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. 2024 Jun 3;87(1):80.
doi: 10.1007/s00248-024-02395-y.

Gypsum Cave Biofilm Communities are Strongly Influenced by Bat- And Arthropod-Related Fungi

Valme Jurado  1 , Tamara Martin-Pozas  2 , Angel Fernandez-Cortes  2 , Jose Maria Calaforra  2 , Sergio Sanchez-Moral  3 , Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez  4
Affiliations

Gypsum Cave Biofilm Communities are Strongly Influenced by Bat- And Arthropod-Related Fungi

Valme Jurado et al. Microb Ecol. .

Abstract

The Gypsum Karst of Sorbas, Almeria, southeast Spain, includes a few caves whose entrances are open and allow the entry and roosting of numerous bats. Caves are characterized by their diversity of gypsum speleothems, such as stalactites, coralloids, gypsum crusts, etc. Colored biofilms can be observed on the walls of most caves, among which the Covadura and C3 caves were studied. The objective was to determine the influence that bat mycobiomes may have on the fungal communities of biofilms. The results indicate that the fungi retrieved from white and yellow biofilms in Covadura Cave (Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota, Basidiomycota) showed a wide diversity, depending on their location, and were highly influenced by the bat population, the guano and the arthropods that thrive in the guano, while C3 Cave was more strongly influenced by soil- and arthropod-related fungi (Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota), due to the absence of roosting bats.

Keywords: Ascomycota; Basidiomycota; Cladosporium; Fungi; Lecanicillium; Mortierella; Mortierellomycota; Podila; Arthropods; Bats; Gypsum Outcrops; Microbial Mats.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Location of the Gypsum Karst of Sorbas (southern Spain) and spatial distribution of the galleries of the Covadura and C3 caves (yellow areas) in relation to the external topography. The dashed blue lines show the drainage network on the surface. The yellow areas highlighted by a red line correspond to the galleries studied in the Covadura Cave
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Colored biofilms on the walls of Covadura and C3 caves. A. White biofilm in Covadura Cave; B. White biofilm in C3 Cave; C. Yellow biofilm in Covadura Cave; D. Yellow biofilm in C3 Cave
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
SEM images of biofilms found on the walls of the Covadura and C3 caves. A network of bacterial structures with characteristics of Actinomycetota, the most abundant phylum, is shown in A-D images. A. White biofilm in Covadura Cave; B. White biofilm in C3 Cave; C. Yellow biofilm in Covadura Cave; D. Yellow biofilm in C3 Cave. E – F. Long smooth filaments (1.4 μm width) and spores (10-14 μm diameter) of fungi found in Covadura Cave
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Fungal community composition of biofilms at the phylum level in Covadura and C3 caves
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Heat map of fungal classes in biofilms from Covadura and C3 caves. Only classes with relative abundances >1% are represented
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Heat map of fungal species in biofilms from Covadura and C3 caves. Only ASVs at Species level with relative abundances >1% are shown
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Functional assignments based on FUNGuild database of all functions of biofilms from Covadura and C3 caves
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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