ORCID
- Miriam Reverter: 0000-0002-7743-8647
Abstract
Tropical coral reefs are hotspots of marine productivity, owing to the association of reef-building corals with endosymbiotic algae and metabolically diverse bacterial communities. However, the functional importance of fungi, well known for their contribution to shaping terrestrial ecosystems and global nutrient cycles, remains underexplored on coral reefs. We here conceptualize how fungal functional traits may have facilitated the spread, diversification, and ecological adaptation of marine fungi on coral reefs. We propose that functions of reef-associated fungi may be diverse and go beyond their hitherto described roles of pathogens and bioeroders, including but not limited to reef-scale biogeochemical cycles and the structuring of coral-associated and environmental microbiomes via chemical mediation. Recent technological and conceptual advances will allow the elucidation of the physiological, ecological, and chemical contributions of understudied marine fungi to coral holobiont and reef ecosystem functioning and health and may help provide an outlook for reef management actions.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2022-11-02
Publication Title
FEMS Microbiology Reviews
Volume
46
Issue
6
ISSN
0168-6445
Acceptance Date
2022-06-09
Deposit Date
2022-01-07
Embargo Period
2022-07-05
Funding
A.R. would like to acknowledge funding by the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany. HIFMB is a collaboration between the Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz-Center for Polar and Marine Research, and the Carl-von-Ossietzky University Oldenburg, initially funded by the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation through the “Niedersächsisches Vorab” grant program (grant number ZN3285). M.R. would like to acknowledge funding by the Alexander von Humboldt foundation. Authors acknowledge support by the Open Access Publication Funds of Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Roik, A., Reverter, M., & Pogoreutz, C. (2022) 'A roadmap to understanding diversity and function of coral reef-associated fungi', FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 46(6). Available at: 10.1093/femsre/fuac028
