About this Research Topic

Background

Freshwater fungi are fungi whose entire or partial life cycle must depend on the aquatic environments. Freshwater fungi have a very high species diversity, including species from most of the phyla (especially in Chytridiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota) in Fungi. They are recorded on varied substrates in various habitats all over the world. Freshwater fungi are a unique ecological group that plays an important role in the freshwater ecosystem, especially in forest streams - they play a critical role in material and energy cycles. Freshwater fungi are also major biological resources with significant application potential, for instance, in the field of biological control, pollution remediation, and being the source of beneficial metabolites, etc.

Fungi from freshwater habitats were first reported in the mid-19th century. However, compared to terrestrial fungi, research on freshwater fungi is quite limited, with many unknown species still waiting to be discovered. In recent years, a large number of new taxa of fungi from freshwater habitats, like new orders Barbatosphaeriales and Cancellidiales, as well as new families Cancellidiaceae and Bullimycetaceae, have been reported. Moreover, some early diverging groups like Rozella, Aphelida, Morellospora, NCLC1, etc., are also discovered with huge biomass in freshwater ecosystems. There are also many interesting discoveries about their physiological and ecological features. Studies on the metabolites of freshwater fungi have reported many new structures and bioactive metabolites. Furthermore, many new structures and bioactive metabolites have been discovered in freshwater fungi.

This Research Topic aims to bring together the most recent advances in freshwater fungi. Original Research and Review articles are welcomed in the following sub-topics:

1) Taxonomy, phylogeny, and evolution of freshwater fungi;
2) Diversity and ecology of freshwater fungi;
3) Metabolites of freshwater fungi;
4) Application of freshwater fungi;
5) Other biological aspects of freshwater fungi.

Keywords: Aquatic mycology, Taxonomy, Phylogeny, Biodiversity, Ascomycota, Microfungi

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