15N natural abundance in fruit bodies of different functional groups of fungi in relation to substrate utilization

Natural abundances of ¹⁵N and N concentrations of 34 fruit bodies from 24 species of ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi were measured in a temperate Central European mixed forest stand. The fungi of the two life forms are known to be capable of utilizing different types of N sources (organic N compounds from the humus, inorganic N from the soil and N from litter or wood) differing by their ¹⁵N natural abundance values. Based on the two life forms and the three different N sources, four functional groups of fungi were distinguished: (1) ectomycorrhizal fungi capable of utilizing organic N from the humus; (2) ectomycorrhizal fungi known to depend on inorganic N compounds in the soil; (3) saprophytes capable of utilizing organic N from the humus; and (4) saprophytes utilizing N from dead wood or litter. Large differences were found between species in the δ¹⁵N values (−3.0 to 3.3‰) and in the N concentrations (0.84 to 6.61 mmol eq N g dw⁻¹) of the fruit bodies. In most cases fungi were more enriched in ¹⁵N than their respective bulk N source was. Fungi living in humus, and presumably having access to organic N compounds (groups 1 and 3), were significantly more enriched in ¹⁵N than fungi which are known to depend on inorganic N (e.g. Laccaria , group 2), or fungi living on litter or wood (group 4), irrespective of whether they were ectomycorrhizal or saprophytic species. Fungi living in humus had significantly higher N concentrations than fungi living on litter or wood.     

A game to teach the life cycles of fungi

Three difficulties encountered by students studying the life cycles of fungi are discussed: (a) Correlating photomicrographs, which sometimes include artefacts, with schematic drawings; (b) Correlating the life cycles of parasitic fungi with those of their hosts and the symptoms of fungal disease; (c) Understanding the cyclic development of fungi, which may have alternating micro- and macro-cycles. A game, developed to help students to overcome these difficulties, is described. Pictures of fungi, as seen by students through microscopes and in their textbooks, have to be correlated in the game with drawings of the fungi. An identification sheet allows students to check their results. Students then have to place cards, on which there are drawings of the different stages in the development of various fungi and their hosts, on a board, so that the parallel stages of host and parasite are next to each other and the photomicrograph drawings form a cycle. In the case of rusts, two cycles have to be produced, and two hosts have to be positioned correctly in the cycles. The game also provides cards to mark seasons and a solution sheet for self-evaluation.     

The diversity of nuclear cycle in microcyclic rust fungi (Uredinales) and its ecological and evolutionary implications

 Nine types with 11 variations of nuclear cycle and associated metabasidium development were distinguished in microcyclic rust fungi. An additional type was recognized in rust fungi with an expanded life cycle. A significant proportion of rust fungi with a reduced life cycle is assumed to have lost a sexual genetic recombination process, being either apomictic or asexual in reproduction. Most species that retain a sexual process in the microcyclic life cycle seem to have become homothallic. During life cycle evolution by the omission of spore stages, these traits might have had a selective advantage for those species that had less opportunity to encounter a genetically different but sexually compatible mate because of isolated patchy distribution or a short growing season. The findings that different populations of a morphologically identifiable species exhibit two or more distinct patterns of nuclear cycle and different metabasidium development indicate that microcyclic lineages might have evolved independently and repeatedly from a macrocyclic parental species. Those lineages are morphologically the same but would differ from each other in their genetics and biology. Received: July 5, 2002 / Accepted: August 5, 2002 Acknowledgment This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (no. 09640744) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (now the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), Japan. Correspondence to:Y. Ono     

Sexual selection in fungi

The significance of sexual selection, the component of natural selection associated with variation in mating success, is well established for the evolution of animals and plants, but not for the evolution of fungi. Even though fungi do not have separate sexes, most filamentous fungi mate in a hermaphroditic fashion, with distinct sex roles, that is, investment in large gametes (female role) and fertilization by other small gametes (male role). Fungi compete to fertilize, analogous to ‘male‐male’ competition, whereas they can be selective when being fertilized, analogous to female choice. Mating types, which determine genetic compatibility among fungal gametes, are important for sexual selection in two respects. First, genes at the mating‐type loci regulate different aspects of mating and thus can be subject to sexual selection. Second, for sexual selection, not only the two sexes (or sex roles) but also the mating types can form the classes, the members of which compete for access to members of the other class. This is significant if mating‐type gene products are costly, thus signalling genetic quality according to Zahavi's handicap principle. We propose that sexual selection explains various fungal characteristics such as the observed high redundancy of pheromones at the B mating‐type locus of Agaricomycotina, the occurrence of multiple types of spores in Ascomycotina or the strong pheromone signalling in yeasts. Furthermore, we argue that fungi are good model systems to experimentally study fundamental aspects of sexual selection, due to their fast generation times and high diversity of life cycles and mating systems.     

