The infection of nonmosquito hosts by injection with spores of the microsporidan Nosema algerae

Nosema algerae normally infects only mosquitoes by the per os route but developed in a number of different arthropods when spores were injected into the hemocoels. Representatives of other phyla were not infected when injected with N. algerae spores. Spores produced in these injected hosts were of normal size and were infectious when fed to mosquito larvae. Many more spores were produced in some of the injected hosts than were produced in the infected mosquitoes. One corn earworm larva produced as many spores as 2,000 mosquito larvae.     

Resistance of Three Bean Cultivars to Uromyces phaseoli Expressed Through Sporulation of the Fungus

Sporulation of the rust fungus Uromyees phaseoli was checked on three different Brasilian bean cultivars on the upper and lower leaf surface of primary leaves in a growth chamber at 21°C. Although the sporulating area of the pustules was greater on the upper leaf surface, the pustules on the lower leaf surface produced nearly two times more spores on all three cultivars. The total number of spores produced per pustule was 41,600/81,000 spores (upper/ lower leaf surface) for the susceptible cultivar Rosinha G-2/C-21 and for the cultivars which possess horizontal resistance: Carioca/C-224 29,600/49,500 spores (upper/lower leaf surface), Roxo/C-743 32,964/50,700 spores (upper/lower leaf surface). The two cultivars with horizontal resistance produced nearly a third less spores than the susceptible cultivar.     

In vitro formation of resting spores by the insect pathogenic fungus Entomophaga maimaiga

Field-collected resting spores (azygospores) of the fungal pathogen of Lymantria dispar (gypsy moth), Entomophaga maimaiga, have been used to release this biological control agent in areas where this pathogen is not established. We have found that E. maimaiga can produce resting spores in vitro using Grace's insect tissue culture medium (95%) plus fetal bovine serum (5%). The majority of spores become mature between 7 and 21 days after cultures are initiated. Spore production varies by fungal isolate; of 38 isolates tested, 10 produced no resting spores while 7 produced >1000 resting spores/ml. Resting spore production was not affected when isolates were mixed. Glycerol (used for fungal storage), trehalose, and selected amino acids each inhibited resting spore formation. Fetal bovine serum was required for spore production but the presence of >5% yielded lower resting spore densities. A large surface area:volume ratio (12.5 cm(2):ml versus 4.2 cm(2):ml) was required for abundant formation of resting spores. At present, resting spores have only been produced in small volumes with a maximum of 3 x 10(4) resting spores/ml.     

Effect on germination and post-germination development of Colletotrichum dematium var circinans due to light and dark incubation and coverslip placement

Light regime was not a major factor in germination of spores of Colletotrichum dematium var circinans. Number of germ-tubes and appressoria formed were affected by incubation regime and coverslip placement. Most germ-tubes and appressoria were produced on spores under shimmed coverslips. Light incubation favored germ-tube production and dark incubation favored appressoria production. Predicted time to 100% germination was affected by treatments. Shortest times were predicted for light incubated spores under shimmed coverslips. Longest times were predicted for non-coverslipped spores. A significant number of appressoria were produced sessile on spores. Most sessile appressoria were produced on dark incubated spores. Approximately 56 % of all spores germinated, and approximately 60% of all germ-tubes and appressoria were produced on these spores which were situated closest to coverslip or droplet edges. Placement of germ-tubes on spores was not affected by treatments. However, percentages of germ-tubes, initiated from various areas of spores, were significantly different. This variation appears to be due to factors internal to spores.     

Surface hydrophobicity, viability and efficacy in biological control of Penicillium oxalicum spores produced in aerial and submerged culture

The surface hydrophobicity, viability and biocontrol ability of Penicillium oxalicum spores, produced either in aerial or submerged culture, were characterized. A phase distribution test showed that spores produced in both methods of culture were highly hydrophobic, but those produced in aerial culture were more hydrophobic. Spores stored fresh at either 4 or 25 degrees C retained a high viability (80%) after 27 weeks of storage, although aerial spores survived better. Freeze-drying severely affected viability, especially of submerged spores. Biocontrol ability against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici was studied in the growth chamber. Aerially- produced spores were more effective than submerged ones. Aerially-produced P. oxalicum spores appeared to have more advantages than those produced by submerged culture, in relation to both viability and efficacy. These results demonstrate that physiological changes occur depending on production conditions which significantly influences quality of the biocontrol agent.     

