TY  - JOUR
A1  - Frenken, Thijs
A1  - Alacid, Elisabet
A1  - Berger, Stella A.
A1  - Bourne, Elizabeth Charlotte
A1  - Gerphagnon, Melanie
A1  - Grossart, Hans-Peter
A1  - Gsell, Alena S.
A1  - Ibelings, Bas W.
A1  - Kagami, Maiko
A1  - Kupper, Frithjof C.
A1  - Letcher, Peter M.
A1  - Loyau, Adeline
A1  - Miki, Takeshi
A1  - Nejstgaard, Jens C.
A1  - Rasconi, Serena
A1  - Rene, Albert
A1  - Rohrlack, Thomas
A1  - Rojas-Jimenez, Keilor
A1  - Schmeller, Dirk S.
A1  - Scholz, Bettina
A1  - Seto, Kensuke
A1  - Sime-Ngando, Telesphore
A1  - Sukenik, Assaf
A1  - Van de Waal, Dedmer B.
A1  - Van den Wyngaert, Silke
A1  - Van Donk, Ellen
A1  - Wolinska, Justyna
A1  - Wurzbacher, Christian
A1  - Agha, Ramsy
T1  - Integrating chytrid fungal parasites into plankton ecology: research gaps and needs
JF  - Environmental microbiology
N2  - Chytridiomycota, often referred to as chytrids, can be virulent parasites with the potential to inflict mass mortalities on hosts, causing e.g. changes in phytoplankton size distributions and succession, and the delay or suppression of bloom events. Molecular environmental surveys have revealed an unexpectedly large diversity of chytrids across a wide range of aquatic ecosystems worldwide. As a result, scientific interest towards fungal parasites of phytoplankton has been gaining momentum in the past few years. Yet, we still know little about the ecology of chytrids, their life cycles, phylogeny, host specificity and range. Information on the contribution of chytrids to trophic interactions, as well as co-evolutionary feedbacks of fungal parasitism on host populations is also limited. This paper synthesizes ideas stressing the multifaceted biological relevance of phytoplankton chytridiomycosis, resulting from discussions among an international team of chytrid researchers. It presents our view on the most pressing research needs for promoting the integration of chytrid fungi into aquatic ecology.
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.13827
SN  - 1462-2912
SN  - 1462-2920
VL  - 19
SP  - 3802
EP  - 3822
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Van den Wyngaert, Silke
A1  - Ganzert, Lars
A1  - Seto, Kensuke
A1  - Rojas-Jimenez, Keilor
A1  - Agha, Ramsy
A1  - Berger, Stella A.
A1  - Woodhouse, Jason
A1  - Padisak, Judit
A1  - Wurzbacher, Christian
A1  - Kagami, Maiko
A1  - Grossart, Hans-Peter
T1  - Seasonality of parasitic and saprotrophic zoosporic fungi: linking sequence data to ecological traits
JF  - ISME journal
N2  - Zoosporic fungi of the phylum Chytridiomycota (chytrids) regularly dominate pelagic fungal communities in freshwater and marine environments. Their lifestyles range from obligate parasites to saprophytes. Yet, linking the scarce available sequence data to specific ecological traits or their host ranges constitutes currently a major challenge. We combined 28 S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing with targeted isolation and sequencing approaches, along with cross-infection assays and analysis of chytrid infection prevalence to obtain new insights into chytrid diversity, ecology, and seasonal dynamics in a temperate lake. Parasitic phytoplankton-chytrid and saprotrophic pollen-chytrid interactions made up the majority of zoosporic fungal reads. We explicitly demonstrate the recurrent dominance of parasitic chytrids during frequent diatom blooms and saprotrophic chytrids during pollen rains. Distinct temporal dynamics of diatom-specific parasitic clades suggest mechanisms of coexistence based on niche differentiation and competitive strategies. The molecular and ecological information on chytrids generated in this study will aid further exploration of their spatial and temporal distribution patterns worldwide. To fully exploit the power of environmental sequencing for studies on chytrid ecology and evolution, we emphasize the need to intensify current isolation efforts of chytrids and integrate taxonomic and autecological data into long-term studies and experiments.
Y1  - 2022
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-022-01267-y
SN  - 1751-7362
SN  - 1751-7370
VL  - 16
IS  - 9
SP  - 2242
EP  - 2254
PB  - Springer Nature
CY  - London
ER  -