Aquatic hyphomycetes in South America and their application as water quality indicators

Aquatic hyphomycetes are mainly present in pristine lotic aquatic ecosystems, anamorphic fungi that degrade the plant material in this ecosystem, facilitating the cycling of nutrients in the trophic chain. Hyphomycetes are ecologically very important, given their role as bio-indicators due to their sensitivity or tolerance to different physicochemical changes in the ecosystem. However, the taxonomic, ecological, and molecular descriptions are poorly described in a few studies in tropical regions of South America, except for Bolivia and Paraguay, which have none. Currently, a total of 495 species (184 Ingoldian, 46 Aero aquatic, and 265 transitional) have been reported, led by Brazil with 279 species, 121 of which are Ingoldian, followed by Venezuela with 150 species, including 83 Ingoldian and 8 Aero aquatic. The capture of Ingoldian and aero-aquatic fungi spores had more remarkable similarity with the foam and water methods, unlike transitional fungi, which do not present adequate morphological adaptations for them, being particularly captured by the incubation method of plant material. Nevertheless, there are few studies on environmental quality, mostly carried out in Venezuela. Therefore, this review aims to facilitate the development of new studies in lotic and lentic bodies. In this order, aquatic hyphomycetes should be strengthened as additional bioindicators of environmental quality, promoting the ecologically sustainable use of resources