Abstract
A first report on the occurrence of 22 species of filamentous fungi in the hypersaline (340 g I-1 salinity) Dead Sea is presented. Fungal species belonging to Zygomycotina (1 sp.), Ascomycotina (17 sp.) and Mitosporic fungi (4 sp.) were isolated from water samples of the Dead Sea. A new species Gymnascella marismortui Buchalo et al. has been found. Growth, enzyme (amylase, caseinase, urease, cellulase) activitites and dye degradation depending on salinity and temperature of some isolated fungi were studied. It was concluded that enzyme production and dye degradation decreased with increasing salinity and temperature. Most of the fungi isolated from the Dead Sea are known halotolerant soil inhabitants. The authors hypothesize that the obligate halophilic G. marismortui may represent an authentic inhibitant of the Dead Sea.
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Buchalo, A.S. et al. (1999). Species Diversity and Biology of Fungi Isolated from the Dead Sea. In: Wasser, S.P. (eds) Evolutionary Theory and Processes: Modern Perspectives. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4830-6_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4830-6_17
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