BIODIVERSITY OF MARINE FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH THE SEAGRASS POSIDONIA OCEANICA: AN ECOLOGICAL AND BIOTECHNOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE BIODIVERSITÁ FUNGINA ASSOCIATA ALLA FANEROGAMA MARINA POSIDONIA OCEANICA: UNA PROSPETTIVA ECOLOGICA E BIOTECNOLOGICA

In this work, for the first time the quali-quantitative composition of the mycoflora associated to the seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile (an endemic seriously threatened seagrass of the Mediterranean Sea) was estimated. Eighty-eight fungal species were identified by morphological and molecular methods and the most important genera were Penicillium, Cladosporium and Acremonium. Many species are saprotrophic but other species could have a pathosistic nutritional strategy on P. oceanica. Most of the fungal strains, cultured at different salt concentration, were tested by means of a quali-quantitative microtitre plate method for oxidoreductase activity and tannases activity. Several fungal strains showed a good enzyme production, many of them exclusively at high salt concentrations. These findings suggest that marine fungi play an important ecological role in the decomposition of ligninocellulosic matrices in the marine environment and are a good source of novel extremoenzymes that can be used in different biotechnological applications.