TY - JOUR A1 - Ilicic, Doris A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Basal parasitic fungi in marine food webs-a mystery yet to unravel JF - Journal of Fungi N2 - Although aquatic and parasitic fungi have been well known for more than 100 years, they have only recently received increased awareness due to their key roles in microbial food webs and biogeochemical cycles. There is growing evidence indicating that fungi inhabit a wide range of marine habitats, from the deep sea all the way to surface waters, and recent advances in molecular tools, in particular metagenome approaches, reveal that their diversity is much greater and their ecological roles more important than previously considered. Parasitism constitutes one of the most widespread ecological interactions in nature, occurring in almost all environments. Despite that, the diversity of fungal parasites, their ecological functions, and, in particular their interactions with other microorganisms remain largely speculative, unexplored and are often missing from current theoretical concepts in marine ecology and biogeochemistry. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent research avenues on parasitic fungi and their ecological potential in marine ecosystems, e.g., the fungal shunt, and emphasize the need for further research. KW - basal fungi KW - parasites KW - Chytridiomycota KW - Rozellomycota KW - food web KW - biological carbon pump Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8020114 SN - 2309-608X VL - 8 IS - 2 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riebold, Diana A1 - Russow, Kati A1 - Schlegel, Mathias A1 - Wollny, Theres A1 - Thiel, Joerg A1 - Freise, Jona A1 - Hueppop, Ommo A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Plenge-Boenig, Anita A1 - Loebermann, Micha A1 - Ulrich, Rainer Günter A1 - Klammt, Sebastian A1 - Mettenleiter, Thomas Christoph A1 - Reisinger, Emil Christian T1 - Occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in small mammals from Germany JF - Vector borne and zoonotic diseases N2 - An increase in zoonotic infections in humans in recent years has led to a high level of public interest. However, the extent of infestation of free-living small mammals with pathogens and especially parasites is not well understood. This pilot study was carried out within the framework of the "Rodent-borne pathogens" network to identify zoonotic parasites in small mammals in Germany. From 2008 to 2009, 111 small mammals of 8 rodent and 5 insectivore species were collected. Feces and intestine samples from every mammal were examined microscopically for the presence of intestinal parasites by using Telemann concentration for worm eggs, Kinyoun staining for coccidia, and Heidenhain staining for other protozoa. Adult helminths were additionally stained with carmine acid for species determination. Eleven different helminth species, five coccidians, and three other protozoa species were detected. Simultaneous infection of one host by different helminths was common. Hymenolepis spp. (20.7%) were the most common zoonotic helminths in the investigated hosts. Coccidia, including Eimeria spp. (30.6%), Cryptosporidium spp. (17.1%), and Sarcocystis spp. (17.1%), were present in 40.5% of the feces samples of small mammals. Protozoa, such as Giardia spp. and amoebae, were rarely detected, most likely because of the repeated freeze-thawing of the samples during preparation. The zoonotic pathogens detected in this pilot study may be potentially transmitted to humans by drinking water, smear infection, and airborne transmission. KW - parasites KW - rodents KW - insectivores KW - Hymenolepis KW - Germany Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2019.2457 SN - 1530-3667 SN - 1557-7759 VL - 20 IS - 2 SP - 125 EP - 133 PB - Liebert CY - New Rochelle ER -