Morphological Variation in Spores of Pyricularia oryzae Cavara

Two mutant isolates of Pyricularia oryzae formed abnormal, longer, cylindrical spores with more septa than those of normal, obpyriform spores of wild isolates. These isolates also produced normal spores, although their number was less than that of the abnormal spores. When normal and abnormal spores were single-spore-isolated from the lesions caused by the mutant isolates and inoculated to an agar medium, each colony produced both types of spores, regardless of the type of single spores usedfor inoculation.     

Morphological Variation in Spores of Pyricularia oryzae Cavara

Two mutant isolates of Pyricularia oryzae formed abnormal, longer, cylindrical spores with more septa than those of normal, obpyriform spores of wild isolates. These isolates also produced normal spores, although their number was less than that of the abnormal spores. When normal and abnormal spores were single-spore-isolated from the lesions caused by the mutant isolates and inoculated to an agar medium, each colony produced both types of spores, regardless of the type of single spores used for inoculation.     

Spore age and coverslip placement affects germination and post-germination development of Colletotrichum dematium var circinans

Spore suspensions from young (10–14 da; young spores) and old (4 mo; old spores) colonies of PColletotrichum dematium var circinans were placed on slides. Coverslips were left off, placed on in the normal manner, or supported on shims. Slides were placed in moist chambers and incubated in light or dark for up to 48 hrs. Germination and post-germination development were studied. Shimming had some beneficial effect on germination, especially for old spores in dark. In general, more germ-tubes and appressoria were produced on spores under shims than spores with other coverslip treatments. By 48 hrs more old spores under shims germinated, and greater numbers of germ-tubes and appressoria were produced than on other old spores under different coverslip treatments. However, numbers produced were lower than those predicted for comparably treated young spores. Spore age, incubation regime, and placement of coverslips did not affect germ-tube initiation. For all treatments more germ-tubes were initiated from spore tops than bottoms or tips. Fewer germ-tubes were initiated from spore centers than other locations on tops and bottoms, and from both tips than one tip. Approximately 26 % of all appressoria were produced sessile. A higher percentage of sessile appressoria were produced on old spores (80 %) than on young spores (20%).     

Bacillus subtilis builds structurally and functionally different spores in response to the temperature of growth

Bacterial spores are commonly isolated from a variety of different environments, including extreme habitats. Although it is well established that such ubiquitous distribution reflects the spore resistance properties, it is not clear whether the growing conditions affect the spore structure and function. We used Bacillus subtilis spores of similar age but produced at 25, 37, or 42°C to compare their surface structures and functional properties. Spores produced at the 25°C were more hydrophobic while those produced at 42°C contained more dipicolinic acid, and were more resistant to heat or lysozyme treatments. Electron microscopy analysis showed that while 25°C spores had a coat with a compact outer coat, not tightly attached to the inner coat, 42°C spores had a granular, not compact outer coat, reminiscent of the coat produced at 37°C by mutant spores lacking the protein CotG. Indeed, CotH and a series of CotH-dependent coat proteins including CotG were more abundantly extracted from the coat of 25 or 37°C than 42°C spores. Our data indicated that CotH is a heat-labile protein with a major regulatory role on coat formation when sporulation occurs at low temperatures, suggesting that B. subtilis builds structurally and functionally different spores in response to the external conditions.     

Two types of partial fertility in a diploid population of the fern Thelypteris decursive-pinnata (Thelypteridaceae)

Two types of abnormal sporophytes were observed in a population of diploid Thelypteris decursive-pinnata. Most sporophytes in this population exhibited regular chromosome pairing, resulting in the formation of 30 bivalents in meiosis I; however, they produced abortive spores to various degrees. Some formed large globose spores at low frequencies, most likely to be unreduced diplospores. The other type of abnormal sporophyte underwent synaptic failure to form 60 univalents at meiosis I, but produced fertile spores, mostly large globose ones at low frequencies. The globose spores were considered unreduced diplospores because the gametophytes arising from them produced tetraploid sporophytes by gametophytic selfing. One tetraploid formed only univalents at meiosis I. Allozyme variation was not detected in this population, although neighboring ordinary diploid populations exhibited it to a certain degree. The sympatric occurrence and allozyme uniformity of the two groups suggest that both are offspring of a founder sporophyte, which may have possessed two types of mutated recessive genes responsible for the spore sterility and the synaptic failure in meiosis. Unreduced spores formed by these two types may play an important role in the polyploid speciation of this species.     

