Evaluation of the mycobiome of ballast water and implications for fungal pathogen distribution.

Marine transport has the potential to alter the geographic range of microorganisms through ballast water movement. Recent culture-independent studies investigated the bacteriome of ballast but no prior studies examined the mycobiome. Sixty ballast and harbor samples from four major ports and five ocean samples were examined using culture-independent techniques to determine: 1) if ballast contained human and environmentally-relevant fungal pathogens, and 2) the potential risk of introduction to coastal ecosystems.