Effect of Environmental Factors on Rock-inhabiting Fungal Communities from Brazilian Soapstone Samples

The present study aims to evaluate the environmental effect on fungal community composition associated with biodeterioration occurring in stones (soapstone) at two distinct locations in Minas Gerais State, Brazil: Congonhas city and Sanctuary of Caraça. Four collections of fungal communities over one year were obtained from both research sites from the soapstone block surfaces exposed for over two decades. The molecular diversity profile of the fungal community at the two localities was obtained by DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis), and the genomes of the most representative population were sequenced. DGGE showed the formation of two clusters with filamentous fungal communities. Sequencing of the most representative bands revealed the presence of fungi associated with the biodeterioration of soapstone. In addition, many of the identified species were associated with photobionts that could generate lichens, indicating that environmental characteristics affect the occurrence of filamentous fungi, which leads to biodeterioration of stones. Authors’ study focused on an environmental variation of an extreme habitat for fungi associated with soapstone in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil and identified the presence of interesting rock-inhabiting fungal communities including species related to lichens, which can accelerate the deterioration of stones by the production of organic acids.