A distinctive fungal community inhabiting cryoconite holes on glaciers in Svalbard Arwyn EDWARDS a , Brian DOUGLAS a , Alexandre M. ANESIO b , Sara M. RASSNER a,c , Tristram D.L. IRVINE-FYNN c , Birgit SATTLER d , Gareth W. GRIFFITH a, * a Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences (IBERS), Cledwyn Building, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DD, Wales, UK b Bristol Glaciology Centre, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK c Institute of Geography & Earth Sciences (IGES), Llandinam Building, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DB, Wales, UK d Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria article info Article history: Received 2 August 2012 Revision received 1 November 2012 Accepted 1 November 2012 Available online 28 December 2012 Corresponding editor: Kevin K. Newsham Keywords: Aeroaquatic fungi Glacier Ingoldian fungi Svalbard T-RFLP abstract Cryoconite holes on glacier surfaces are ice-cold hot spots of microbial diversity and activity but still little is known about their fungal inhabitants. We provide the first report of distinctive fungal communities in cryoconite debris from three valley glaciers at Kongsf- jorden, Svalbard. Multivariate analysis of terminal-restriction fragment length poly- morphism (T-RFLP) profiles of rRNA ITS amplicons revealed that quite distinct fungal communities were found in cryoconite holes compared with soils from adjacent moraine and tundra sites, and that communities on glaciers with contrasting ice-surface hydrology also differed. Most of the fungi cultured from cryoconite sediment were basidiomycetous yeasts or filamentous Ascomycota (Helotiales/Pleosporales). The latter included aero- aquatic fungi, such as Articulospora and Varicosporium, implying a role for these important freshwater decomposers in the carbon dynamics of cryoconite holes. Matching of the dominant peaks from T-RFLP analysis to predicted peaks of cultured isolates confirmed the abundance of these aeroaquatic fungi but also revealed that most of the dominant T-RFLP peaks did not match any cultured isolates. Considering the prevalence and endangerment of glacial environments worldwide, these findings would suggest that their potential as reservoirs of fungal diversity should not be overlooked. ª 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The British Mycological Society. All rights reserved. Introduction Cryoconite holes are melt-water filled depressions in the surface ice of the ablation zones of glaciers and ice-sheets in both high latitude and altitude regions. These holes are formed as a result of the low albedo of localized debris accumulations (Hodson et al. 2008). Despite ambient temper- atures of <þ1  C, and brief growing seasons, cryoconite holes exhibit significant microbial activity and diversity (Anesio et al. 2009; Hodson et al. 2007). The cryoconite microbiota itself is an important driver in the formation of cryoconite holes, for instance by the albedo-reducing effect of dark * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 1970 622325. E-mail address: gwg@aber.ac.uk (G.W. Griffith). Abbreviations: CAP, canonical analysis of principal coordinates; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; PERMANOVA, permutational multivariate analysis of variance; TRF, terminal-restriction fragment; T-RFLP, terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism. available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/funeco 1754-5048/$ e see front matter ª 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The British Mycological Society. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2012.11.001 fungal ecology 6 (2013) 168 e176