LE3 .A278 2021

2021

Walker, Allison

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

Fungi associated with marine macroalgae are a relatively unexplored ecological grouping. Recently there has been an increase in the interest of studying this aspect of fungal biodiversity, the ecological roles and phylogenetic history of marine and marine-derived species, and their potentially useful secondary metabolites. We aimed to better understand the biodiversity of fungi specifically associated with the marine green macroalga Codium fragile in Nova Scotia. We collected samples of C. fragile from the intertidal zone of 3 coastal sandy beach sites along the Atlantic coast, incubated them in sterile damp chambers, and observed and isolated morphologically distinct fungi as they emerged. Fungi were isolated using a variety of culturing techniques and growth media. Axenic cultures were identified using morphological and molecular analysis. 23 filamentous fungi were obtained representing 11 species, 7 families, 4 orders, and 3 classes, all of which belonged to the subphylum Pezizomycotina (Ascomycota). The predominant genus isolated was Acremonium, with A. fuci being the most frequently isolated species, followed by Akanthomyces attenuatus, Penicillium brevistipitatum and Parasarocladium sp., respectively.To our best knowledge, this sample contained 2 species unknown from marine environments, 8 novel host records for C. fragile, and 5 novel regional species records.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3599