Diversity and biomass dynamics of unicellular marine fungi during a spring phytoplankton bloom

Priest, Taylor; Fuchs, Bernhard M.; Amann, Rudolf; Reich, M.

doi:10.1111/1462-2920.15331

Cited by 33 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…However, it has to be noted that marine fungal communities can be dominated by zoosporic fungi (Comeau et al, 2016). Studies from the North Sea reported temporary dominance (Priest et al, 2021) and showed, e.g., dependence on host abundance and nutrient availability (Scholz et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters

et al. 2021

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Rivers are transport systems and supply adjacent ecosystems with nutrients. They also serve human well-being, for example as a source of food. Microorganism biodiversity is an important parameter for the ecological balance of river ecosystems. Despite the knowledge that fungi are key players in freshwater nutrient cycling and food webs, data on planktonic fungi of streams with higher stream order are scarce. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by a fungi-specific 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene tag sequencing approach, investigating mycoplankton diversity in the Elbe River along a transect from shallow freshwater, to the estuary and river plume down to the adjacent marine waters (sections of seventh stream order number). Using multivariate analyses and the quantitative process estimates (QPEs) method, questions (i) of how mycoplankton communities as part of the river continuum change along the transect, (ii) what factors, spatial and environmental, play a role, and (iii) what assembly processes, such as selection or dispersion, operate along the transect, were addressed. The partitioning of mycoplankton communities into three significant distant biomes was mainly driven by local environmental conditions that were partly under spatial control. The assembly processes underlying the biomes also differed significantly. Thus, variable selection dominated the upstream sections, while undominated processes like ecological drift dominated the sections close to the river mouth and beyond. Dispersal played a minor role. The results suggest that the ecological versatility of the mycoplankton communities changes along the transect as response, for example, to a drastic change from an autotrophic to a heterotrophic system caused by an abrupt increase in the river depth. Furthermore, a significant salinity-dependent occurrence of diverse basal fungal groups was observed, with no clade found exclusively in marine waters. These results provide an important framework to help understand patterns of riverine mycoplankton communities and serve as basis for a further in-depth work so that fungi, as an important ecological organism group, can be integrated into models of, e.g., usage-balance considerations of rivers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters

et al. 2021

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“…CalcoFluor White (CFW) staining approach along with epifluorescence microscopy, as suggested by Rasconi et al (2009), was used to detect and identify fungal parasites attached to an algal hosts. CFW is a non-specific, fluorescent dye that binds to chitin in fungal cell walls but also cellulose, that is often present in cell wall of some algae and fungi-like organisms (Kagami et al, 2007;Priest et al, 2021). Pre-treatment of sediment samples was done using ultrasound (3 × 10 s) for the mechanical disruption of diatom-sand agglomerates (Scholz et al, 2014).…”

Section: Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

Antarctic Glacial Meltwater Impacts the Diversity of Fungal Parasites Associated With Benthic Diatoms in Shallow Coastal Zones

et al. 2022

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Aquatic ecosystems are frequently overlooked as fungal habitats, although there is increasing evidence that their diversity and ecological importance are greater than previously considered. Aquatic fungi are critical and abundant components of nutrient cycling and food web dynamics, e.g., exerting top-down control on phytoplankton communities and forming symbioses with many marine microorganisms. However, their relevance for microphytobenthic communities is almost unexplored. In the light of global warming, polar regions face extreme changes in abiotic factors with a severe impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Therefore, this study aimed to describe, for the first time, fungal diversity in Antarctic benthic habitats along the salinity gradient and to determine the co-occurrence of fungal parasites with their algal hosts, which were dominated by benthic diatoms. Our results reveal that Ascomycota and Chytridiomycota are the most abundant fungal taxa in these habitats. We show that also in Antarctic waters, salinity has a major impact on shaping not just fungal but rather the whole eukaryotic community composition, with a diversity of aquatic fungi increasing as salinity decreases. Moreover, we determined correlations between putative fungal parasites and potential benthic diatom hosts, highlighting the need for further systematic analysis of fungal diversity along with studies on taxonomy and ecological roles of Chytridiomycota.

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“…Fungi are ubiquitous in the ocean [ 12 ] and have been isolated from marine habitats including mangrove leaf litter, seagrass, seaweed, subseafloor sediments, and hydrothermal vents [ 13 – 17 ]. Mycoplankton are fungi that live in seawater that tend to correlate with phytoplankton [ 18 – 20 ] and are hypothesized to be an important component for carbon cycling and within marine food webs [ 10 , 11 ]. Notably, mycoplankton were recently found to dominate total biomass on marine snow [ 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To this end, we used 13 C DNA stable isotope probing (SIP) to track fungal carbon assimilation of particulate 13 C-labeled diatom extracellular polymeric substances ( 13 C-dEPS) in the water column and sediments underlying the Benguela Upwelling System (BUS) of Namibia. We used 13 C-dEPS as a tracer for fungal marine organic matter assimilation because diatom derived polysaccharides are major contributors to the marine carbon cycle [ 22 , 23 ], fungi can dominate total biomass on marine snow [ 21 ], and marine fungi are often associated with diatom blooms [ 18 , 19 , 24 ]. The BUS is one of the most productive ecosystems of the world’s oceans [ 25 ] and represents a nutrient-rich habitat where the saprotrophic traits of fungi are hypothesized to be important [ 10 – 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon assimilating fungi from surface ocean to subseafloor revealed by coupled phylogenetic and stable isotope analysis

et al. 2021

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Fungi are ubiquitous in the ocean and hypothesized to be important members of marine ecosystems, but their roles in the marine carbon cycle are poorly understood. Here, we use 13C DNA stable isotope probing coupled with phylogenetic analyses to investigate carbon assimilation within diverse communities of planktonic and benthic fungi in the Benguela Upwelling System (Namibia). Across the redox stratified water column and in the underlying sediments, assimilation of 13C-labeled carbon from diatom extracellular polymeric substances (13C-dEPS) by fungi correlated with the expression of fungal genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes. Phylogenetic analysis of genes from 13C-labeled metagenomes revealed saprotrophic lineages related to the facultative yeast Malassezia were the main fungal foragers of pelagic dEPS. In contrast, fungi living in the underlying sulfidic sediments assimilated more 13C-labeled carbon from chemosynthetic bacteria compared to dEPS. This coincided with a unique seafloor fungal community and dissolved organic matter composition compared to the water column, and a 100-fold increased fungal abundance within the subseafloor sulfide-nitrate transition zone. The subseafloor fungi feeding on 13C-labeled chemolithoautotrophs under anoxic conditions were affiliated with Chytridiomycota and Mucoromycota that encode cellulolytic and proteolytic enzymes, revealing polysaccharide and protein-degrading fungi that can anaerobically decompose chemosynthetic necromass. These subseafloor fungi, therefore, appear to be specialized in organic matter that is produced in the sediments. Our findings reveal that the phylogenetic diversity of fungi across redox stratified marine ecosystems translates into functionally relevant mechanisms helping to structure carbon flow from primary producers in marine microbiomes from the surface ocean to the subseafloor.

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Diversity and biomass dynamics of unicellular marine fungi during a spring phytoplankton bloom

Abstract: This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as

Cited by 33 publications

References 99 publications

Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters

Mycoplankton Biome Structure and Assemblage Processes Differ Along a Transect From the Elbe River Down to the River Plume and the Adjacent Marine Waters

Antarctic Glacial Meltwater Impacts the Diversity of Fungal Parasites Associated With Benthic Diatoms in Shallow Coastal Zones

Carbon assimilating fungi from surface ocean to subseafloor revealed by coupled phylogenetic and stable isotope analysis

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