Diversity and biotechnological potential of filamentous fungi isolated from sediments of Basque estuaries

Abstract

AbstractMarine environments harbor a vast diversity of microorganisms, which have developed multiple strategies to adapt to stress conditions such as high salt concentrations and nutrient scarcity and, thus, are a source of natural products and high-value enzymes, as they have the ability to degrade complex polymeric substrates. These features make marine microorganisms a valuable source for the development of new biotechnological tools. Here, we focused on the isolation of filamentous fungi, using sediment samples collected from estuaries of the Basque Country in the Bay of Biscay. The phenotype of these isolates was characterized based on the potential to grow on complex marine polysaccharides or to secrete pigments to the culture medium. Based on this screening, the genomes of two isolates of the order Hypocreales,Marquandomyces marquandiiandAlbophoma yamanashiensis, were sequenced and are described here for the first time. The analysis of their CAZYme (carbohydrate-active enzyme) and secondary metabolite gene-cluster repertoires suggest that these estuarine isolates could be used as a source of novel enzymatic activities and secondary metabolites.One-sentence summaryIsolation and characterization of filamentous fungi from sediments of Basque estuaries and an assessment of their biotechnological potential.ImportanceMarine microbes are considered an unlimited source of molecules for biotechnology in fields such as pharmaceutics, biomedicine, cosmetics, nutraceutics, food, feed or agriculture. Thus, it is believed that blue biotechnology will make a significant contribution to the sustainability of global economy. However, the study of marine fungi lags behind that of marine bacteria and it is considered that the potential impact of fungi at the biotechnological level is underestimated. In this work, filamentous fungi from sediment samples of estuaries of the Basque Country have been isolated and the genomes of the Sordariomycete fungiMarquandomyces marquandiiandAlbophoma yamanashiensissequenced and analyzed. Their characterization will contribute to the inventory of the genomic diversity within filamentous fungi and the identification of species and activities with biotechnological potential.