Diversity of fungi asociated with aquatic basins of Chisinau municipality, Republic of Moldova

Abstract

Fungi in freshwater ecosystems constitute an extremely diverse and ecologically important group, but aquatic filamentous fungi continue to be relatively poorly studied. Despite the recognition of their essential role in the decomposition of organic matter, in the recycling of nutrients and in maintaining ecological balance, current knowledge regarding the diversity, distribution and functions of these fungi remains limited. In this context, this paper aims to contribute to expanding knowledge on the diversity of filamentous fungi from 3 lakes of Chisinau municipality (La Izvor, Valea Morilor and Valea Trandafirilor). The research focused on the study of 476 strains of filamentous fungi, isolated from water, sediment and biofilm samples of the mentioned lakes. The density and diversity of filamentous fungi, in all studied lakes, varied depending on the location of water basins, the highest being identified in the sediment samples. As a result of the study of morpho-cultural characteristics, representatives of 18 genera were identified, which constitute 85% of the total number of isolates. The most frequently encountered were representatives of the genera: Penicillium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Alternaria, Fusarium.