First records of Ingoldian fungi from the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Ingoldian fungi play an important ecological role by active participation in the decomposition of submerged leaves in aquatic ecosystems. These fungi produce conidia that are filiform, tetraradiate, multiradiate, scolecoid or sigmoid, which aid in the adaptation and dispersal in freshwater habitats. Despite their important ecological role in freshwater there have been no taxonomic and distributional studies of these fungi in the Brazilian Amazon. The aim of this study was to report new records of Ingoldian fungi to Americas, Brazil and Brazilian Amazon region. The fungal specimens were obtained from natural foam, found on the surface of streams in the “Reserva Ducke” (municipality of Manaus) and the “Balneario Marupiara” (municipality of Presidente Figueiredo) in Amazonas state, Brazil. The foam samples were transferred to slides and completely evaporated at room temperature. Lactic acid was added to the slides and covered using a glass cover slip and sealed with nail polish. Seventeen taxa were recorded. All identified taxa are new records: one new to the Americas (Tricladium curvisporum Descals), three new to Brazil (Condylospora flexuosa Nawawi and Kuthub., C. spumigena Nawawi and Dwayaangam cornuta Descals), and 13 new to the Brazilian Amazon region. Our study provides baseline data on the species composition of Ingoldian fungi from the Brazilian Amazon region, thereby enhancing the knowledge of aquatic mycology in this biodiversity hotspot. Descriptions, illustrations, geographical distribution patterns and comments are presented for all observed species.