Marine Fungi: and Fungal-like Organisms (Marine and Freshwater Botany)

Marine fungi play a major role in marine and mangrove ecosystems. Understanding how higher fungi with their spectrum of cellulolytic and ligninolytic enzymes degrade wood tissue, while labyrinthuloids and thraustochytrids further contribute to the dissolved organic matter entering the open ocean is essential to marine ecology. This work provides an overview of marine fungi including morphology and ultrastructure, phylogeny, biogeography and biodiversity. Increasingly, biotechnology is also turning to these organisms to develop new bioactive compounds and to address problems such as decomposition of materials in the ocean and bioremediation of oil spills. These potential applications of marine fungi are also treated. In the light of massive marine oil spills in the past years, the importance of understanding marine fungi and their role in the food chain cannot be underestimated. * Up-to-date overview of the morphology, phylogeny, biogeography and biodiversity of marine fungi * Highlights the essential role of fungi in marine and mangrove ecosystems * Including biotechnology applications for marine fungi, for example in bioremediation of oil spills 1. Introduction Marine fungi 18 Phylogeny of marine fungi 32 2. Phylogeny of the Dothideomycetes and other classes of marine Ascomycota 34 3. Phylogeny of the marine Sordariomycetes 52 4. Basidiomycota 66 5. Taxonomy of filamentous anamorphic marine fungi: morphology and molecular evidence 82 6. Yeasts in marine environments 108 7. Zoosporic true fungi 120 8. Morphology and ultrastructure of marine fungi with special reference to the origin of the membrane complex in the marine ascomycete Corollospora gracilis 134 Phylogeny of fungal-like organisms 152 9. An introduction to fungus-like microorganisms 154 10. Cryptomycota (Rozellida) and Mesomycetozoea (Ichthyosporea) the Super-group Opisthokonta 170 11. Hyphochytriomycota, Oomycota and Perkinsozoa (Super-group Chromalveolata) 184 12. Labyrinthulomycota 232 13. Phytomyxea (Super-group Rhizaria) 262 Biodiversity of marine fungi 268 14. Mangrove fungi 270 15. Biodiversity of fungi on the palm Nypa fruticans 290 16. Diversity of endophytic and marine-derived fungi associated with marine plants and animals 308 17. Fungi from marine algae 346 18. Salt marsh fungi 362 19. Diversity and ecology of marine-derived fungi 400 Application of marine fungi 426 20. Natural products from marine-derived fungi 428 21. Enzymes from marine fungi: current research and future prospects 458 22. Decomposition of materials in the sea 492 23. Culture collections and maintenance of marine fungi 518 24. Epilogue: importance and impact of marine mycology and fungal-like organisms: challenges for the future 526 Index 536

Marine fungi play a major role in marine and mangrove ecosystems. Understanding how higher fungi with their spectrum of cellulolytic and ligninolytic enzymes degrade wood tissue, while labyrinthuloids and thraustochytrids further contribute to the dissolved organic matter entering the open ocean is essential to marine ecology. This work provides an overview of marine fungi including morphology and ultrastructure, phylogeny, biogeography and biodiversity. Increasingly, biotechnology is also turning to these organisms to develop new bioactive compounds and to address problems such as decomposition of materials in the ocean and bioremediation of oil spills. These potential applications of marine fungi are also treated. In the light of massive marine oil spills in the past years, the importance of understanding marine fungi and their role in the food chain cannot be underestimated.

Main description: Understanding how higher fungi with their spectrum of cellulolytic and ligninolytic enzymes degrade wood tissue, while labyrinthuloids and thraustochytrids further contribute to the dissolved organic matter entering the open ocean is essential to marine ecology. This work provides an overview of marine fungi including morphology and ultrastructure, phylogeny and biogeography. Biotechnology is also turning to these organisms to develop new bioactive compounds and to address problems such as decomposition of materials in the ocean and bioremediation of oil spills