You can mark you interesting snippets of text that will be available through a unique link in your browser.


Desert fungi

Desert fungi

A variety of terricolous fungi inhabit the biological soil crust of arid regions. Those exposed to the sun typically contain melanin and are resistant to high temperatures, dryness and low nutrition. Species that are common elsewhere (e.g. Penicillium spp. and common soil Aspergillus spp.) do not thrive in these conditions. Producing large dark unicellular spores also helps survival. Sexually reproducing ascomycetes, especially Chaetomium spp., have developed resilience by growing thick, dark perithecia. Under desert shrubs, however, more sensitive species such as Gymnoascus reesii prevail.[1]

References

  1. ^ Grishkan, I., E. Zaady & E. Nevo. (2006) "Soil crust microfungi along as southward rainfall gradient in desert ecosystems." Eur. J. Soil Biol. 42: 33-42.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_fungi"

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

  
Share  

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Desert locust — Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum …   Wikipedia

  • Desert — Not to be confused with dessert. This article is about dry terrain. For the act of abandoning or withdrawing support, see desertion. For other uses, see Desert (disambiguation) …   Wikipedia

  • Desert tortoise — Desert tortoise, G. agassizii Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Fungus — Fungi redirects here. You may be looking for Fungi (music) or Fungus (XM). Fungi Temporal range: Early Devonian–Recent (but see text) …   Wikipedia

  • Life Sciences — ▪ 2009 Introduction Zoology       In 2008 several zoological studies provided new insights into how species life history traits (such as the timing of reproduction or the length of life of adult individuals) are derived in part as responses to… …   Universalium

  • Oyu Tolgoi mine — Oyu Tolgoi Number 1 Shaft at Oyu Tolgoi Location …   Wikipedia

  • Medicinal mushrooms — Lepista nuda Medicinal mushrooms are mushrooms, or mushroom extracts, that are used or studied as possible treatments for diseases. Lentinula edodes (shiitake), Grifola frondosa (maitake), Ganoderma lucidum (mannentake), and Cordyceps, have a… …   Wikipedia

  • plant — plantable, adj. plantless, adj. plantlike, adj. /plant, plahnt/, n. 1. any member of the kingdom Plantae, comprising multicellular organisms that typically produce their own food from inorganic matter by the process of photosynthesis and that… …   Universalium

  • Flora of Australia — For the series of monographs, see Flora of Australia (series). Australian plants redirects here. For the magazine, see Australian Plants. Part of a series on Wildlife of …   Wikipedia

  • Terfeziaceae — or Terfess Desert truffle (Terfezia spp.) Scientific classification Kingdom: Fungi …   Wikipedia