Volume 6 - 2015 - Issue 6


1. Myxomycete plasmodial biology: a review

Authors: Clark J, Haskins EF

Recieved: 12 September 2015, Accepted: 24 October 2015, Published: 04 November 2015

The most characteristic stage of a myxomycete is the assimilative plasmodium, a naked free-living multinucleate motile mass of protoplasm which varies in size and morphological details with species. The plasmodium is formed from the amoeboflagellate stage by either of two methods which can be found within a particular species: by fusion of two haploid cells carrying different mating types to form a zygote, or by conversion of an apogamic diploid cell directly into a plasmodium. The plasmodium, which is generally covered by a slime sheath, is multinucleate and wall-less, and is therefore capable of movement which occurs by means of differential protoplasmic streaming. The larger plasmodial types (aphanoplasmodia and phaneroplasmodia) routinely form a reticulate structure where different regions of the plasmodia undergo a continuous cycle of separation and coalescence; therefore they also have a complex genetic system that prevents the fusion of genetically unrelated plasmodia. These plasmodia engulf bacteria, yeast and other organic matter, which they surround and digest in food vacuoles. Under adverse conditions (cold, drying) the plasmodium can form a resistant sclerotium which can revive and continue growth when conditions improve. However, the end point purpose of the plasmodium is sporulation with the production of spores and their germination to produce the alternate amoeboflagellate stage; which is generally triggered by the mature plasmodium undergoing starvation in the presence of light.

Keywords: aphanoplasmodium – coalescence – phaneroplasmodium – protoplasmodium, sclerotium – senescence – sporulation – syngamy

 

2. Mycelial biomass production and antioxidant activity of Lentinus tigrinus and Lentinus sajor-caju in indigenous liquid culture

Authors: Dulay RMR, Flores KS, Tiniola RC, Marquez DHH, Dela Cruz AG, Kalaw SP, and Reyes RG

Recieved: 07 September 2015, Accepted: 28 October 2015, Published: 04 November 2015

With the increasing demand of functional foods with antioxidant properties, it is necessary to establish new sources such as wild edible mushrooms which could provide beneficial effects to human health. Herein, we evaluated the different indigenous liquid culture media for biomass production and elucidated the free radical scavenging activity and total phenolics of Lentinus tigrinus and Lentinus sajor-caju. Results revealed that L. tigrinus efficiently grew on rice bran decoction which significantly recorded the highest yield of mycelia (11.53 g), volume loss of the medium (24.33 ml), radical scavenging activity (18.94%) and total phenolics (26.59 mg AAE/g sample). Similarly, rice bran decoction significantly registered the highest yield of mycelia (9.75 g), volume loss of the medium (20.95 ml), scavenging activity (16.94%) and total phenolics (25.60 mg AAE/g sample) for L. sajor-caju. Both species also showed considerable antioxidant properties when cultured in coconut water, corn grit decoction and potato broth. Hence, it is noteworthy that both studied Lentinus species hold promising antioxidants which are influenced by different liquid media.

Keywords: Mycelial biomass – Lentinus – total phenolics – liquid culture – white rot fungi

 

3. A new species and a new record of the lichen genus Coenogonium (Ostropales: Coenogoniaceae) from South Korea, with a world-wide key to crustose Coenogonium having prothalli

Authors: Joshi Y, Gagarina L, Halda JP, Oh S-O, HurJ-S

Recieved: 11 July 2015, Accepted: 06 November 2015, Published: 15 November 2015

Coenogonium lueckingii, a new corticolous species characterized by a greenish-gray thallus with a white prothallus and 1-septate fusiform ascospores, is described from South Korea. A description of the species is provided together with notes on its chemistry, distribution, ecology and taxonomy. Possible related lichen taxa are discussed briefly, and a worldwide key to the crustose Coenogonium species having a prothallus is also provided. Besides this, Coenogonium pineti is also reported for the first time for the lichen flora of South Korea.

Keywords: Biodiversity – Chuja Island – Jeju Island – taxonomy

 

4. Clarification regarding old records of Roccella in the Maltese Islands

Authors: Fiorentino J

Recieved: 10 September 2015, Accepted: 02 November 2015, Published: 15 November 2015

The only checklist of lichens of the Maltese Islands dates back to 1915 and includes both Roccella phycopsis and R. tinctoria. Material present in local collections and carrying the labels Roccella fucoides, R. phycopsis and R. tinctoria were examined and all were found to be Roccella phycopsis. Fresh specimens of Roccella from different areas were also collected and identified. Study has lead to the conclusion that early records of R. tinctoria are incorrect and that to date the only species of this genus found in the Maltese Islands is Roccella phycopsis Ach.

