Fungi In Cryosphere: Their Adaptations To Environments

Cold-adapted fungi are widely distributed in the cryosphere where biosphere is constantly or seasonally covered with snow and/or ice. Fungi normally have different cells in their life cycle; therefore, thermal dependence of fungal life cycle stages is completely different from that of bacteria. We showed examples from fungi that the concept of 'psychrophile' by Moria (1975) was not applicable and propose a new term 'cryophilic fungi' for those that spend a certain life stage or whole life cycle (sexual and/or asexual reproductions) in cryosphere. Several groups of fungi associated with snow and/or ice, i.e. cryophilic fungi, are illustrated in terms of their ecology, and their ecophysiological adaptation mechanisms to freezing stress are reviewed, here.