The fitness of filamentous fungi

Fitness is a common currency in comparative biology. Without data on fitness, hypotheses about the adaptive significance of phenotypes or basic mechanisms of evolution, for example natural selection, remain speculative. Experiments with fungi can address questions specific to fungi or questions with a broader significance. Fungi can challenge the generality of fundamental evolutionary principles, yet there are no standard measures of fungal fitness. We argue that focusing on a single aspect of a complex life cycle, or a single measure of fitness (e.g. the number of asexual spores) is appropriate. Choosing which aspect of fitness to measure can be facilitated by an understanding of how fitness measures are correlated. Choices can also be based on the ecology of a species, for example whether a fungus is semelparous and reproduces once, or iteroparous and reproduces multiple times.     

Successions of sheathing mycorrhizal fungi

Many fungi capable of forming sheathing (ecto-) mycorrhizas are associated with trees. But what are the rules governing their occurrence? Evidence from first generation woodlands/forests, where trees grow on sites that have been treeless for many years, indicates that species of fungi occurring at early stages of woodland development ('early-stage fungi') are, in due course, superseded by others ('late-stage fungi'). There is an ordered succession which seems to reflect, in large measure, the different abilities of early- and late-stage fungi to form mycorrhizas on roots growing in soils with accumulations of recalcitrant leaf litter. In second generation woodlands/forests there seems to be little evidence of early-stage fungi. This is not so surprising as it may seem, bearing in mind that their soils are already likely to have accumulations of recalcitrant litter. Instead of classifying sheathing mycorrhizal fungi by referring to the temporal stage of woodland development, it now seems more meaningful to judge them by their abilities to colonize roots in soils with or without accumulations of different types of litter.     

Antigenic and phenotypic variations in fungi

Mechanisms to vary the phenotypic characteristics of fungi are diverse and can be important for their life cycle. This review summarizes phenotypic variability in fungi and divides this phenomenon into three topics: (i) morphological transitions, which are environmentally induced and involve the entire fungal population, (ii) reversible phenotypic switching between different colony morphologies, which is restricted to a small fraction of the population, and (iii) antigenic variation of surface antigens, which can be immuno-dominant epitopes happens in individual fungal cells.     

The Ypt/Rab family and the evolution of trafficking in fungi

The evolution of the eukaryotic endomembrane system and the transport pathways of their vesicular intermediates are poorly understood. A common set of organelles and pathways seems to be present in all free-living eukaryotes, but different branches of the tree of life have a variety of diverse, specialized organelles. Rab/Ypt proteins are small guanosine triphosphatases with tissue-specific and organelle-specific localization that emerged as markers for organelle diversity. Here, I characterize the Rab/Ypt family in the kingdom Fungi, a sister kingdom of Animals. I identify and annotate these proteins in 26 genomes representing near one billion years of evolution, multiple lifestyles and cellular types. Surprisingly, the minimal set of Rab/Ypt present in fungi is similar to, perhaps smaller than, the predicted eukaryotic ancestral set. This suggests that the saprophytic fungal lifestyle, multicellularity as well as the highly polarized secretion associated with hyphal growth did not require any major innovation in the molecular machinery that regulates protein trafficking. The Rab/Ypt and other protein traffic-related families are kept small, not paralleling increases in genome size, in contrast to the expansion of such components observed in other branches of the tree of life, such as the animal and plant kingdoms. This analysis suggests that multicellularity and cellular diversity in fungi followed different routes from those followed by plants and metazoa.     

Meeting a non-host: the behaviour of AM fungi

 Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are obligately biotrophic organisms that live symbiotically with the roots of most plants. The establishment of a functional symbiosis between AM fungi and host plants involves a sequence of recognition events leading to the morphological and physiological integration of the two symbionts. The developmental switches in the fungi are triggered by host signals which induce changes in gene expression and a process leading to unequivocal recognition between the two partners of the symbiosis. It has been calculated that about 80% of plant families from all phyla of land plants are hosts of AM fungi. The remaining plant species are either non-mycorrhizal or hosts of mycorrhizas other than the arbuscular type. Non-host plants have been used to obtain information on the factors regulating the development of a functional symbiosis. The aim of this present review is to highlight present-day knowledge of the fungal developmental switches involved in the process of host/non-host discrimination. The following stages of the life cycle of AM fungi are analysed in detail: spore germination, presymbiotic mycelial growth, differential branching pattern and chemotropism, appressorium formation, root colonization. Accepted: 17 June 1998     

