Yeast Communities of the Moscow City Soils

Abstract

Yeast abundance and diversity were studied in the soils (topsoil) of Moscow city: urban soils under lawn vegetation and close to the areas of household waste disposal, as well as in zonal soddy-podzolic soils (retisols) in parks (Losiny Ostrov and Izmailovo). The numbers of soil yeasts were similar in all studied urban biocenoses (on average ~3.5 × 10³ CFU/g). From all studied soils, 54 yeast species were isolated. The highest yeast diversity was found in the soils adjacent to the areas of household waste storage. Soils from different urban sites were found to have different ratios of ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts: basidiomycetes predominated in urban soils under lawn vegetation, while in the areas close to the waste disposal sites their share was considerably lower. The differences between the studied urban soils were also found in the structure of soil yeast complexes. In urban soils with high anthropogenic impact, the isolation frequency of clinically important yeast species (Candida parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, Diutina catenulata, and Pichia kudriavzevii) was as high as 35% of all studied samples, while its share in the community was 17%. The factors responsible for development of specific features of yeast communities in various urban soils are discussed in the paper.