Zoosporic fungi of Taiwan, with particular reference to species from marine and brackish environments

Abstract

Zoosporic fungi are little known in Taiwan, compared to Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. This paper is a summary of the diversity of zoosporic fungi in Taiwan, based on an exhaustive literature search and our recent interest in the group. A total of 106 species is documented. These fungi belong to six phyla (Blastocladiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Monoblepharomycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Olpidiomycota, Rozellomycota), 11 classes, 11 orders, 31 families, and 52 genera. The Chytridiomycota constitutes the largest phylum of zoosporic fungi in Taiwan, and the Rhizophydiomycetes is the largest fungal class. Seventeen of the 106 species of zoosporic fungi inhabit marine/salty environments, as they were previously reported from these environments or cultured and/or discovered from low salinity environments in this study. This paper reports three new records (Gorgonomyces limnicus, Spizellomyces kniepii and Triparticalcar equi) for Taiwan, both cultured from water samples collected from coastal habitats of Taiwan. Zoosporic fungi in Taiwan are diverse, and require further study. The inventory of species reported in this paper provides a foundation for future diversity and ecological studies of this group on the island.