Biodiversity amongst filamentous fungi

Diversities in fungi are manifold. Fungi themselves are heterogeneous and constitute at least three unrelated major taxa. Structural diversity reflects, in most cases, adaptive and functional strategies. Diversity in nucleic acids and chemical compounds is very high in several fungal taxa. Fungi play an essential role in the function of ecosystems. The diversity of plant parasites is extremely high and species-dependent associations exist. Saprobic fungi are most important in wood and litter decay and diverse taxa comprise the main decomposers in specific successional niches. Two dominating symbiotic systems have evolved convergently in various fungal groups, notably lichens and mycorrhizas, both remarkably diverse in their heterotrophic partners.     

Dark septate endophytes: a review of facultative biotrophic root-colonizing fungi

Dark septate root endophytes (DSE) are conidial or sterile fungi (Deuteromycotina, Fungi Imperfecti) likely to be ascomycetous and colonizing plant roots. They have been reported for nearly 600 plant species representing about 320 genera and 100 families. DSE fungi occur from the tropics to arctic and alpine habitats and comprise a heterogeneous group that functionally and ecologically overlaps with soil fungi, saprotrophic rhizoplane-inhabiting fungi, obligately and facultatively pathogenic fungi and mycorrhizal fungi. Numerous species of undescribed sterile and anamorphic taxa may also await discovery. Although DSE are abundant in washed root and soil samples from various habitats, and are easily isolated from surface-sterilized roots of ecto-, ectendo-, endo- and non-mycorrhizal host species, their ecological functions are little understood. Studies of DSE thus far have yielded inconsistent results and only poorly illustrate the role of DSE in their natural habitats. These inconsistencies are largely due to the uncertain taxonomic affinities of the strains of DSE used. In addition, because different strains of a single anamorph taxon seem to vary greatly in function, no clear generalizations on their ecological role have been drawn. This paper reviews the current literature on DSE and the ecology and discusses the need for and direction of future research.     

PCR primers for assessing community structure of aquatic fungi including Chytridiomycota and Cryptomycota

Fungi are diverse and have the potential for material cycling in freshwater ecosystems. Species composition of aquatic fungi and their seasonal dynamics are often key to their role in the functioning of the ecosystems. However, community structure of aquatic fungi, especially of Chytridiomycota (Chytrids) and Cryptomycota, is still limited because few primer sets are available to examine species composition. In this study, we validated six primer sets for the detection of aquatic fungi by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis and found that FF390W/EF3r showed the highest specificity among the primer sets tested. We detected both Chytrids and Cryptomycota from Lake Inba by DGGE analysis using the FF390W/EF3r-GC primer set. Further study with our established analysis revealed community structures of aquatic fungi and their seasonal succession patterns in the lake. Results of our study are useful for selection of the primer set for studying community structures of aquatic fungi and their seasonal succession.     

Fungal specificity bottlenecks during orchid germination and development

Fungus-subsidized growth through the seedling stage is the most critical feature of the life history for the thousands of mycorrhizal plant species that propagate by means of 'dust seeds.' We investigated the extent of specificity towards fungi shown by orchids in the genera Cephalanthera and Epipactis at three stages of their life cycle: (i) initiation of germination, (ii) during seedling development, and (iii) in the mature photosynthetic plant. It is known that in the mature phase, plants of these genera can be mycorrhizal with a number of fungi that are simultaneously ectomycorrhizal with the roots of neighbouring forest trees. The extent to which earlier developmental stages use the same or a distinctive suite of fungi was unclear. To address this question, a total of 1500 packets containing orchid seeds were buried for up to 3 years in diverse European forest sites which either supported or lacked populations of helleborine orchids. After harvest, the fungi associated with the three developmental stages, and with tree roots, were identified via cultivation-independent molecular methods. While our results show that most fungal symbionts are ectomycorrhizal, differences were observed between orchids in the representation of fungi at the three life stages. In Cephalanthera damasonium and C. longifolia , the fungi detected in seedlings were only a subset of the wider range seen in germinating seeds and mature plants. In Epipactis atrorubens , the fungi detected were similar at all three life stages, but different fungal lineages produced a difference in seedling germination performance. Our results demonstrate that there can be a narrow checkpoint for mycorrhizal range during seedling growth relative to the more promiscuous germination and mature stages of these plants' life cycle.     

Comparison of morphogenetic networks of filamentous fungi and yeast.