Keywords: Mediterranean – R. phycopsis – R. tinctoria – Roccellaceae

 

5. New asexual morph taxa in Phaeosphaeriaceae

Authors: Li WJ, Bhat DJ, Camporesi E, Tian Q, Wijayawardene NN, Dai DQ3, Phookamsak R, Chomnunti P, Bahkali AH, Hyde KD

Recieved: 02 October 2015, Accepted: 11 November 2015, Published: 17 November 2015

Species of Phaeosphaeriaceae, especially the asexual taxa, are common plant pathogens that infect many important economic crops. Ten new asexual taxa (Phaeosphaeriaceae)were collected from terrestrial habitats in Italy and are introduced in this paper. In order to establish the phylogenetic placement of these taxa within Phaeosphaeriaceae we analyzed combined ITS and LSU sequence data from the new taxa, together with those from GenBank. Based on morphology and molecular data, Poaceicola gen. nov. is introduced to accommodate the new species Po. arundinis (type species), Po. bromi and Po. elongata. The new species Parastagonospora dactylidis, P. minima, P. italica, P. uniseptata and P. allouniseptata, Septoriella allojunci and Wojnowicia spartii are also introduced with illustrated accounts and compared with similar taxa. We also describe an asexual morph of a Nodulosphaeria species for the first time.

Keywords: Asexual morphs – Phaeosphaeriaceae – Phylogeny – Taxonomy

 

6. New additions to the myxobiota of Costa Rica

Authors: Rojas C, Valverde R, Stephenson SL

Recieved: 16 July 2015, Accepted: 17 November 2015, Published: 22 November 2015

The most recent checklist of myxomycetes from Costa Rica reported 208 species for the country. Informational gaps detected in that work and a sustained survey effort since the publication of the checklist increased the number of species to 218. In the study reported herein, we identified seven species not previously known from Costa Rica. In addition to increasing the number of species recorded to 225, this work also provided important information relating to potential distribution, ecological preferences and the role of isolation techniques for biodiversity surveys of myxomycetes. The fact that a region with only 0.05% of the terrestrial surface of the Earth accounts for approximately 25% of the global biodiversity of myxomycetes, even with the technical limitations of the isolation methods used up to date, shows one more time that this group of organisms is not only well established in terrestrial environments but widely distributed in the Neotropics.

Keywords: biodiversity – biogeography – myxogastrids – Neotropics – slime molds

 

7. Two novel species of Vagicola (Phaeosphaeriaceae) from Italy

Authors: Jayasiri SC, Wanasinghe DN, Ariyawansa HA, Jones EBG, Kang JC, Promputtha I, Bahkali AH, Bhat J, Camporesi E, Hyde KD

Recieved: 24 October 2015, Accepted: 19 November 2015, Published: 24 November 2015

Phaeosphaeriaceae is a large and important family in the order Pleosporales, comprising economically important plant pathogens. Species may also be endophytes or saprobes on plant hosts. Two new species referable to Vagicola, Phaeosphaeriaceae are introduced in this paper based on analyses of LSU and ITS sequence data and their unique morphology. Most Phaeosphaeriaceae species grow on monocotyledons; Vagicola dactylidis and V. chlamydospora are also saprobic on grasses (Poaceae). Vagicola chlamydospora formed asexual structures in a culture. The new species are described and illustrated and compared with other taxa.

Keywords: LSU – ITS – monocotyledons – multigene analyses – Poaceae

 

8. Investigation of airborne fungi and their ability to grow on formalin-fixed human cadavers

Authors: Sri-indrasutdhi V, Ueapattanakit J, Sommatas A

Recieved: 06 November 2015, Accepted: 18 November 2015, Published: 29 November 2015

The problem of fungi growing on formalin-fixed human cadavers kept in the Gross Anatomy Laboratory at the Faculty of Health Science, Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) is reported after the flood subsided in 2011. This laboratory is located on the ground floor, with an entrance that is subject to the flow of outside air. It is suspected that airborne fungi may be the cause of those microbes growing on aforementioned cadavers. This study is to test the assumption that airborne fungi are the source of the contamination. Seventeen fungal species were identified with two unidentified aerial fungi. Two types of fungi were found growing on the formalin-fixed human cadavers and are different from those previously reported. In a previous study, it was reported that there were three types of fungi that could grow on formalin-fixed human cadavers within different types of environments and conditions. Certain environments can foster the growth of specific fungi on formalin-fixed human cadavers.

