Morphology and early development of ascocarp in Cryptomyces mullerii

The discomycetous fungusCryptomyces mullerii affecting leaves ofSalix tetrasperma was studied for internal morphology and early development. The overall developmental pattern of ascocarp centrum is closely similar to members of the order Phacidiales. The developmental pattern of the ascocarp, centrum characters, the nature and ontogeny of the inter-ascal filaments and above all the occurrence of spermatization and nature of sexual process in this fungus are characteristics which appear to be intermediate between the two main large subclasses of Ascomycetes — the Loculoascomycetes and the Euascomycetes.     

块菌发育过程中伴生微生物多样性及其生态功能

块菌属Tuber是子囊菌门中一类珍贵的地下生外生菌根真菌,能与松科、壳斗科等多种树木形成菌根共生关系,在森林生态系统中扮演着重要的角色。同时,该属的一些种类因其独特的香味而备受国际食用菌市场推崇,具有极高的经济价值。在块菌属漫长的生活史中,菌丝的生长、菌根的形成、子囊果的产生和发育、特殊芳香化合物及活性物质的产生和积累均与其伴生微生物有着密切的关系。近年来,分子生物学技术的发展尤其是高通量测序技术的应用推动了对块菌属子囊果形成和发育机制的研究,为块菌生态学研究提供了有力的工具,使块菌伴生微生物相关研究取得重要突破。本文综述了近5年来国内外对块菌属生长发育过程中伴生细菌、真菌多样性及其生态功能的相关研究,并探讨了其中尚未清楚的问题及今后可能的研究方向,为块菌属生物学的研究及人工栽培奠定基础。     

《内蒙古白粉菌志》增补与修订

随着野外调查和分子系统学研究的深入,白粉菌物种多样性明显增加。根据最新研究成果对《内蒙古白粉菌志》进行了补充和修订,提供了新修订的内蒙古白粉菌名录。确认了内蒙古白粉菌科10属157种和变种,寄主植物达63科238属540余种。列出了145种内蒙古白粉菌寄主新记录及其产地和标本号等信息,以及从复合种分出的种的寄主名称。报道了白粉菌中国新记录种5个,内蒙古新记录种3个,并提供了详细的形态描述和线条图。研究标本保存于赤峰学院菌物标本室（CFSZ）。     

Observations on post-fire black morel ascocarp development in an Israeli burnt forest site and their preferred micro-sites

Morchella species ascocarps (morels) are sought-after edible mushrooms that exhibit pyrophilous behavior, proliferating in fire-affected soils of certain types of forests. The factors governing fruiting in this habitat are poorly understood. An observational approach was used to determine the spatial distribution on preferred micro-sites of black morel fruiting in a forest after a summer fire, subjected to different post-fire forestry management activities. Clearing the burnt tree stumps from the site, compaction of the burnt soil by heavy machinery (bulldozers) and covering the soil with chopped wood created preferred micro-sites for black morel fruiting. Fewer fruit bodies developed on untouched burnt soil, and almost none on non-burnt soil at the same site. These observations enhance understanding the ecological principles underlying the distribution and abundance of morel ascocarp development in natural habitats; such an understanding could contribute to conservation and management of morel fruiting in the wild.     

