Diagnosis of Parasitic Fungi in the Plankton: Technique for Identifying and Counting Infective Chytrids Using Epifluorescence Microscopy

Sime‐Ngando, Télesphore; Rasconi, Séréna; Gerphagnon, Mélanie

doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-2356-0_11

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Molecular biology techniques have allowed a thorough reconstruction of chytrid phylogenies (James et al, 2006 ) and are increasingly providing more specific tools, primarily oligonucleotide probes, for the quantitative ecological study of aquatic parasites. Fluorescent in situ hybridization, amplified with horseradish peroxidase activation by fluorescent tyramide (also known as catalyzed reporter deposition, CARD FISH or TSA FISH), is a reliable approach to detect and count specific chytrid parasites, especially the zoospore stages that lack a chitinaceous wall, precluding any simple use of fluorochromes such as CFW (Sime-Ngando et al, 2012b ). The clone-FISH approach, which was originally designed for prokaryotes, was recently adapted by Jobard et al ( 2010b ) to the assessment of zoosporic fungi in natural samples.…”

Section: Methodological Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytoplankton Chytridiomycosis: Fungal Parasites of Phytoplankton and Their Imprints on the Food Web Dynamics

Sime-Ngando¹

2012

Front. Microbio.

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118

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Parasitism is one of the earlier and common ecological interactions in the nature, occurring in almost all environments. Microbial parasites typically are characterized by their small size, short generation time, and high rates of reproduction, with simple life cycle occurring generally within a single host. They are diverse and ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems, comprising viruses, prokaryotes, and eukaryotes. Recently, environmental 18S rDNA surveys of microbial eukaryotes have unveiled major infecting agents in pelagic systems, consisting primarily of the fungal order of Chytridiales (chytrids). Chytrids are considered the earlier branch of the Eumycetes and produce motile, flagellated zoospores, characterized by a small size (2–6 μm), and a single, posterior flagellum. The existence of these dispersal propagules includes chytrids within the so-called group of zoosporic fungi, which are particularly adapted to the plankton lifestyle where they infect a wide variety of hosts, including fishes, eggs, zooplankton, algae, and other aquatic fungi but primarily freshwater phytoplankton. Related ecological implications are huge because chytrids can killed their hosts, release substrates for microbial processes, and provide nutrient-rich particles as zoospores and short fragments of filamentous inedible hosts for the grazer food chain. Furthermore, based on the observation that phytoplankton chytridiomycosis preferentially impacts the larger size species, blooms of such species (e.g., filamentous cyanobacteria) may not totally represent trophic bottlenecks. Besides, chytrid epidemics represent an important driving factor in phytoplankton seasonal successions. In this review, I summarize the knowledge on the diversity, community structure, quantitative importance, and functional roles of fungal chytrids, primarily those who are parasites of phytoplankton, and infer the ecological implications and potentials for the food web dynamics and properties. I reach the conclusion that phytoplankton chytridiomycosis represents an important but as yet overlooked ecological driving force in aquatic food web dynamics and network organization.

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Section: Methodological Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%