Articles by Taxonomic Group

Twenty species of ascomycetous and anamorphic fungi from twenty genera are reported for the first time from Mt. Strandzha in Bulgaria.

Filamentous fungi from Aspergillus niger group were isolated from the hypersaline Dead Sea water 
and the Mediterranean “Evolution Canyon” I, lower Nahal Oren, Mount Carmel. A comparison of growth rates of the strains collected from the Dead Sea and the “European” north- and “African” south-facing slopes of “Evolution Canyon” I, over a range of water activities, was provided. Media adjustments were made with different volumes of Dead Sea water. Strains from all habitats showed optimal growth rates at 5 % of Dead Sea water (a_w 0.983) and ceased growth at 65 % of Dead Sea water (0.785 a_w). However, significant interpopulation growth differences were detected (by the non-parametric Kolmogorov-Smirnov test) at different a_w. Under low salinities (< 15 %), “Evolution Canyon” I strains significantly differ from Dead Sea water strains in distributions of growth rates. Under high salinities (> 40 %), there is the same divergence of “Evolution Canyon” I strains vs. Dead Sea water strains, and some divergence between “African” and “European” slopes appears. “African” slope and “European” slope populations are significantly different in growth rates under 40 % salinity and have a tendency to be different under 45 % and 50 % volumes of Dead Sea water. We conclude that the A. niger group isolated from the Dead Sea water is more resistant, and the “African” slope population has a tendency to be more resistant than the “European” slope to stress associated with low-water activity. We suppose that these patterns are adaptive.