Phylogenetic overview of Erysiphaceae based on nrDNA and MCM7 sequences

The classification system and evolutionary history of Erysiphaceae have been studied based on the results of molecular phylogenetic analyses. However, the sequence data used for these phylogenetic estimations have been limited to the nrDNA of ca., 50 taxa, and the relationships among higher taxonomic groups are not well understood. To provide a phylogenetic overview of Erysiphaceae, we performed phylogenetic estimations based on nrDNA and MCM7 sequences obtained from ca., 270 taxa. The phylogenetic tree showed a similar topology to the trees obtained in previous studies, although the branching order between Golovinomyceteae and Phyllactinieae was different and Phyllactinieae was not monophyletic. Phyllactinieae and Erysipheae were estimated to diversify after the divergence of Golovinomyceteae, suggesting an evolutionary trend in which non-catenate conidia + endoparasitic or non-catenate conidia + ectoparasitic lineages were derived from catenate conidia + ectoparasitic lineages. Phyllactinieae was divided into a clade of Phyllactinia + Leveillula and other clade(s) consisting of Pleochaeta and Queirozia. The phylogenetic hypothesis of Erysiphaceae was updated based on the largest dataset to date, but the higher-level phylogenetic relationships remain unclear. For a more robust phylogenetic hypothesis of Erysiphaceae, further sequence data, including protein coding regions, should be added to the dataset of nrDNA sequences.     

Further observations on the development of Gongylonema pulchrum in rabbits

Third-stage larvae of Gongylonema pulchrum from naturally infected dung beetles were inoculated orally into 24 rabbits. Worm recovery ranged from 54 to 91% (mean = 67.5%) during the period from 24 hr to 52 wk postinoculation (PI). Two hours PI, the larvae entered the mucosa at the junction of the stomach and esophagus and migrated upward. Early development occurred primarily in pharyngeal mucosa, tongue, and buccal mucosa. The third molt took place 11 days PI and the final molt at 36 days PI. Male worms reached sexual maturity at 7 wk PI and females at 9 wk PI. Adult worms were found mainly in the esophagus but also occurred in the tongue and the wall of the oral cavity after 30 wk PI. Embryonated eggs appeared in the feces of 3 rabbits inoculated with 50 or 100 larvae on days 72-81 PI. Morphologically, the cuticle in young fourth-stage larvae exhibited bosses on the anterior portion on day 11 PI, and the left spicule length : total body length exhibited no remarkable change between 9 and 52 wk PI. The latter finding confirms the utility of the ratio for identification of the nematode.     

Studies on microspore development in liliaceous plants

In microspores of angiosperm plants, the period from the end of meiosis in microsporocytes unitl the first cell division may be considered as one cell cycle, and the division is polarized, resulting in the formation of two functionally different nuclei. InLilium longiflorum, the duration of the cell cycle was measured in some detail. Identification of individual stages was based on the correlation between bud length and developmental stage. The results showed that the process begins at a bud length of 24 mm and is completed about 15 days later, at a bud length of 58 mm. By autoradiography of cells cultured in the presence of³H-thymidine, approximate durations of the G₁, S, and G₂ plus M phases were estimated to be about 12, 2, and 1 days, respectively. A detailed cytological analysis of the transitions between the various microspore stages has revealed some convenient parameters which point to ghe progression of change during the interval.     

Ultrastructural and cytochemical observations on 5-fluorouracil-induced cleft-palate development in hamster

Sequential alterations in 5-fluorouracil-treated hamster fetal palate were studied by light and electron microscopy and by acid phosphatase cytochemistry. At an early stage in 5-fluorouracil-treated fetuses, when the palatal shelves were vertical, lysosomes first appeared in cells of the prospective fusion epithelium and then in the cells of subjacent mesenchyme. In contrast to controls, increasing numbers of both the epithelial and mesenchymal cells of the vertical palate showed lysosomal injury in 5-fluorouracil-treated fetuses as development progressed. Subsequently, the basal lamina in the vertical palate showed alterations, characterized initially by disturbances in lamina lucida, by fingerlike extensions of lamina densa, and ultimately by its complete breakdown. At a later stage, when shelves became horizontal, the lysosomes were absent in both the epithelial and mesenchymal cells, and the basal lamina continuity was restored. Unlike controls, however, 5-fluorouracil-treated horizontal shelves never contacted one another. Instead, the epithelia of the horizontal shelves underwent stratification. It appears that premature formation of lysosomes in palatal epithelial and mesenchymal cells following 5-fluorouracil treatment disrupts normal cytodifferentiation and affects the integrity of the basal lamina; both effects are associated with cleft-palate development.