In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 15, No. 12 ( 2020-12-4), p. e0243494-
Abstract:
Bat caves are very special roosts that harbour thousands of bats of one or more species. Such sites may hold an incredible “dark fungal diversity” which is still underestimated. We explored the culturable fungal richness in the air, on bats, and in the guano in a bat cave in Brazil’s Caatinga dry forest. Fungal abundance was 683 colony-forming units (CFU) in the guano, 673 CFU in the air, and 105 CFU on the bats. Based on morphological and phylogenetic analysis of ITS, LSU, and TUB2 sequences, fungal isolates of 59 taxa belonging to 37 genera in the phyla Ascomycota (28 genera, including Aspergillus , Penicillium , Cladosporium , and Talaromyces ), Basidiomycota (eight genera, including Rhodotorula and Schizophyllum ), and Mucoromycota (only Rhizopus ) were identified. The fungal richness in the air was 23 taxa (especially Aspergillus taxa), mainly found at 15 m and 45 m from the cave entrance; on the bodies of bats it was 36 taxa (mainly Aspergillus taxa), especially on their wing membranes (21 taxa, nine of which were exclusively found in this microhabitat); and in guano 10 fungal taxa (especially Aspergillus and Penicillium ) were found. The fungal richness associated with guano (fresh and non-fresh) was similar from bats with different eating habits (insectivorous, frugivorous, and haematophagous). Sampling effort was not sufficient to reveal the total fungal taxa richness estimated. Eight (21.6%) of the 37 genera and 17 (53.1%) of the 32 identified fungal species are reported for the first time in caves. Our results highlight bat caves in Brazil as hotspots of fungal diversity, emphasizing the need to protect such special roosts.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.g001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.g002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.g003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.g004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.g005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.g006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.g007
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.g008
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.s001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.s002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.s003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.s004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.s005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.s006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.s007
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0243494.s008
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2020
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
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