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Fungal Diversity and Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2021) | Viewed by 20489

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Chemistry, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Kerea
Interests: Symbiosis, Microbial diversity, Microbial community, Microbiome, Ectomycorrhizal fungus, Lichens
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi live in diverse environments interacting with various organisms including humans. Fungal diversity provides important ecosystem services by its unique functional activities. Recently, human-associated environmental changes have induce the shift of fungal diversity and functions. However, we still lack knowledge of the environment in which fungal species live or what factors drive their community assemblies. If we can understand the fungal diversity and assembly rules, it will help to increase ecosystem sustainability. Moreover, exploring the function of fungi will contribute the ecosystem restoration and bioremediation, and ultimately enable the sustainable environmental use.

This Special Issue of Sustainability focuses on fungal diversity and functions in various environments from natural ecosystems to human-related environments. We encourage all type of studies such as comprehensive reviews, case studies, or research articles. Some of the potential topics include:

  • Fungal diversity in various environments (e.g. soil, rhizosphere, bio-aerosol, marine ecosystem, and animal gut)
  • Environmental drivers associated with diversity and species assembly patterns
  • Anthropogenic impacts on fungal diversity
  • The response of fungal physiology or functions following environmental changes
  • Enzyme activity
  • Function and ecosystem service
  • Bioremediation and degradation of pollutions and wastes
  • Bio-monitoring and survey methods

Thank you for your contributions.

Dr. Seung-Yoon Oh
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • anthropogenic impacts
  • bio-monitoring
  • bioremediation
  • ecosystem service
  • environmental drivers
  • enzyme activity
  • fungal diversity
  • mycobiome
  • physiological response

