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Cold-active Microfungi and Their Industrial Applications
Published in Ajar Nath Yadav, Ali Asghar Rastegari, Neelam Yadav, Microbiomes of Extreme Environments, 2021
Cold-active organisms are those that are adapted to a climate characterized by longer periods in the year of temperature below 15–20°C. This condition is a trait of about 85% of the Earth’s surface including the polar and alpine regions and the deep sea. The cold-active organisms may be psychrophilic or psychrotolerant depending upon their inability or ability to thrive above a threshold lower temperature respectively. This threshold temperature may be 15°C–20°C (Morita 1975; Robinson 2001; Cavicchioli et al. 2002; Yadav et al. 2018b). Microfungi constitute an artificial group of filamentous fungi belonging to Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes. The most common microfungi are slime molds, water molds, bread molds, powdery mildews and rusts. Thus the group includes both saprophytic and pathogenic (on plants and animals) species and is believed to comprise 4468 genera and 55,989 species. For a detailed classification of microfungi, readers are suggested to visit the dedicated website (https://www.microfungi.org/).
Microscopic fungi isolated from cave air and sediments in the Nerja Cave—preliminary results
Published in Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez, The Conservation of Subterranean Cultural Heritage, 2014
A. Novakova, V. Hubka, C. Saiz-Jimenez
Isolated microfungi were identified according to macro- and micro-morphological characters using the commonly used taxonomic literature. Isolates of the genus Aspergillus were identified using PCR fingerprinting with the phage M13-core sequence as an oligonucleotide primer (5’-GAGGGTGGCGGTTCT) as described by Nováková et al. (2012). The partial calmodulin gene was amplified with primers and conditions described by Hubka et al. (2012) for isolates with unique fingerprinting pattern. Species identification was based on sequence similarity using BLAST searches. Sequences were compared to those derived from the extype strains deposited in the GenBank database. Isolates with sequence similarity exceeding 99% were considered to be conspecific.
Assessment of nanoparticles/nanocomposites to inhibit micro-algal fouling on limestone façades
Published in Building Research & Information, 2020
Javier Becerra, Pilar Ortiz, Ana P. Zaderenko, Ioannis Karapanagiotis
The first microorganisms to colonize stone surfaces are typically microalgae and cyanobacteria (Li, Zhang, Yang, & Ge, 2018). Their development is attributed to various factors such as the amount of light, temperature, humidity or water. One of the most negative aspects of this biofilm is its ability to favour the colonization on stone surfaces by other microorganisms, from chemoautotrophic and heterotrophic eubacteria and microfungi to higher species such as fungi, lichen and moss that can be associated with other alterations such as black crusts and whitish efflorescence (Adriana, Tiano, Ventura, & Frediani, 2011). Therefore, a direct relationship can be established between biofilms and the emergence of other biocolonizers that accelerate superficial degradation on the various materials present in historic buildings, with noticeable incidence on limestone due to its physicochemical characteristics (porosity, surface roughness, hygroscopicity, chemical composition) (Adriana et al., 2011).