Comparison of aerial and submerged spore properties for Trichoderma harzianum

Abstract Spores produced by aerial mycelium of Trichoderma harzianum PI, a potential biocontrol agent, showed both higher UV-resistance and longer viability after storage than those produced within liquid media ('submerged' spores). Aerial spores were produced in clusters, had a thick outer wall, and few organelles. Trehalose content was significantly lower than in submerged spores. Conversely, submerged spores were mostly collapsed, not clustered and larger than aerial spores. They had many cytoplasmic organelles and a thinner outer wall. These spores were hydrophilic, while aerial ones were highly hydrophobic. On analysis, the latter was related with the presence of a single major low molecular mass protein (< 14 kDa). This protein was nearly absent in extracts from walls of submerged spores but was found in the extracellular medium. An involvement of the outer wall layer in the resting state of T. harzianum spores is proposed.     

Effect of Additives on the Production, Viability and Virulence of Blastospores of Metarhizium anisopliae

Studies on the blastospore production of Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae were conducted in Adamek's medium used as a standard, enriched with lecithin, collagen, lactic acid or polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG 200) to increase spore yield and suppress mycelial pellet formation. The addition of 5% lecithin resulted in a significant 10-fold increase in spore yield up to 1.9 108 blastospores/ml compared with 1.9 107 spores/ml in the standard medium. Collagen (3%) increased the number of blastospores 3.7-fold, and lactic acid (1.5%) two-fold. A reduction of mycelial pellet formation in favour of spore production was noted with each additive. The viability of blastospores at 40IC from media with lecithin, collagen and lactic acid suspended in 25% Ringer's solution was comparable to that of spores produced in the standard medium. Striking differences were noticed in the viability of spores produced with 5% PEG 200 in standard medium. The half-life of blastospores produced in standard medium suspended in sunflower oil was 33.6 h and that of 5% PEG 200 spores only 25.2 h. In bioassays, the virulence of spores produced in standard medium to which 3% lecithin, 3% collagen, 1.5% lactic acid or 5% PEG 200 had been added was tested against third-instar nymphs of Locusta migratoria migratorioides (R. & F.). The median lethal time and the mortality of L. migratoria achieved with blastospores produced with 3% lecithin (5.7 days, 99%) was comparable to that of blastospores from standard medium (5.1 days, 98%). The virulence of blastospores from all other media with additives was significantly reduced.     

Increased numbers of heat-resistnat spores produced by two strains of Clostridium perfringens bearing temperate phage s9.

Sporulation kinetics and spore heat resistance data were compared for a lysogenic strain of Clostridium perfringens, s9, before and after curing with ultraviolet irradiation. The cured strain showed the same growth rate in broth media as the lysogenic strain but took 6 h longer to form refractile spores. For lysogenized and cured strains the percentages of refractile spores produced that were heat-resistant (80 degrees C for 15 min) were 50 and 0.2, respectively. When reinfected with the temperature phage, the cured strain produced spores in 2 to 3 h, like the original lysogenic culture, and 10% of the spores produced were heat-resistnat.     

Comparative study of thermoresistance spores of Clostridium difficile strains belonging to different toxigenicity groups

The thermoresistance of spores of Clostridium difficile strains belonging to the different toxigenicity groups was compared in the study. Among spores of toxigenicity C. difficile strains (26 C. difficile strains produced toxins A and B (TcdA+TcdB+) and 32 C. difficile strains produced only toxin B (TcdA-TcdB+) were high thermoresistant. Between spores of non-toxigenic C. difficile strains much lower thermoresistance was observed. In conclusion, more studies are needed to clarify the importance of spores transmission in the increasing number of AAD cases in Poland.     

Properties of the germination inhibitor of Streptomyces viridochromogenes spores

Germinating spores of Streptomyces viridochromogenes excreted a substance into the surrounding medium which inhibited germination of another sample of the spores. The germination inhibitor (GI) was produced during submerged culture after exponential growth had ceased. The GI was purified 51-fold following extraction from growth liquor with chloroform. It was soluble in alcohol and water and had a molecular weight of less than 1000. The GI blocked growth and respiration of some Gram-positive bacteria and was an inhibitor of the membrane bound, but not solubilized, calcium-dependent ATPase of germinated spores and mycelia of the producing organism. Several sodium-potassium activated ATPases were also inhibited. All four activities (respiration, growth, germination inhibition, ATPase) co-purified during column and thin-layer chromatography. The GI activities released during germination and produced during growth were identical. A role for the GI antibiotic in regulation of dormancy of spores of the producing organism is discussed.     

