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Review
. 2021 Aug 9;7(8):648.
doi: 10.3390/jof7080648.

Fungal Biodiversity in Salt Marsh Ecosystems

Mark S Calabon  1   2 , E B Gareth Jones  3 , Itthayakorn Promputtha  4   5 , Kevin D Hyde  1   2   4   6
Affiliations
Review

Fungal Biodiversity in Salt Marsh Ecosystems

Mark S Calabon et al. J Fungi (Basel). .

Abstract

This review brings together the research efforts on salt marsh fungi, including their geographical distribution and host association. A total of 486 taxa associated with different hosts in salt marsh ecosystems are listed in this review. The taxa belong to three phyla wherein Ascomycota dominates the taxa from salt marsh ecosystems accounting for 95.27% (463 taxa). The Basidiomycota and Mucoromycota constitute 19 taxa and four taxa, respectively. Dothideomycetes has the highest number of taxa, which comprises 47.12% (229 taxa), followed by Sordariomycetes with 167 taxa (34.36%). Pleosporales is the largest order with 178 taxa recorded. Twenty-seven genera under 11 families of halophytes were reviewed for its fungal associates. Juncus roemerianus has been extensively studied for its associates with 162 documented taxa followed by Phragmites australis (137 taxa) and Spartina alterniflora (79 taxa). The highest number of salt marsh fungi have been recorded from Atlantic Ocean countries wherein the USA had the highest number of species recorded (232 taxa) followed by the UK (101 taxa), the Netherlands (74 taxa), and Argentina (51 taxa). China had the highest number of salt marsh fungi in the Pacific Ocean with 165 taxa reported, while in the Indian Ocean, India reported the highest taxa (16 taxa). Many salt marsh areas remain unexplored, especially those habitats in the Indian and Pacific Oceans areas that are hotspots of biodiversity and novel fungal taxa based on the exploration of various habitats.

Keywords: halophytes; marine fungi; marine mycology; salt marsh fungi; worldwide distribution.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Salt marsh ecosystems in UK (a–d) and Thailand (e–f). (b–d) Tidal grasses, Spartina townsendii (Poaceae) and Phragmites (Poaceae), dominate the salt marsh in UK (50°49′55.4″ N 0°58′25.1″ W; 51°43′03.1″ N 5°10′24.8″ W); (e) Spartina (Poaceae) (12°22′4.0″ N 99°59′6.7″ E) (f) and Suaeda (Amaranthaceae) (12°10′19.6″ N 99°58′20.3″ E) in tidal marsh areas in southern Thailand.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Halophytes in salt marsh ecosystems: (a) flowering inflorescence of Spartina, (b) Phragmites, (c) Salicornia, (d) Typha, (e,f) Atriplex, and (g,h) Suaeda.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The distribution of salt marsh fungi among three fungal phyla.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Salt marsh fungi. (a,b) Halobyssothecium obiones from Atriplex portulacoides; (c,d) Halobyssothecium phragmites from culms of Phragmites sp.; (e,f) Buergenerula spartinae from culms of Spartina sp.; (g,h) Chaetomium sp. from stem of Typha sp.; (i,j) Alternaria sp. from culms of Spartina sp. Scale bars: (a,g) = 500 µm; (b,d,f,h,j) = 20 µm; (c,i) = 200 µm; (e) = 100 µm.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The distribution of salt marsh fungi in different fungal classes.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The distribution of salt marsh fungi in major fungal orders.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The distribution of salt marsh fungi among major fungal families.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The number of taxa observed from different hosts in salt marsh ecosystems.
Figure 9
Figure 9
The number of taxa observed from Amaranthaceae.
Figure 10
Figure 10
The distribution of fungal taxa associated with Elymus pungens.
Figure 11
Figure 11
The distribution of fungal taxa associated with Spartina.
Figure 12
Figure 12
The distribution of fungal taxa associated with Phragmites.
Figure 13
Figure 13
The distribution of fungal taxa associated with Juncus.
Figure 14
Figure 14
The number of salt marsh fungi reported in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Map of countries showing the global distribution of fungal diversity studies in halophytes. The different color of each pie chart represents the hosts, and the angle measured the number of their fungal associates.
Figure 16
Figure 16
Map of the United States of America (USA) showing the distribution of fungal diversity studies of halophytes in different states. The different color of each pie chart represents the hosts, and the angle measured the number of their fungal associates.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Venn diagram showing the association of salt marsh fungi from commonly studied halophytes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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