Sodiomyces alkalinus is a holomorphic alkaliphilic filamentous fungus which growth optimum lies at pH around 10, with no ability to grow at pH 5 (Grum-Grzhimaylo et al. 2013). The biodiversity of alkaliphilic fungi have been poorly described with a miniscule number of studies available over time. Although it has been proposed that hypocrealeaen hyphomycetes (order Hypocreales) show the capacity to cope with high ambient pH, we propose the Plectosphaerellaceae family to be the important source of alkaliphiles, since both Sodiomyces alkalinus and Acremonium alcalophilum belong to that lineage. Both above named fungi have been sequenced providing an immense amount of information for studying alkaliphilic fungi. Sodiomyces alkalinus was isolated from soda soils with pH over 10, the habitat believed to be a natural environment for alkaliphiles. It has long been believed that only prokaryotes can live in this harsh ecological niche. Alkaliphilic filamentous fungi are a rare occurrence sequencing information on which might shed light on the adaptation hallmarks to high pH in fungi. Comparative genomics with neutrophiles surely would help revealing evolutionary tweaks enabling alkaliphiles to thrive in soda soils. Revealing sequencing information on the alkaline exo-cellular enzymes and understanding how they are controlled will greatly add to the quest for optimizing and enrichment of their production by industrial means. Sodiomyces alkalinus seems to be a great model organism to study the alkaliphily phenomenon.
Genome Reference(s)
Grum-Grzhimaylo AA, Falkoski DL, van den Heuvel J, Valero-Jiménez CA, Min B, Choi IG, Lipzen A, Daum CG, Aanen DK, Tsang A, Henrissat B, Bilanenko EN, de Vries RP, van Kan JAL, Grigoriev IV, Debets AJM
The obligate alkalophilic soda-lake fungus Sodiomyces alkalinus has shifted to a protein diet.
Mol Ecol. 2018 Dec;27(23):4808-4819. doi: 10.1111/mec.14912
Grum-Grzhimaylo AA, Debets AJM, van Diepeningen AD, Georgieva ML, Bilanenko EN (2013) Sodiomyces alkalinus, a new holomorphic alkaliphilic ascomycete within the Plectosphaerellaceae. Persoonia 31: 147-158