BIODIVERSITY OF YEASTS AND FILAMENTOUS MICROFUNGI IN TERRESTRIAL ANTARCTIC ECOSYSTEMS

Fungal biodiversity in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems increases with the availability of water and energy, but cannot now be precisely des cribed because of problems with identification and questions as to wha t organisms are truly indigenous. Yeasts probably predominate on conti nental Antarctica, while other microfungi usually do so in maritime an d sub-Antarctica. Lists of nematophagous species and of microfungal sp ecies reported from maritime and sub-Antarctica are given. The ecologi cal roles of these fungi are worthy of further research. The ability o f common airspora and pathogens to survive and colonize should be inve stigated.