Lekh R. Batra

Floral Mimicry Induced by Mummy-Berry Fungus Exploits Host's Pollinators as Vectors

Leaves and shoots of blueberries(Vaccinium spp.) and huckleberries (Gaylussacia sp.) when infected by ascospores of Monilinia spp. become ultraviolet-reflective and fragrant and secrete sugars at their lesions. Insects that normally pollinate these hosts are attracted to the discolored leaves, ingest the sugars, and transmit conidia to their flowers, resulting in sclerotia (mummy-berry) formation.

MONILINIA VACCINII-CORYMBOSI (SCLEROTINIACEAE): ITS BIOLOGY ON BLUEBERRY AND COMPARISON WITH RELATED SPECIES

A six year study of Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi in a 700 m2 site at Greenbelt, Maryland, revealed that this fungus attacks Vaccinium corymbosum and closely related species which, together, comprise the commercial blueberries of North America. Monilinia polycodii and M. taxonomic sp. 1 also grew at the site and, respectively, attacked V. stamineum and Gaylussacia baccata. Apothecia of M. vaccinii-corymbosi ejected viable ascospores for 2932 da; infection by ascospores caused leaf and shoot blight. Conidia were collected for 2547 da and they caused mummification of fruit. However the two inocula overlapped for several days when the bloom was 100%. In a growth chamber at 12 C, cups matured in 26 da beginning with the apical flattening of the stipe. Ascospores stored at 12 C, r.h. 50-65%, were viable for 23 da but no conidia germinated after 6 da. Occurrence of conidia on mummified fruits on plants of V. corymbosum and a technique to produce them in vitro are reported for the first time. Observations from inoculation of eight species of Vaccinium and one species of Gaylussacia with six species of Monilinia, and other data, revealed that the following are host specific: M. baccarum on V. myrtillus; M. ledi, anamorph on V. uliginosum, teleomorph on Ledum palustre; M. megalospora on V. uliginosum; M. oxycocci on V. macrocarpon and V. oxycoccos; M. polycodii on V. stamineum; M. urnula on V. vitis-idaea and M. taxonomic sp. 1 on G. baccata. The foregoing species, plus M. azaleae, and M. rhododendri are described, including their cultural characteristics. Useful taxonomic criteria include the extent of host specificity, the location of the ectostroma in relation to host epidermis and the parts in which it is lodged, the anatomical structure of the entostroma, and cultural characteristics. A dichotomous key is provided to delineate all Monilinia species on Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi (Reade) Honey is an economically important fungus common on commercial blueberries in the United States and Canada. It is one of the 10 species of Monilinia Honey that attack plants of the ericaceous genera Vaccinium, Gaylussacia, Ledum, and Rhododendron. It causes symptoms rather similar to the effects of other Vaccinium-inhabiting species, and it is sometimes confused with M. urnula (Weinm.) Whet. (3, 4, 27). However, M. vacciniicorymbosi has a characteristically wide host range of related Vaccinium species and is otherwise distinct from all other Monilinia species. Monilinia has monilioid macroconidia (anamorph: Monilia), hollow-sphaeroid or (rarely) solid pseudosclerotia (a resting fungus mass enclosing substratum), and fructicolous apothecia (12, 25). The genus was segregated from Sclerotinia Fuckel, which now includes species with tuberoid, true sclerotia (a resting fungus mass) but lacking a conidial state.

Some Asian Fermented Foods and Beverages, And Associated Fungi

Large quantities of fermented products are consumed daily in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim, Tibet, and neighboring countries. This study was undertaken to determine the constituents and the fungi ...

A field record of apothecia of Monilinia fructigena in Japan and its significance.

Apothecia of Monilinia fructigena are rare throughout the distribution range of the species. They were collected in May, 1981 from decayed mature apple fruit (Malus sylvestris var. domestica) from Hiraka Town, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The micromorphology and cultural characteristics of the Japanese material are described and compared with observations on five previous field collections. At about the same time apothecia of M. mali, M. fructicola and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were also collected from apple fruits in Japan.

Two new Hemiascomycetes: Pichia crossotarsi and P. microspora.

Two new fungi were found in association with the ambrosia beetle Crossotarsus wollastoni Chapman from Kakanakote, Mysore, India. They are perhaps an auxiliary source of nutrition to the insect. Bot...

Monilinia gaylussaciae, a new species pathogenic to Huckleberries (Gaylussacia) in North America

Monilinia gaylussaciae sp. nov. (Discomycetidae: Sclerotiniaceae) is sympatric with several other species such as M. vaccinii-corymbosi, M. polycodii, and M. azaleae, which also parasitize ericaceous hosts endemic to North America. It is generally restricted to Gaylussacia (Huckleberry). In contrast to the species on Vaccinium, the mummified fruit of the new species remain attached to the host until late summer, and the pseudosclerotium within matures on the bush. The apothecia develop from pseudosclerotia on the ground, formed the previous year, and mature in late March through April. Asci are octosporic and stain blue in Melzers iodine reagent; ascospores are 13.0-15.1 x 7.5-8.6 Am, ellipsoid, subhyaline and smooth; conidia are formed on very tender foliage of the current year, are ash gray limoniform, 26-31 x 20-23 ,um and are separated by fusiform disjunctors 8-10 x 2-2.5 Lm. Cultures of M. gaylussaciae on potato dextrose and yeast-malt agar media are zonate, without microconidia and produce a copious amount of a yellow crystalline material in the agar and black stromata arranged concentrically.

Hemiascosporiaceae (Hemiascomycetidae: Dipodascales), A New Family Based on Hemiascosporium Spinulosum

The monotypic new genus Hemiascosporium (type: H. spinulosum Batra) is a gametangiogamous, haplobiontic hemiascomycete. Along with Helicogonium White, it is placed in the Hemiascosporiaceae, a new ...

Anthracobia, Ascodesmis, Pyronema, and Trichophaea in Culture

Brief descriptions of apothecia, asexual states present, and cultural characteristics of operculate Discomycetes, Anthracobia muelleri, Ascodesmis sphaerospora, Pyronema domesticum, and Trichophaea...

DISJUNCTORS IN MONILINIA (DISCOMYCETIDAE: SCLEROTINIACEAE) AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN CLASSIFICATION

A disjunctor is a spindle- or needle-like crystalline organelle unique to the majority of Monilinia spp. It develops through the pores ofseptal lamellae of adjacent maturing conidia. At each end of a disjunctor one or two telomeric knobs are observed. The disjunctors are variable in size (3-10 x 0.25-2.5 Am) and ornamentation, depending upon the species. In many taxa ornamentation consists of more or less concentric ridges which represent coalesced individual warts, some of which remain attached to the corresponding discrete warts on the septal lamellae. The development of the disjunctor in Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi, a pathogen of blueberries, is described in detail and compared with that of several other Monilinia spp. A list of the species with or without disjunctors is provided. In Monilinia Honey (anamorph: Monilia Bonorden), an economically significant fungal group, conidiogenesis is holoblastic and acroauxic; conidia are catenate, with maturation and secession or disarticulation from the base upward; and conidiophores and conidial chains are branched. Adjacent fully formed conidia of most species are separated by a spindle-shaped, crystalline organelle called a disjunctor. The disjunctor is formed while the conidia are still enclosed by host epidermis or cuticle; apparently it facilitates dispersal of conidia. This organelle is unique among the fungi to Monilinia. Disjunctors were first described by Woronin