Bryce Kendrick

Efficient lipid staining in plant material with Sudan red 7B or Fluorol yellow 088 in polyethylene glycol-glycerol

Polyethylene glycol (400) with 90% glycerol (aqueous) is introduced as an efficient solvent system for lipid stains. Various lipid-soluble dyes were dissolved in this solvent system and tested for their intensity, contrast, and specificity of staining of suberin lamellae in plant tissue. The stability (i.e., lack of precipitation) of the various staining solutions in the presence of fresh tissue was also tested. When dissolved in polyethylene glycol-glycerol, Sudan red 7B (fat red) was the best nonfluorescent stain and fluorol yellow 088 (solvent green 4) was an excellent fluorochrome. These two dyes formed stable staining solutions which efficiently stained lipids in fresh sections without forming precipitates. Estimations of the solubilities of these dyes in the solvent compared with their solubilities in lipids of various chemical types indicated that they should both be effective stains for lipids in general.

Biology of conidial fungi

Biology of conidial fungi , Biology of conidial fungi , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی

Relationships among microarthropods, fungi, and their environment

Temporal and spatial relationships in a maple-forest soil among mycophagous microarthropods, total hyphal length, vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus spores, microfungus diversity, root biomass and some abiotic variables (temperature, water content, pH, organic matter content) were investigated. Samples were obtained from spring 1991 to winter 1992 at four soil depths. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to analyze the data. Four species of sporulating VAM fungi were identified, along with 23 species of mites and springtails, 9 of which were common. Hyphal length, VAM fungus spores, and soil animals peaked in spring and autumn. Canonical correspondence analysis suggests that animal abundance and success in the soil is dependent on a number of environmental variables. The most important variables that influence microarthropod community structure are: (i) temperature, (ii) water content, (iii) pH, (iv) total length of fungal hyphae, and (v) diversity of darkly-pigmented fungi. However, the relative importance of these variables changes with increasing soil depth. We have also shown a relationship between arthropod populations and their food supply under field conditions, a phenomenon that has been demonstrated previously under controlled laboratory conditions.

A year-round study on functional relationships of airborne fungi with meteorological factors

Air sampling was conducted in Waterloo, Canada throughout 1992. Functional relationships between aeromycota and meteorological factors were analysed. The meteorological factors were, in descending order of importance: mean temperature, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, mean wind speed, relative humidity (RH), rain, maximum wind speed and snow. The most important airborne fungal propagules in descending order were: total fungal spores, unidentified Ascomycetes,Cladosporium, Coprinus, unidentified Basidiomycetes,Alternaria and unidentified fungi. Most airborne fungal taxa had highly significant relationship with temperature, butAspergillus/Penicillium, hyphal fragments andEpicoccum did not.Epicoccum and hyphal fragments were positively associated with wind speed. In comparison with other airborne fungal taxa,Leptosphaeria and unidentified Ascomycetes were more closely correlated with rain and RH during the growing season.

A YEAR-ROUND COMPARISON OF FUNGAL SPORES IN INDOOR AND OUTDOOR AIR

This study was conducted by trapping airborne fungal spores inside and outside 15 residences in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, monthly from December 1991 to September 1993. The dominant funga...

Taxonomic Studies of Phialophora

SUMMARYSix common wood-inhabiting species of Phialophora Medlar associated with “blueing” of softwoods and some hardwoods in North America are described in culture, including one new species, P. bo...

Functional relationships between airborne fungal spores and enviromental factors in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, as detected by Canonical correspondence analysis

Abstract Outdoor air-sampling surveys were conducted in February, May, August and December 1992 with a Samplair-MK1 particle sampler at 50 randomly chosen sites in the Kitchener-Waterloo area of southern Ontario, Canada. Canonical Correspondence Analysis of the resulting data revealed that the influence of some environmental factors on the airborne fungal spora varied with the season of the year. Among the 16 environmental factors measured at each sampling time, the most important were found to be: relative humidity, rain, vegetation, cloud, temperature, and wind speed, in descending order. The composition of the airborne fungal spora also changed with the season. The dominant Cladosporium, Alternaria and Aspergillus + Penicillium were found at all seasons, but Ganoderma, Leptosphaeria, Coprinus, and Polythrincium occurred mainly in summer. Positive relations were revealed between, on the one hand, (1a) relative humidity, (1b) rain, (1c) cloud and (1d) temperature, and on the other hand, (2) high spore co...

Lipid content and composition of vesicles of a vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus

The lipid, fatty acids, and sterol content of a pure preparation ofthe intramatrical vesicles of a Glomus sp. were determined. Lipid content of vesicles was 58.2% ofthe dry mass. The predominant lipid fraction was glycolipid and sphingolipid (44.5% of total lipid) followed by neutral lipid (25.5%) and phospholipid (24.2%). The fatty acids were examined by gas liquid chromatography. While 16:1 fatty acid was exceptionally high in the neutral and glycolipid fraction (60% and 51.2% ofthe total fatty acids), 18:2 was the predominant fatty acid in the phospholipid fraction (70.9%). The sterol content ofthe intramatrical vesicles was 5.8% of the spore dry mass (11.3% of total lipid). These results are compared to other lipid information available on the VAM and other fungi.

A Year-Round Outdoor Aeromycological Study in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Abstract The outdoor aeromycota was studied in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada throughout 1992. The dominant outdoor airborne fungal genera and groups recorded on 58 sampling dates were Cladosporium (41.0%), unidentified basidiospores (12.1%), unidentified spores (8.5%), Ganoderma (7.2%), unidentified ascospores (5.3%), Leptosphaeria (5.3%), Coprinaceae (5.0%), hyphal fragments (4.9%), Aspergillus/Penicillium (3.8%), Alternaria (1.8%), and Epicoccum (1.3%). Most common outdoor genera showed distinct diumal periodicities from May to October, with the exception of Aspergillus/Penicillium. Most hyphomycetes displayed daytime peaks, except for Aspergillus/Penicillium. Ascospores of Leptosphaeria had morning peaks, and basidiospores of Ganoderma and Coprinaceae had early morning patterns. Most common outdoor genera, except for Aspergillus/Penicillium, also displayed well defined seasonal patterns, with peak periods between May and October.

An Investigation of Factors Retarding Colonization of Conifer Needles by Amphibious Hyphomycetes in Streams

In streams, amphibious Hyphomycetes colonize needles of Pinus strobus, Pinus resinosa, Picea glauca, and Abies balsamea slowly and sparsely. Levels of colonization are greatly increased if the needles are treated with cold chloroform, methanol, hot ethanol, hot water or sliced in half lengthwise, before immersion in the stream. Dry heat at 70 C and 110 C applied to needles in air-tight and well ventilated conditions does not significantly facilitate subsequent colonization in the stream. The cuticular and epidermal layers of needles pretreated with hot ethanol and hot water show progressive deterioration during 36 da of immersion in the stream; this was not observed in untreated needles. We suggest that the physical barrier presented by the cuticle and epidermis plays an important role in retarding colonization of conifer needles by amphibious Hyphomycetes.