four marine fungi new to science were identified from wood collected at Longyearbyen. To shed light on the ecological role of this group of fungi in the Arctic, a physiological study of one of the collected fungi, Havispora longyearbyenensis, was conducted. H. longyearbyenensis grew at 4 degrees C, 10 degrees C, 15 degrees C and 20 degrees C in all salinities tested (0(0)/(00), 17(0)/(00), 34(0)/(00)). However, growth was significantly reduced at 4 degrees C and 0(0)/(00) salinity. The optimal condition for growth of H. longyearbyenensis was at 20 degrees C in all salinities tested.