MYCOFLORA OF SOIL AROUND THE DEAD-SEA .2. DEUTEROMYCETES (EXCEPT ASPERGILLUS AND PENICILLIUM)

Samples were taken from the top 10 centimeters of soils from 56 locali ties along the Dead Sea valley. There were 269 isolates representing 1 06 species dispatched into 51 genera of Deuteromycetes (Aspergillus an d Penicillium not included) in addition to 20 sterile mycelia and an u nidentified black yeast. The genera Alternaria Ulocladium and Fusarium were represented respectively by 6, 8 and 10 different species and we re the most frequently isolated in the different samples. The most com mon species were Acremonium strictum, Alternaria alternata, A. chlamyd ospora, Botryotrichum pluliferum, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium clado sporioides, Epicoccum nigrum, Fusarium oxysporum, Ulocladium atrum, U. chlamydosporum, U. consortiale. One new Bipolaris species was isolate d, which has been the object of two other papers (submitted for public ation). One thermophile was found: Scytalidium thermophilum. No strict halophiles but only halotolerant species were obtained. As already no ticed in the first part of this work, there does not seem to be a fung us flora that is characteristic of desert soil or highly saline soil. Some ubiquitous soil fungi seem to be able to adapt to these extreme c onditions.