Mosaic structure of the fungal community in the Kislo-Sladkoe Lake that is detaching from the White Sea

The major part of the north polar region is intensely rising by postglacial crustal movement. This process gives rise to the separation of different basins from seas and oceans, which affects a combination of freshwater and marine organisms. Gradually losing contact with the seas, many near-shore lakes of the Arctic are mostly desalted and form bogs. Fungi as decomposers play an important role in all ecosystems. However, the diversity and role of fungi in Arctic aquatic ecosystems is largely unknown. It is also not clear how the taxonomic structure of the fungal community is affected by the process of gradual desalinization and waterlogging. We investigated the diversity of filamentous culturable fungi in different parts of the brackish Kislo-Sladkoe Lake (White Sea, Russia). Annually, 42 samples of the bottom and coastal soils have been collected at the lake from which fungi were recovered on standard and selective media. Based on morphological and molecular markers, a total of 127 taxa have been identified. The fungal community appeared to be influenced by its sea origin and comprised both marine (Paradendryphiella salina, Acremonium spp.) and terrestrial soil species of Penicillium, Talaromyces, Mucor, Umbelopsis, Cladosporium, Cadophora, Sistotrema, Helotiales, Pleosporales, sphagnum moss destructors (Oidiodendron spp.) and insect-associated species of Tolypocladium. The results indicate that the composition of the fungal community in the rising polar White Sea region reflects the dynamics of global changes in physical–chemical parameters and animal and plant associations because of separation from the sea.