Beyond the extremes: Rocks as ultimate refuge for fungi in drylands

C Coleine, JE Stajich, A de Los Ríos, L Selbmann - Mycologia, 2021 - Taylor & Francis
In an era of rapid climate change and expansion of desertification, the extremely harsh
conditions of drylands are a true challenge for microbial life. Under drought conditions …

The relevance of fungi in astrobiology research–Astromycology

MF Simões, M Cortesão, A Azua-Bustos, FY Bai… - Mycosphere, 2023 - elib.dlr.de
Since the very first steps of space exploration, fungi have been recorded as contaminants,
hitchhikers, or as part of missions' crews and payloads. Because fungi can cause human …

Wide divergence of fungal communities inhabiting rocks and soils in a hyper‐arid Antarctic desert

F Canini, L Borruso, KK Newsham… - Environmental …, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
Highly simplified microbial communities colonise rocks and soils of continental Antarctica ice‐
free deserts. These two habitats impose different selection pressures on organisms, yet the …

Antarctic cryptoendolithic fungal communities are highly adapted and dominated by Lecanoromycetes and Dothideomycetes

C Coleine, JE Stajich, L Zucconi, S Onofri… - Frontiers in …, 2018 - frontiersin.org
Endolithic growth is one of the most spectacular microbial adaptations to extreme
environmental constraints and the predominant life-form in the ice-free areas of Continental …

[HTML][HTML] Multidisciplinary characterization of melanin pigments from the black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus

C Pacelli, A Cassaro, A Maturilli, AM Timperio… - Applied Microbiology …, 2020 - Springer
Melanin is a natural pigment present in almost all biological groups, and is composed of
indolic polymers and characterized by black-brown colorization. Furthermore, it is one of the …

Highly diverse and unknown viruses may enhance Antarctic endoliths' adaptability

CL Ettinger, M Saunders, L Selbmann… - Microbiome, 2023 - Springer
Background Rock-dwelling microorganisms are key players in ecosystem functioning of
Antarctic ice free-areas. Yet, little is known about their diversity and ecology, and further still …

Endolithic microbial composition in Helliwell Hills, a newly investigated Mars‐like area in Antarctica

C Coleine, F Biagioli, JP de Vera… - Environmental …, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
The diversity and composition of Antarctic cryptoendolithic microbial communities in the
Mars‐analogue site of Helliwell Hills (Northern Victoria Land, Continental Antarctica) are …

Sun exposure shapes functional grouping of fungi in cryptoendolithic Antarctic communities

C Coleine, L Zucconi, S Onofri, N Pombubpa… - Life, 2018 - mdpi.com
Antarctic cryptoendolithic microbial communities dominate ice-free areas of continental
Antarctica, among the harshest environments on Earth. The endolithic lifestyle is a …

Altitude and fungal diversity influence the structure of Antarctic cryptoendolithic Bacteria communities

C Coleine, JE Stajich, N Pombubpa… - Environmental …, 2019 - Wiley Online Library
Endolithic growth within rocks is a critical adaptation of microbes living in harsh
environments where exposure to extreme temperature, radiation, and desiccation limits the …

Endolithic bacterial diversity in lichen-dominated communities is shaped by sun exposure in McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

A Mezzasoma, C Coleine, C Sannino, L Selbmann - Microbial ecology, 2022 - Springer
The diversity and composition of endolithic bacterial diversity of several locations in
McMurdo Dry Valleys (Continental Antarctica) were explored using amplicon sequencing …