Keywords: airborne fungi – contamination ‒ flooding ‒ formalin-fixed human cadaver ‒ Thailand

 

9. Diversity of Lactifluus (Basidiomycota, Russulales) in West Africa: 5 new species described and some considerations regarding their distribution and ecology

Authors: Maba DL, Guelly AK, Yorou NS, Agerer R

Recieved: 10 July 2015, Accepted: 28 November 2015, Published: 08 December 2015

The genus Lactifluus is one of the common ectomycorrhizal fungal taxa in tropical African forest ecosystems. Recent morphological and anatomical mycological studies based on specimens we sampled from 2007 to 2013 in West African forest ecosystems, including dry, dense, riparian forests and woodlands, enable to assess the diversity and the occurrence of Lactifluus species in the Guineo-Sudanian domain. A total of 51 ITS rDNA sequences generated from our samples were aligned against tropical African and worldwide Lactifluus sequences available in GenBank. A Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic tree was inferred from 113 sequences. The phylogenetic placement of the species, combined with our morpho-anatomical data, supported the description of five new species distributed among Lactifluus species. Our data further confirm that the species richness of the genus Lactifluus is high and partly unexplored in the Guineo-Sudanian domain, and confirmed that, in both the Guineo-Sudanian and the Congo-Zambezian domain many common species occur. Patterns of occurrence of the recorded Lactifluus species from Guineo-Sudanian ecozones are also highlighted.

Keywords: Guineo-Sudanian – milkcaps – morpho-anatomy – molecular phylogeny – taxonomy

 

10. Comparative study of growth and yield of edible mushrooms, Schizophyllum commune Fr., Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. and Lentinus squarrosulus Mont. on lignocellulosic substrates

Authors: Ediriweera SS, Wijesundera RLC, Nanayakkara CM, Weerasena OVDSJ

Recieved: 15 October 2015, Accepted: 01 December 2015, Published: 14 December 2015

Schizophyllum commune Fr., Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. and Lentinus squarrosulus Mont. are edible mushrooms which are also proven to be medicinally important. This study was carried out to investigate the potential of locally available substrates to grow these mushrooms. Alternative substrates including dried banana leaves, coconut leaves, paddy straw and coir dust were compared with sawdust (rubber) which is the commonly used substrate for commercial production of mushrooms. Banana leaves, coconut leaves and paddy straw were cut into 1 cm × 0.2 cm pieces. To each substrate, 10% (w/w) rice bran, 2% (w/w) CaCO3 and 0.2% (w/w) MgSO4 were added. The mixture was filled into 200 gauged polypropylene bags (22 cm × 12.5 cm) and autoclaved. Each Bag was inoculated with a 1 cm2 block from the actively growing region of the mushroom culture maintained on PDA. After incubating under dark conditions at room temperature (28 ± 2 0C) and 78 – 80% relative humidity, mycelial growth rate and once fructification commenced, yield was determined. Highest rate for mycelial growth was observed in mixtures containing banana leaves for all three mushrooms. It was 10.345 ± 0.02 cm/week for S. commune, 7.818 ± 0.31 cm/week for A. polytricha and 10.895 ± 0.30 cm/week for L. squarrosulus. Highest mushroom yield for S. commune was obtained in coconut leaf (9.589 ± 0.66 g) and coir dust (9.182 ± 0.17 g) containing mixtures. A yield of 25.054 ± 5.18 g was recorded for A. polytricha in the medium prepared from banana leaves and sawdust (rubber) substrate was preferred by L. squarrosulus with a significantly higher yield of 54.079 ± 3.61 g.

Keywords: alternative substrates - banana leaves – coconut leaves – mushroom yield – mycelial growth

 

11. Diversity and distribution of arid-semi arid truffle (Terfezia and Picoa) in Elazığ-Malatya region of Turkey

Authors: Akyüz M, Kırbağ S, Bircan B, Gürhan Y

Recieved: 04 October 2015, Accepted: 17 December 2015, Published: 25 December 2015

This work aims to conduct research for finding arid-semi arid (desert) truffles that grow in the Elazığ-Malatya area. It was determined that Picoa lefebvrei, P. juniperi, Terfezia olbiensis, T. claveryi and T. boudieri grew naturally in the study areas. Short descriptions of the taxon are provided together with the photograps of fruit bodies and macro-microstructures. In addition, we present new localities for Picoa lefebvrei, P. juniperi, Terfezia olbiensis, T. claveryi and T. boudieri in Turkey. The habitats of these species should be protected by turning the growing fields into natural protected areas.

