Person:
Martín Cereceda, María Mercedes

Profile Picture
First Name
María Mercedes
Last Name
Martín Cereceda
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/74409
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Ciencias Biológicas
Department
Genética, Fisiología y Microbiología
Area
Microbiología
Identifiers
UCM identifierORCIDScopus Author IDWeb of Science ResearcherIDDialnet ID

Filters

20231
Reset filters

Settings

Author: Williams, Richard Alexander John × Subject: 579.61 ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Diversity of DNA Sequences from Pathogenic and Potentially Pathogenic Eukaryotic Microorganisms in Protected Granite Mountain Rocks
    (Diversity, 2023) Murciano Cespedosa, Antonio; Pérez Uz, María Blanca; Williams, Richard Alexander John; Sánchez Jiménez, Abel; Martín Cereceda, María Mercedes; Velasco-González, Ismael; Lara, Enrique; Singer, David; de Cos-Gandoy, Amaya; García-Rodríguez, Manuel
    Rain-fed mountain granite rock basins are temporary habitats conditioned by a fluctuating environment and the unpredictability of precipitation or flooding rates. These small highland freshwater habitats remain largely unexplored at the microbial level. The aim of this work is to report the presence in these habitats of genetic sequences of microbial eukaryotes that are pathogens and potential pathogens of humans, wildlife, cattle, crops as well as of other microorganisms. We sequenced the hypervariable region v4 of the 18S rDNA gene from environmental DNA of sediments taken from 21 rock basins in a National Park in Spain. More than a fifth (21%) of the eukaryotic Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) found are ascribed to pathogenic (within 11 Phyla) and potential pathogenic (within 1 phylum, the Chytridiomycota) microorganisms. Some OTUs retrieved are of agro-economic and public health importance (e.g., Pythium spp., Lagenidium spp., Candida spp. and Vermamoeba vermiformis). In 86% of the basins, the most abundant OTUs were affiliated to Chytridiomycota, a broad fungal group including saprozoic and parasitic taxa. Two OTUs affiliated to chytrids were significantly correlated with high concentrations of heavy metals. The high proportion of chytrid-like microbial sequences found emphasises the role of these freshwater habitats for adding knowledge regarding the ecological trade-offs of the still rather unknown Chytridiomycota. Our results show that rain-fed rock basins may be model habitats for the study and surveillance of microbial community dynamics and genetics of (mainly opportunistic) microbial pathogens.