Freshwater fungal biology

Abstract

Research into freshwater fungi has generated a wealth of information over the past decades with various published articles, i.e., reviews, books, and monographs. With the advancement of methodologies used in freshwater fungal research, and numerous mycologists working on this ecological group, our knowledge progress and understanding of freshwater fungi, including novel discoveries and new insights in the ecology of freshwater fungi, has advanced. With this enormous progress, it is timely that an updated account of freshwater fungi be compiled in one volume. Thus, this account is published to give a comprehensive overview of the different facets of freshwater fungal biology. It includes an updated classification scheme based on the latest taxonomic and phylogenetic analysis of freshwater fungal taxa, including their evolutionary history. The biology, diversity, and geographical distribution of higher and basal freshwater fungi are also discussed in the entries. A section on dispersal and adaptation of filamentous freshwater fungi is included in the present work. The ecological importance and role of fungi in the breakdown of wood in freshwater habitats, including their physiology, are discussed in detail. The biotechnological potential of freshwater fungi as producers of bioactive metabolites are reviewed, with methodologies in antimicrobial drug discovery. The present volume also provides an overview of different high throughput sequencing (HTS) platforms for freshwater fungal research highlighting their advantages and challenges, including recent studies of HTS in identification and quantification of fungal communities in freshwater habitats. The present volume also identifies the knowledge gaps and direction of future research in freshwater fungi.