Evaluating the Use of Ergosterol as a Bioindicator for Assessing Fungal Response to Water Quality

This study investigated the in situ production of fungal biomass on presterilized woody substrates submerged in natural estuarine and freshwater bodies enriched with nitrogen and phosphoruscontaining chemical compounds. Results suggest that the membrane-bound sterol ergosterol may hold significant promise as an quantitative indicator of fungal response to water quality. We suggest that realistic assessment of the environmental health of natural waters should include a suite of bioassays that could measure the response of living organisms to pollution much more directly than could be predicted by current, indirect monitoring techniques.