Keywords: Ascomycotina – arid-semi arid truffle – biodiversity – Helianthemum spp. – hypogeous – Picoa – Terfezia

 

12. Myxomycetes research in the Philippines: Updates and opportunities

Authors: Dagamac NHA, dela Cruz TEE

Recieved: 24 November 2015, Accepted: 11 December 2015, Published: 26 December 2015

Myxomycetes, commonly known as slime molds, are phagotrophic, eukaryotic organisms that exhibit both fungal and protozoan characteristics. They are widely distributed both in temperate and tropical ecoregions, where they usually occur on dead plant substrates, such as bark, twigs, dried leaves, woody vines, and even decayed inflorescences or fruits. Their unique, diverse morphologies and fascinating life strategies make them ideal model organisms to study life processes. However, despite the high potential diversity in tropical systems, little is known about them particularly in archipelagic countries, such as the Philippines. In fact, previous studies on myxomycetes in the Philippines in the late 70s and early 80s by Reynolds encompassed the most comprehensive listing for the country. A total of 107 species were recorded at that time for the Philippines and roughly 50% of these species represented new records for the country. But the paper was mainly an extensive, annotated species listing. In recent years, myxomycete research in the country has progressed beyond species lists to diversity and ecological studies. Several papers by the UST RCNAS Fungal Biodiversity and Systematics group have documented the occurrence and distribution of slime molds in several habitat types, e.g. in forest parks, coastal and inland limestone forests, lowland mountain forests, and from varied substrata – grass litter, aerial and ground leaf litter, twigs, and bark. These studies updated the list of species of myxomycetes in the Philippines to 150. These also provided baseline information on the ecological patterns and geographic distribution of slime molds in the tropics. This paper presents an update on slime mold research in the Philippines for the 35 years following Reynolds’ publication in 1981 and discusses challenges and opportunities for further studies.

Keywords: archipelago – checklist – Paleotropics – slime molds – taxonomy

 

13. New records of lichens from Manipur State, North-eastern India

Authors: Devi RKS, Rout J, Upreti DK, Nayaka S, Pinokiyo A

Recieved: 16 October 2015, Accepted: 15 December 2015, Published: 30 December 2015

A total of 140 lichen species belonging to 50 genera and 23 families with 39 species recorded for the first time from the state of Manipur, Northeast India, being reported. Fourteen species are new additions to the lichen flora of Northeast India. The crustose morphotype (49% of the species found) dominated the area, followed by foliose (43%), dimorphic, fruticose, leprose and squamulose lichens, each contributing by 4%, 2%, 1% and 1% of the species found, respectively. Nine species of phorophytic foliicolous lichens that usually colonize live leaves were also encountered. The occurrence of foliicolous lichens is quite characteristic of species diversity and indicate rather high richness in this relatively small phytogeographical area. A brief note on the phytogeographic affinities and distribution of the newly recorded lichens in Manipur has been provided.

Keywords: Crustose – Foliicolous – Parmeliacaea – Parmotrema

 

14. Two new species of sooty moulds, Capnodium coffeicola and Conidiocarpus plumeriae in Capnodiaceae

Authors: Hongsanan S, Tian Q, Hyde KD, Chomnunti P

Recieved: 20 November 2015, Accepted: 22 December 2015, Published: 30 December 2015

Capnodiaceae is believed to be the largest family containing sooty mould species, the taxa of which can cause chlorosis, plant stunting disease, and marketability problems, due to black mycelium coating the surface of host. Presently, little molecular data are available for species of Capnodiaceae in GenBank, thus more collections and sequence data are needed to improve the understanding of genera and species boundaries in this family. “Sooty mould”-like taxa, appearing as black colonies on the surface of leaves, were collected in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Taxa were studied based on morphological characters and molecular analyses. A phylogenetic tree using combined LSU and ITS sequence data generated by Maximum likelihood analyses (LSU and ITS) indicated that the new species, Capnodium coffeicola and Conidiocarpus plumeriae, belong in Capnodiaceae. We introduce the two new species base on morphological characterization and phylogenetic analyses.

Keywords: Capnodiales – Dothideomycetes – Phylogeny – Sooty moulds – Taxonomy

 

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Mycosphere publishes reviews, research articles, methodology papers, taxonomic works such as monographs, which are relevant to fungal biology, including lichens. The official journal language is English.

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