PCR and Omics Based Techniques to Study the Diversity, Ecology and Biology of Anaerobic Fungi: Insights, Challenges and Opportunities
Abstract
Anaerobic fungi (phylum Neocallimastigomycota) are common inhabitants of the digestive tract of mammalian herbivores, and in the rumen, can account for up to 20%of the microbial biomass. Anaerobic fungi play a primary role in the degradation of lignocellulosic plant material. They also have a syntrophic interaction with methanogenicarchaea, which increases their fiber degradation activity. To date, nine anaerobic fungal genera have been described, with further novel taxonomic groupings known to exist based on culture-independent molecular surveys. However, the true extent of their diversity may be even more extensively underestimated as anaerobic fungi continue being discovered in yet unexplored gut and non-gut environments. Additionally many studies are now known to have used primers that provide incomplete coverage of the Neocallimastigomycota. For ecological studies the internal transcribed spacer 1 region (ITS1) has been the taxonomic marker of choice, but due to various limitations the large subunit rRNA (LSU) is now being increasingly used. How the continued expansion of our knowledge regarding anaerobic fungal diversity will impact on our understanding of their biology and ecological role remains unclear; particularly as it is becoming apparent that anaerobic fungi display niche differentiation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 25, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1082340
Entities
People
- Anil K. Puniya
- Gareth W. Griffith
- Hauke Smidt
- Joan E. Edwards
- John K. Henske
- Jongsoo Chang
- Katerina Fliegerova
- Michelle O'Malley
- Robert J. Forster
- Sandra Kittelmann
- Sean P. Gilmore
- Sumit S. Dagar
- Tony M. Callaghan
- Veronika Dollhofer
- Yanfen Cheng
Organizations
- Wageningen University & Research