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3056 KiB  
Article
Influence of Tree Vegetation on Soil Microbial Communities in Temperate Forests and Their Potential as a Proactive Indicator of Vegetation Shift Due to Climate Change
by Young-Mok Heo, Hanbyul Lee, Sun-Lul Kwon, Yeonjae Yoo, Dongjun Kim, Sang-Il Han, Aslan-Hwanhwi Lee, Changmu Kim, Gyu-Hyeok Kim and Jae-Jin Kim
Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10591; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410591 - 18 Dec 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2649
Abstract
Unexpected vegetation shift is a serious problem caused by climate change, resulting in considerable damage to local communities. It is necessary to be continuously monitored, and the soil microbial community is expected to reflect the pressure on forest ecosystems due to climate change. [...] Read more.
Unexpected vegetation shift is a serious problem caused by climate change, resulting in considerable damage to local communities. It is necessary to be continuously monitored, and the soil microbial community is expected to reflect the pressure on forest ecosystems due to climate change. We investigated soil bacterial and fungal communities in Odaesan at a four-year interval through eDNA meta-barcoding and analyzed the compositional and functional differences between forest types (Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica) forest with and without Manchurian firs (Abies holophylla)) and sampling years. As a result, denitrifiers predominated in the presence of Manchurian firs, but there was no difference in the influence of climate change by forest type. Although tree vegetation remained stable, the microbial communities significantly changed over four years. This result demonstrates that climate change significantly shifts the microbial communities, even if not enough to trigger a vegetation shift, thus a microbial indicator can be developed to assess the press disturbance accumulated on the forest ecosystem. Through this study, we identified the influence of Manchurian firs and that of climate change on soil microbial communities in temperate forests and demonstrated the potential of the microbial community as a proactive indicator of vegetation shift due to climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Diversity and Sustainability)
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13 pages, 2706 KiB  
Article
Successional Variation in the Soil Microbial Community in Odaesan National Park, Korea
by Hanbyul Lee, Seung-Yoon Oh, Young Min Lee, Yeongseon Jang, Seokyoon Jang, Changmu Kim, Young Woon Lim and Jae-Jin Kim
Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4795; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114795 - 11 Jun 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3363
Abstract
Succession is defined as variation in ecological communities caused by environmental changes. Environmental succession can be caused by rapid environmental changes, but in many cases, it is slowly caused by climate change or constant low-intensity disturbances. Odaesan National Park is a well-preserved forest [...] Read more.
Succession is defined as variation in ecological communities caused by environmental changes. Environmental succession can be caused by rapid environmental changes, but in many cases, it is slowly caused by climate change or constant low-intensity disturbances. Odaesan National Park is a well-preserved forest located in the Taebaek mountain range in South Korea. The forest in this national park is progressing from a mixed-wood forest to a broad-leaved forest. In this study, microbial community composition was investigated using 454 sequencing of soil samples collected from 13 different locations in Odaesan National Park. We assessed whether microbial communities are affected by changes in environmental factors such as water content (WC), nutrient availability (total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN)) and pH caused by forest succession. WC, TC, TN and pH significantly differed between the successional stages of the forest. The WC, TC and TN of the forest soils tended to increase as succession progressed, while pH tended to decrease. In both successional stages, the bacterial genus Pseudolabrys was the most abundant, followed by Afipia and Bradyrhizobium. In addition, the fungal genus Saitozyma showed the highest abundance in the forest soils. Microbial community composition changed according to forest successional stage and soil properties (WC, TC, TN, and pH). Furthermore, network analysis of both bacterial and fungal taxa revealed strong relationships of the microbial community depending on the soil properties affected by forest succession. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Diversity and Sustainability)
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12 pages, 1645 KiB  
Article
Diversity of Trichoderma spp. in Marine Environments and Their Biological Potential for Sustainable Industrial Applications
by Kyeongwon Kim, Young Mok Heo, Seokyoon Jang, Hanbyul Lee, Sun-Lul Kwon, Myung Soo Park, Young Woon Lim and Jae-Jin Kim
Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4327; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104327 - 25 May 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3663
Abstract
Microorganisms are regarded as a sustainable source of biologically active molecules. Among them, Trichoderma spp. have been an attractive source of biological compounds. However, the study of marine-derived Trichoderma has developed slowly because of the difficulty in isolating the fungi. In our study, [...] Read more.
Microorganisms are regarded as a sustainable source of biologically active molecules. Among them, Trichoderma spp. have been an attractive source of biological compounds. However, the study of marine-derived Trichoderma has developed slowly because of the difficulty in isolating the fungi. In our study, 30 strains of marine-derived Trichoderma were identified through the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1α) sequences, and their biological activities, such as antioxidant activity by ABTS and DPPH assays, antifungal activity against Asteromyces cruciatus and Lindra thalassiae, and tyrosinase inhibition activity, were investigated. As a result, the 30 marine Trichoderma species were classified into 21 taxa, including three new species candidates. Three strains of T. asperellum showed the highest ABTS radical scavenging activity and antifungal activity. T. bissettii SFC20170821-M05 and T. guizhouense SFC20180619-M23 showed notable DPPH radical scavenging activity and tyrosinase inhibition activity, respectively. This study showed the potential of marine-derived Trichoderma as a source of bioactive compounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Diversity and Sustainability)
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19 pages, 3350 KiB  
Article
Diversity and Distribution Patterns of Endolichenic Fungi in Jeju Island, South Korea
by Seung-Yoon Oh, Ji Ho Yang, Jung-Jae Woo, Soon-Ok Oh and Jae-Seoun Hur
Sustainability 2020, 12(9), 3769; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093769 - 6 May 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5246
Abstract
Lichens are symbiotic organisms containing diverse microorganisms. Endolichenic fungi (ELF) are one of the inhabitants living in lichen thalli, and have potential ecological and industrial applications due to their various secondary metabolites. As the function of endophytic fungi on the plant ecology and [...] Read more.
Lichens are symbiotic organisms containing diverse microorganisms. Endolichenic fungi (ELF) are one of the inhabitants living in lichen thalli, and have potential ecological and industrial applications due to their various secondary metabolites. As the function of endophytic fungi on the plant ecology and ecosystem sustainability, ELF may have an influence on the lichen diversity and the ecosystem, functioning similarly to the influence of endophytic fungi on plant ecology and ecosystem sustainability, which suggests the importance of understanding the diversity and community pattern of ELF. In this study, we investigated the diversity and the factors influencing the community structure of ELF in Jeju Island, South Korea by analyzing 619 fungal isolates from 79 lichen samples in Jeju Island. A total of 112 ELF species was identified and the most common species belonged to Xylariales in Sordariomycetes. The richness and community structure of ELF were significantly influenced by the host taxonomy, together with the photobiont types and environmental factors. Our results suggest that various lichen species in more diverse environments need to be analyzed to expand our knowledge of the diversity and ecology of ELF. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Diversity and Sustainability)
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13 pages, 1575 KiB  
Article
Investigating Wood Decaying Fungi Diversity in Central Siberia, Russia Using ITS Sequence Analysis and Interaction with Host Trees
by Ji-Hyun Park, Igor N. Pavlov, Min-Ji Kim, Myung Soo Park, Seung-Yoon Oh, Ki Hyeong Park, Jonathan J. Fong and Young Woon Lim
Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2535; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062535 - 24 Mar 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4552
Abstract
Wood-decay fungi (WDF) play a significant role in recycling nutrients, using enzymatic and mechanical processes to degrade wood. Designated as a biodiversity hot spot, Central Siberia is a geographically important region for understanding the spatial distribution and the evolutionary processes shaping biodiversity. There [...] Read more.
Wood-decay fungi (WDF) play a significant role in recycling nutrients, using enzymatic and mechanical processes to degrade wood. Designated as a biodiversity hot spot, Central Siberia is a geographically important region for understanding the spatial distribution and the evolutionary processes shaping biodiversity. There have been several studies of WDF diversity in Central Siberia, but identification of species was based on morphological characteristics, lacking detailed descriptions and molecular data. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify WDF in Central Siberia, regarding the degradation of host trees based on both morphological and molecular analyses. We collected 106 WDF samples from Krasnoyarsk and the Republic of Khakassia in 2014 and 2017, and identified a total of 52 fungal species from six main host tree genera. In order to assess the host preference of the WDF, we examined previous literature, and data from this study. We confirmed a division in host preference of WDF between gymnosperms and angiosperms. DNA-based identification and host preference assessment of the WDF provide preliminary data on WDF diversity and their role in nutrient cycles in the ecosystem of Central Siberia. To fully understand WDF diversity in Central Siberia, continuous long-term surveys, including DNA sequence data, are needed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Diversity and Sustainability)
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