G.J.F. Pugh

Keratinophilic fungi associated with birds. I. Fungi isolated from feathers, nests and soils.

The keratinophilic fungi most commonly isolated from feathers were Arthroderma curreyi, Chrysosporium spp. and Ctenomyces serratus . In nests and adjacent soils, conidial A. quadrifidum , conidial A. uncinatum and Chrysosporium spp. were abundant. The patterns of distribution of these species are discussed and related to previous records.

Studies on fungi in coastal soils: II. Fungal ecology in a developing salt marsh

The isolation of fungi from a developing salt marsh at Gibraltar Point, Lines, has shown an overall upshore increase in fungal colonization. The ‘salt marsh inhabitants’, including Cephalosporium ammonium, Cercospora salina and Mor-tierella alpina , increase in frequency of isolation up the shore, while the ‘salt marsh transients’, including species of Aspergillus, Mucor and Penicillium and Trichoderma viride , increased down the shore. Reasons for these trends are suggested.

Studies on fungi in coastal soils: III. An ecological survey of keratinophilic fungi

Soil samples collected from salt marsh and sand dune sites were baited for the isolation of keratinophilic fungi. Arthroderma curreyi was found at all sites examined and was most common at the high-water mark. Ctenomyces serratus was found only at and above the high-water mark and was most frequently isolated in bird traps on the sand dunes. Infrequently isolated were conidial Nannizzia cajetana (Microsporum cookei) from the high-water mark and conidial A. quadrifidum (Trichophyton terrestre) from bird trap soil.

Mycoflora associated with Typha latifolia

The fungal succession on Typha latifolia L. has been followed from the time the leaves first appeared through the stages of senescence to their ultimate decay. The main colonizers of this substrate were shown to be Alternaria tenuis, Aureobasidium pullulans, Cladosporium herbarum, Epicoccum nigrum and Phoma typharum . The numbers of species increased as the plant senesces. Sporobolomyces spp. were isolated only during the summer months. Seasonal fluctuations of the common species are illustrated. Certain groups of species tended to be specific to a particular site on the plant or to a particular condition of the substrate. Moribund leaves were mainly dominated by Leptosphaeria spp., whilst litter regions supported nematophagous fungi. The rhizome and roots yielded relatively fewer fungi than other sites on the plant.

Leaf litter fungi found on carex paniculata L.

The distribution of fungi growing on Carex paniculata has been studied by the identification of species on material collected at intervals during each year, and by the isolation of species from surface-sterilized leaf tissues. Changes in the fungal flora as decomposition proceeds have been recorded. The commonest species isolated from surface-sterilized leaves were Cephalosporium acremonium, Cladosporium herbarum, Fusarium culmorum , species of Mucor and of Penicillium , and Trichoderma viride . The most frequently occurring species on collected leaf litter were Metasphaeria cumana and Stysanus stemonites . Species of Dematiaceae and Stilbaceae were commoner as superficial sporophores than were species of the Moniliaceae. Isolations were more numerous during the summer months. This is correlated with the higher temperatures and lower water content of the leaf tissues.

Keratinophilic fungi associated with birds. II. Physiological studies.

The growth of the keratinophilic fungi isolated from birds is inhibited by temperatures of 40°C; the fungi are restricted on the birds to the outer contour feathers. Spore germination of conidial Arthroderma uncinatum and Ctenomyces serratus does not occur below 90% r.h. and reaches a maximum at 100% r.h. Where associations have been shown between keratinophilic fungi and individual bird species, feather fats from these birds stimulate, or do not affect the growth of the fungi. A decrease in growth of a fungus in the presence of feather fats from birds was associated with the infrequent occurrence of that fungus on the birds. The feather fats thus play a large part in determining the occurrence of keratinophilic fungi on birds.

Aureobasidium pullulans: an endophyte in Sycamore and other trees

Aureobasidium pullulans was frequently isolated from surface-sterilized living twigs, buds, leaves and seeds of sycamore, and from twigs of horse-chestnut and lime. The distribution of the fungus in the sycamore is described. It was isolated from roots and shoots of seedlings, but diminished in the roots during the first year of growth.

Studies on fungi in coastal soils: IV. Cellulose decomposing species in sand dunes

The isolation of cellulose decomposing species from two habitats in each of three different sand-dune systems has shown the widespread occurrence of the species isolated. In addition to the common soil fungi Cephalosporium acremonium, Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. and Trichoderma viride , other isolates included five species of Chaetomium , three of Doratomyces , two each of Humicola, Gliomastix , and Sordaria , and among other species not often recorded from the soil, Acrospeira levis, conidial Apiospora montagnei, Trichocladium asperum and Volutella ciliata . The results are compared with reports of previous isolations of cellulose decomposers from the soil, from buried organic matter and from coprophilous habitats. Reasons are suggested for the greater number of isolates from the high-water mark than from the dunes.

Resistance of Chrysosporium pannorum to an organomercury fungicide

Isolates of Chrysosporium pannorum (Link) Hughes were obtained more frequently from a golf green which received regular applications of an organomercury fungicide than from the untreated adjacent fairway. C. pannorum was found to be significantly more resistant to the fungicide in vitro than a number of other saprophytic fungi and was able to detoxify the organomercurial in liquid culture. Examination of the ultrastructure of hyphae grown on an agar medium containing a high concentration of the fungicide revealed the presence of intracellular, amorphous, electron-dense bodies which are thought to be the sites of mercury binding.

The mycoflora associated with Halimione portulacoides: II. Root surface fungi of mature and excised plants

The root surface fungal flora of Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aell. has been shown to be remarkably consistent in different communities of a given salt-marsh system, and also in geographically widely separated marshes. The flora is dominated by sterile hyaline fungi, and sporing fungi are relatively infrequently isolated. The significance of the sterile hyaline fungi in this position is discussed. Seasonal changes in the frequency of isolation of the fungi were not marked, nor was there any great difference in the composition of the fungal flora two years after the roots had been excised in situ .