Fungi generally display either of two growth modes, yeast-like or filamentous, whereas dimorphic fungi, upon environmental stimuli, are able to switch between the yeast-like and the filamentous growth mode. Signal transduction pathways have been elucidated in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, establishing a morphogenetic network that links cell-cycle events with cellular morphogenesis. Recent molecular genetic studies in several filamentous fungal model systems revealed key components required for distinct steps from fungal spore germination to the maintenance of polar hyphal growth, mycelium formation, and nuclear division. This allows a mechanistic comparison of yeast-like and hyphal growth and the establishment of a core model morphogenetic network for filamentous growth including signaling via the cAMP pathway, Rho modules, and cell cycle kinases. Appreciating similarities between morphogenetic networks of the unicellular yeasts and the multicellular filamentous fungi will open new research directions, help in isolating the central network components, and ultimately pave the way to elucidate the central differences (of many) that distinguish, e.g., the growth mode of filamentous fungi from that of their yeast-like relatives, the role of cAMP signaling, and nuclear division.     

培菌白蚁与鸡枞菌研究进展

培菌白蚁起源于非洲,蚁巢内具有复杂的社会分工.培菌白蚁依靠独特的蚁巢结构维持内部稳态和气体循环.菌圃是白蚁培育鸡枞菌的场所.鸡枞菌隶属于担子菌亚门,但其传播方式和生活史具有区别于其它担子菌的特点.鸡枞菌协助白蚁进行植物纤维的消化,白蚁则为鸡枞菌提供合适的生长环境,并控制鸡枞菌的遗传结构.培菌白蚁和鸡枞菌形成紧密的共生关...     

Occurrence of invertebrate-pathogenic fungi in a Cerrado ecosystem in Central Brazil

Occurrence of invertebrate-pathogenic fungi in a protected area of the Cerrado region of Brazil is reported. Fungi were baited with triatomines, ticks, aquatic snails or mosquito larvae from substrates or collected from infected insects. The findings underscore the importance to preserve these fungi and to investigate their potential for vector control.     

Salt stress and plasma-membrane fluidity in selected extremophilic yeasts and yeast-like fungi

We have investigated changes in plasma-membrane fluidity in relation to NaCl concentrations in yeasts and yeast-like fungi that were isolated from either subglacial ice or hypersaline waters. In both of these natural environments, these organisms are exposed to low water activity, due to either high NaCl concentrations or low temperatures. Our data indicate that the fluidity of the plasma membrane can be used as an indicator of fitness for survival in extreme environments. Fungi that can survive in such extreme environments, such as Hortaea werneckii in the hypersaline waters of salterns, and Cryptococcus liquefaciens in subglacial environments, showed similar profiles of plasma-membrane fluidity in response to raised salinity. The same was seen for ubiquitous fungi, which are generally adapted for different types of stress, such as Aureobasidium pullulans and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. Representatives of both of these groups modulated their plasma-membrane fluidity differently. When salinity exceeded their optimal range, the ubiquitous stress-tolerant species (A. pullulans, Rh. mucilaginosa) showed increased plasma-membrane fluidity, whereas in the dominant extremophiles (H. werneckii, Cr. liquefaciens), it decreased. On the other hand, the plasma membranes of the fungi with a narrow ecological amplitude (Arctic A. pullulans and Rhodosporium diobovatum) showed different responses.     

虫生真菌的多样性

虫生真菌分属菌物界各分类阶元,它们除在物种上种类繁多外,在形态结构、生活史、繁殖方式、致病机理和次生代谢产物方面亦极具多样化。了解虫生真菌的多样性对正确鉴定它们的分类地位,探明疾病发生的侵染单元,以及多方位,多层次地利用虫生真菌的功能和次生代谢产物具有重要的学术意义和实用价值     

真菌生物信息学研究概况

真菌是真核生物的一大类群,主要包含酵母、霉菌之类的微生物以及最为人所熟知的菇类,无论是在生态、生命周期以及形态都有很大的差别.然而,到目前为止,对于真菌界的了解还很少,预估大约有150万个物种,之中已知种约占5％.1986年,美国科学家Thomas Roderick提出了基因组学概念,1990年代几个物种基因组计划的启动,揭开了历史性的一页.随着生物实验技术和信息处理技术的迅速发展与提高,生物信息学的概念应运而生,利用数学、信息学、统计学和计算机科学的方法研解决生物学的问题.介绍真菌的测序技术,概述了真菌基因组学、转录组学、蛋白质组学等方面的进展,并对真菌生物信息学的未来研究内容进行展望.