The role of a fadA ortholog in the growth and development of Colletotrichum graminicola in vitro and in planta

A transposon-based split-marker protocol was used to produce insertional mutations in the fadA ortholog of the maize anthracnose pathogen Colletotrichum graminicola. The mutants grew more slowly in culture, produced fewer oval spores, produced fusiform rather than falcate phialospores, lost their normal clockwise spiral growth pattern in culture, and were significantly reduced in their pathogenicity to maize stalks and leaves. The differential effect of the fadA mutation on oval spore versus phialospore production suggests that there are differences in the signaling pathways that regulate these two types of sporulation. It has been suggested that oval spores function in anthracnose lesion extension. In maize stalks, production of oval spores appeared to be relatively unaffected in the mutant strains, but production of vegetative hyphae and elongation of primary lesions were both reduced. This suggests that vegetative hyphae play a more important role than oval spores in primary lesion development. However, production of discontinuous secondary lesions in maize stalks infected by mutant strains did not appear to be seriously affected, and thus oval spores may play a more important role in that process.     

Bacillus cereus cell and spore properties as influenced by the micro-structure of the medium

Aim:  To investigate the effect of different growth conditions on Bacillus cereus cell and spore properties.
Methods and Results:  Bacillus cereus was grown on agar plates with different surface water conditions (wet and dry) or viscosity. Cell populations displayed different types of behaviour, and heterogeneity was manifested in cell motility and dimension. Spore populations were heterogeneous regarding their properties, namely size and thermal resistance. The smallest spores were produced from flagellated cells, which also displayed jet-motility, growing on the wettest agar. Cytometric analysis also revealed within the smallest spores a sub-population labelled by propidium iodide (PI), indicating that spore populations were partly damaged. Nonmotile cells grown on diffusion-limiting media were elongated and produced the least thermal-resistant spores.
Conclusions:  The micro-structural properties of the media were found to influence cell and spore properties. Abundant surface water enabled flagellar motility and resulted in a heterogeneous cell and spore population, the latter including small and damaged spores. High viscosity gave rise to filamentous cells and more heat-sensitive spores.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  This study provides useful information on conditions resulting in heterogeneous populations of damaged and heat-sensitive spores.     

Production and Pathogenicity to Wheat of Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides Conidia

Weekly estimates of numbers of Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides conidia on naturally infected wheat straw, made from February to July 1982, showed there were most conidia (8.1 × 10⁶ per straw) in February and least (1.9 × 10⁴ per straw) at the end of June. The viability of these spores remained high throughout this period, with an average of 85 % germination after 24 h.
After removal of spores produced in the field, straws were incubated at 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25°C and subsequent sporulation assessed after 3 or 5 weeks. The optimum temperature for spore production was 5°C and very few spores were produced at 25°C. There was no difference in viability between spores produced at different temperatures.
Wheat seedlings placed amongst infected straw collected and retained spores on the upper and lower surfaces of all leaf blades and on outer leaf sheaths. Both naturally dispersed spores and spores sprayed on to plants were not removed by subsequent rainfall.
When wheat seedlings were inoculated between the coleoptile and outer leaf sheath with different numbers of P. herpotrichoides spores, lesion development was most rapid in seedlings inoculated with the greatest numbers of spores. However, after incubation for 12 weeks visible lesions were present on all plants inoculated with > c. 10 spores.     

The resistance of spores of resistant strains of Botrytis cinerea to quintozene, tecnazene and dicloran

Spores formed by strains of Botrytis cinerea resistant to quintozene, tecnazene, or dicloran did not always produce resistant colonies when grown on agar in the presence of these fungicides. Only about one half of spores produced by fungicide-vapour-resistant strains in the absence of fungicides gave resistant colonies whereas all spores produced by the same strains in the presence of fungicides formed resistant colonies on agar. Some spores produced by resistant strains that had developed on agar containing the fungicides were not viable, but those that were always gave resistant colonies on agar.     

Infection of the corn earworm, Heliothis zea, with Nosema acridophagus and Nosema cuneatum from grasshoppers: Relative virulence and production of spores

Per os inoculations of 4- to 6-day-old larvae of the corn earworm, Heliothis zea, with suspensions containing 10⁶ spores of Nosema acridophagus or 10⁴, 10⁵, and 10⁶ spores of Nosema cuneatum retarded the growth and development of the larvae. Migratory grasshoppers, Melanoplus sanguinipes, inoculated with N. acridophagus produced fewer spores than similarly inoculated corn earworms, but spore production was similar in these insects when they were inoculated with N. cuneatum. Standard bioassay procedures showed that spores of both microsporidians were some-what more virulent when they were produced in corn earworms than when they were produced in grasshoppers. Spores of these microsporidians might be produced more efficiently in corn earworm larvae than in grasshoppers.