2017/06/15 by Thijs Frenken, Elisabet Alacid, Stella A. Berger +26 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Protist diversity and phylogeny #Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology #Nematode management and characterization studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/1462-2920.13827
openalex publication_date 2017/06/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
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.