Richard T. Hanlin

Molecular phylogeny of Acremonium and its taxonomic implications.

Acremonium is generally considered to be a highly polyphyletic form genus containing distantly related fungi. Sectional divisions within Acremonium distinguish the clavicipitaceous grass endophytes of sect. Albolanosa from the generally saprobic species of sections Acremonium, Chaetomioides, Gliomastix, and Nectrioidea. In an effort to assess the possible number of lineages currently placed within Acremon- ium and to determine which groups of sexual asco- mycetes are phylogenetically affiliated with Acremon- ium species, maximum parsimony and neighborjoin- ing analyses were performed using partial sequences of the nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA). Acremonium was shown to be a polyphyletic taon with affiliations to at least three ascomycetous orders: 1) most of the examined species from the sections Acremonium, Gliomastix, and Nectrioidea showed a relationship to the Hypocreaceae even though many of these species have never been asso- ciated with any teleomorph; 2) the grass endophytes of sect. Albolanosa and other taxa from the Clavicip- itaceae formed a monophyletic group derived from within the Hypocreales; 3) the thermophilic A. ala- bamense of sect. Chaetomioides was derived from with- in the Sordariales. Acremonium alternatum, the tye species of the genus, was one of the species showing affiliation to the Hypocreaceae. In order to eliminate some of the heterogeneity within Acremonium while also emphasizing the unique biological, morpholog- ical, and ecological characteristics of the grass en do-

Small subunit ribosomal RNA gene phylogeny of several loculoascomycetes and its taxonomic implications

Phylogenetic analyses of partial sequences (1002 basepairs) from the nuclear encoded small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) were performed to determine the phylogenetic relationships of the ascostromatic fungi, Botryosphaeria, Guignardia, Leptosphaerulina, Didymella, Venturia, Sporormia , and Sporormiella. Our studies confirm the concept that the subclass Loculoascomycetidae is paraphyletic if Chaetothyriales is included, as this order and the plectomycetes constitute a monophyletic clade that is highly supported in our and some previous phylogenetic analyses. In general, taxa that lack pseudoparaphyses (Dothideales) or have reduced hamathecial tissue, such as Botryosphaeria and Guignardia (sensu Sivanesan), are a sister group to the Pleosporales, the most derived group, whose members have pseudoparaphyses. The two species of Leptosphaerulina , which also lack pseudoparaphyses, clustered within the Pleosporales, rather than within the Dothideales, with high confidence from bootstrap values. Didymella nested within the Pleosporales with a high degree of confidence, and is the sister group to Leptosphaerulina. The taxonomic placement of Venturia and Sporormiella corresponds to the Pleosporales.

Morphological and RAPD analyses of Diaporthe phaseolorum from soybean

Isolates of Diaporthe phaseolorum varieties caulivora, meridionalis and sojae, and Phomopsis lon- gicolla were grown on various substrates in the labo? ratory and inoculated into soybean plants in the greenhouse. Isolates varied in their ability to produce pycnidia and/or perithecia in culture. Both a and (3 conidia were observed in isolates of varieties cauli? vora and sojae, whereas only a conidia were observed in isolates of variety meridionalis. Stroma morphology and perithecial arrangement in stromata varied con- siderably in isolates of varieties caulivora and meri? dionalis, depending on the substrate. Some isolates of variety caulivora formed perithecia in a valsoid ar? rangement on potato dextrose agar and single peri? thecia in a well developed, immersed stroma in in? oculated soybean stems. Isolates of variety sojae always formed pustulate stromata and clustered perithecia. Nine quantitative morphological characters were ex? amined using two different cluster analysis methods and canonical discriminant analysis. The length and width of ascospores and asci and apical width of the perithecial beaks were stable across different sub? strates and resolved the isolates into three distinct

Microcycle conidiation–A review

Microcycle conidiation is defined as the germination of spores by the direct formation of conidia without the intervention of mycelial growth, as occurs in most normal life cycles. It is a method of asexual spore formation in which the normal life cycle of the fungus is bypassed. Spores formed through sexual reproduction and species with unicellular thalli are not included in microcycle conidiation. The term secondary conidium or secondary spore is usually, but not always, synonymous with microcycle conidiation. In the laboratory various factors, but especially temperature, can induce the microcycle condition in such fungi asAspergillus niger, Penicillium andNeurospora crassa, providing a useful tool for research. Microcycle conidiation has also been reported in a broad range of species in nature, and comprises a normal part of the life cycle in several groups, including the Entomophthorales, Taphrinales, Clavicipitales, Uredinales, Ustilaginales, Tremellales and Exobasidiales. The presence of a microcycle in such fungi undoubtedly provides a survival mechanisn for spores that encounter unfavorable conditions.

