Dariusz Karasiński

Timber transported to Antarctica: a potential and undesirable carrier for alien fungi and insects

Antarctica’s severe climate and its geographical isolation are the factors that hinder the arrival of non-native species by natural means. However, the movement of people and cargo associated with national scientific programs and tourism render Antarctica much more accessible to exotic organisms. Both the transport routes and carriers are varied. The wide range of uses to which timber is put means that it is readily freighted to Antarctic stations. However, it can harbor numerous alien organisms. All the timber materials transported to the “Arctowski” station for the 32nd Polish Antarctic Expedition in the 2007/2008 season were scanned as a potential vector for alien species. This study focuses on the non-lichenized fungi and insects which were found on the timber. Four species of perithecia-forming Ascomycota, five species of corticioid and polyporoid Basidiomycota, four unidentified basidiomycetes taxa in form of sterile mycelia, and two insects belonging to Cerambycidae, were detected. Most of these ‘hitch-hikers’ were connected with the untreated parts of the timber. Their enduring survival in harsh Antarctic conditions is regarded as highly improbable. Nevertheless, some ascocarps frequently contained vital spores, and live insect larvae and imago were found in hibernation. The results also emphasize that such organisms can be accidentally transported to Antarctica and that the elementary rules for the eventual safe transport of non-infected goods should be obeyed and respected.

Integrative analysis of the West African Ceraceosorus africanus sp. nov. provides insights into the diversity, biogeography, and evolution of the enigmatic Ceraceosorales (Fungi: Ustilaginomycotina)

The order Ceraceosorales (Ustilaginomycotina) currently includes the single genus Ceraceosorus, with one species, Ceraceosorus bombacis, parasitic on Bombax ceiba in India. The diversity, biogeography, evolution, and phylogenetic relationships of this order are still relatively unknown. Here, a second species of Ceraceosorus is described from West Africa as a novel species, Ceraceosorus africanus, infecting Bombax costatum in Benin, Ghana, and Togo. This species produces conspicuous fructifications, similar to corticioid basidiomata when mature, but sorus-like in early stages of ontogenetic development. The fructifications cover much of the leaf surface and resemble leaf blight. This contrasts with the inconspicuous fructifications of C. bombacis comprising small spots scattered over the lower leaf surface that resemble leaf spot. Both species of Ceraceosorus differ in several micromorphological traits, infect different host plant species in widely separated geographical areas, and are separated by a considerable genetic distance in 28S rDNA and RPB2 genes. The distinct corticioid fructification of C. africanus is a unique morphological trait within the Ustilaginomycotina. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of a single gene dataset (D1/D2 28S rDNA) supported the monophyly of the two Ceraceosorus species and the Ceraceosorales and their placement within the Ustilaginomycotina. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of a multigene dataset (18S/5.8S/28S rDNA/RPB2/TEF1) revealed Exobasidium rhododendri (Exobasidiales) as the closest relative of Ceraceosorus, both clustering together with Entyloma calendulae (Entylomatales), indicating affinities to the Exobasidiomycetes. This phylogenetic placement is in agreement with ultrastructural characteristics (presence of local interaction zone and interaction apparatus) reported for the Ceraceosorales, Entylomatales, and Exobasidiales.

The genus Dentipratulum (Russulales, Auriscalpiaceae): comparative morphology and SEM imaging spore ornamentation split one into three species

The family Auriscalpiaceae (Russulales) includes species forming pileate, stipitate-pileate, effused-reflexed, and resupinate basidiomata. The resupinate basidiomata are characteristic only for the genus Dentipratulum, described to accommodate Dentipratulum bialoviesense, found in the Białowieża Primeval Forest in Poland and later reported from several locations in Eurasia. The materials assigned to this genus were revised and three distinct morphospecies were detected, including Dentipratulum bialoviesense s. str. and two new species, Dentipratulum khuranae from India and Dentipratulum crystallinum from the Kuril Islands and France. The concept of the genus Dentipratulum is emended to include characters omitted in the original diagnosis (stem-like base of spines, rudimentary subiculum) and found in the novel species (presence of naked or encrusted leptocystidia). All Dentipratulum species are illustrated with pictures of basidiomata, line drawings of micro-morphological characters, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of basidiospores. A key to the genus is provided.