02735nas a2200325 4500008004100000022001400041245008600055210006900141260001200210490000700222520179000229653001502019653001302034653001002047653002202057653001002079100002602089700002402115700002502139700002102164700001802185700002502203700002102228700002202249700001902271700002402290700002102314700001702335856005702352 2025 eng d a0722-406000aA comprehensive survey of soil microbial diversity across the Antarctic continent0 acomprehensive survey of soil microbial diversity across the Anta c02/20250 v483 a

Antarctic soils are unique from those found nearly anywhere else on Earth yet can still harbor a broad diversity of microorganisms able to tolerate the challenging conditions typical of the continent. For these reasons, microbiologists have been drawn to Antarctica for decades. However, our understanding of which microbes thrive in Antarctic soils and how they to do so remains limited. To help resolve these knowledge gaps, we analyzed a collection of 200 archived Antarctic soils—from Livingston Island on the Antarctic Peninsula to Cape Hallett in northern Victoria Land. We analyzed the prokaryotic and fungal communities in these soils using both cultivation-independent marker gene sequencing and cultivation-dependent approaches (microbial isolation), paired with extensive soil geochemical analyses. Our cultivation-independent analyses indicate that colder, saltier, and drier soils harbor less diverse communities of bacteria and fungi, distinct from those found in soils with less challenging conditions. We also built a culture collection from a subset of these soils that encompasses more than 50 bacterial and fungal genera, including cold-tolerant organisms, such as <i>Cryobacterium</i> and <i>Cryomyces</i>. By directly comparing the diversity of our cultured isolates against our cultivation-independent data, we show that many of the more abundant Antarctic taxa are not readily cultivated and highlight bacterial and fungal taxa that should be the focus of future cultivation efforts. Together, we hope that our collection of isolates, the comprehensive data compiled from the cultivation-independent analyses, and our geochemical analyses will serve as a community resource to accelerate the study of Antarctic soil microbes.

10aAntarctica10abacteria10afungi10amicrobial ecology10asoils1 aDragone, Nicholas, B.1 aChildress, Mary, K.1 aVanderburgh, Caihong1 aWillmore, Rachel1 aHogg, Ian, D.1 aSancho, Leopoldo, G.1 aLee, Charles, K.1 aBarrett, John, E.1 aQuandt, Alisha1 aLeMonte, Joshua, J.1 aAdams, Byron, J.1 aFierer, Noah uhttps://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00300-025-03372-y02224nas a2200277 4500008004100000022001400041245011700055210006900172260001200241490000700253520135300260653003401613653001601647653001801663653002401681653002101705653001301726653002601739100002401765700002601789700002401815700002101839700001701860700001901877856005001896 2025 eng d a2210-634000aThree new Pseudogymnoascus species (Pseudeurotiaceae, Thelebolales) described from Antarctic soils0 aThree new Pseudogymnoascus species iPseudeurotiaceaei iThelebola c03/20250 v163 a

The genus Pseudogymnoascus includes several species frequently isolated from extreme environments worldwide, including cold environments such as Antarctica. This study describes three new species of PseudogymnoascusP. russus sp. nov., P. irelandiae sp. nov., and P. ramosus sp. nov.—isolated from Antarctic soils. These species represent the first Pseudogymnoascus taxa to be formally described from Antarctic soil samples, expanding our understanding of fungal biodiversity in this extreme environment. Microscopic descriptions of asexual structures from living cultures, along with measurements of cultural characteristics and growth on various media types at different temperatures, identify three distinct new species. In addition, phylogenetic analyses based on five gene regions (ITS, LSU, MCM7, RPB2, TEF1) and whole-genome proteomes place these new species within three distinct previously described clades: P. irelandiae in clade K, P. ramosus in clade Q, and P. russus in clade B. These results provide further evidence of the extensive undescribed diversity of Pseudogymnoascus in high-latitude soils. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on Antarctic mycology and the broader ecology of psychrophilic and psychrotolerant fungi.

10aAntarctic microbial diversity10anew species10aphylogenetics10apsychrophilic fungi10apsychrotolerance10ataxonomy10awhole genome assembly1 aChildress, Mary, K.1 aDragone, Nicholas, B.1 aYoung, Benjamin, D.1 aAdams, Byron, J.1 aFierer, Noah1 aQuandt, Alisha uhttps://imafungus.pensoft.net/article/142219/