Extracellular Lipase Production by Fungi from Sunflower Seed

ABSTRACTTwo hundred and twenty-three lyophilized isolates of fungi representing 91 species from sunflower seed were revived and grown in lipase medium with and without emulsified sunflower oil. Lip...

Phylogenetic relationships in the family Hyaloscyphaceae inferred from sequences of ITS regions, 5.8S ribosomal DNA and morphological characters

The family Hyaloscyphaceae includes sa- probic species of the order Helotiales characterized by well differentiated hairs on the apothecium and an ectal excipulum of textura prismatica. Because of the diverse morphology within the family Hyaloscy- phaceae, the present study sought to determine the phylogenetic relationships among the different tax- onomic groups using nucleotide sequences of the two internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, 5.8S ribosomal DNA and 31 morphological characters. The cladistic analysis of morphological characters provided little resolution of phylogenetic relation- ships. However, results obtained from the distance and parsimony analyses of molecular characters sug- gest that Hyaloscyphaceae is probably monophyletic and that it should be divided into three subfamilies, Arachnopezizoideae, Hyaloscyphoideae and Lachno- ideae. The most distant species within the family is Arachnopeziza aurata. The genus Cistella, which may be a reduced form of a hyaloscyphaceous fungus, does not group within the major clade in ITS and 5.8S analyses, but may be closely related. Within the subfamily Lachnoideae, Lachnum is probably para- phyletic or polyphyletic as currently defined and is divided into at least two genera, those species with cylindrical paraphyses and spores more than 20 ,um long, typified by Lachnum abnorme, and those with broadly lanceolate paraphyses and spores less than 20

Fungi in developing peanut fruits

Tests conducted on developing peanut fruits showed that 84 % of the pegs contained fungi before they entered the ground. Shell invasion remained high (90–100 %) throughout the season; seed invasion rose to 82 %, declining at harvest time.Penicillium, Fusarium andPhoma were the most common shell fungi;Penicillium andGliocladium were most common in seeds. Ecologically, peanut fungi fall into 3 groups: an aerial flora, a terrestrial flora and species which colonize peanut fruits both above and below ground.

Abundance and diversity of microfungi in three coastal beaches of Mexico

The abundance and diversity of species of microfungi was investigated on the beaches of Delfines, Km 24 Veracruz-Alvarado Highway, and El Coco, located on the coasts of the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean, respectively. On each beach a sample composed of sand, subtidal wood or washed-up detritus with moist sand was collected. The samples were analyzed by three different methods, resulting in a total of 1,160 occurrences that fluctuated between 340 and 441 occurrences/sample. The number of species/sample fluctuated between 20 and 32. A total of 52 species was found, of which 12 were marine, and 40 nomarine, of terrestrial origin, and of these 15 were ascomycetes, 34 were hyphomycetes, 2 were blastomycetes and one was a coelomycete. The abundance distribution showed few species with high or low values, with the greates proportion having intermediate values. In order to compare species diversity among the samples frequency curves were utilized, based on the number of species expected from samples taken at random; the results showed that the beach at El Coco was richest in species.

New and rare fungi from cherry fruits.

Capronia hystrioides sp. nov. (anamorph Phaeoramularia hachijoensis) was isolated from cherry fruit. Also isolated were Sporormiella subticinensis comb. nov., Leptodiscella africana, and Cladosporium malorum, a synonym of C. porophorum.

The distribution of peanut fungi in the Southeastern United States

During a four-year survey in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia of the fungi associated with peanut shells and seeds 70 genera and 146 species of fungi were identified. Twenty-seven genera and 60 species were isolated from peanut fruits for the first time. Nine genera are Phycomycetes, 17 are Ascomycetes, and 44 are Deuteromycetes. A total of 110 genera and about 200 species of fungi have now been reported from peanuts. A key to the genera reported in this study is included, along with the distribution by state for each species.