Prevalence dynamics of two endosymbiont fungi (Orphella spp. Harpellales: Kickxellomycotina) and host shift among different Leuctra (Plecoptera) species in a stream community

This study was conducted to increase the understanding of the temporal dynamics of the plecopteran-associated endosymbiont species Orphella helicospora and Orphella catalaunica (Harpellales, Zygomycota) in the middle reaches of a stream in Montseny Natural Park (Barcelona, Spain). Previous studies addressing the temporal dynamics of Harpellales have focused on Diptera-related species. Statistical analyses revealed that the temporal dynamics of Plecoptera-associated Harpellales do not respond directly to environmental factors but are more directly dependent on biotic factors, such as the particular preference and fitness of each Orphella species towards a specific Leuctra host, the relative host abundance, and its annual cycle. We report that an in situ host shift linked to Leuctra species replacement occurred during the years 2012–2013, with a resulting decline of O. catalaunica in this environment. The ecological implications of the specificity range and fitness of the host are discussed. We also provide information about the possible causes of this macroinvertebrate shift and the effects on the associated endozoic community.     

Klastostachys, a new genus of Harpellales in Chironomidae larvae

Klastostachys reflexa, a new genus and species combination in the Harpellales, is established herein based on Stachylina reflexa, which was described in 1988. This gut fungus was found attached to the peritrophic matrix of small bloodworms, Cryptochironomus sp. (Chironomidae), in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA. Klastostachys resembles Stachylina, a genus common in Chironomidae, but the unbranched thalli of Klastostachys disarticulate and disperse with the trichospores remaining attached to their generative cells. This manner of dissemination is unusual among Harpellales, being noted also for Carouxella spp., but members of that genus have zygospores attached at one pole to the zygosporophore (Type IV), whereas Klastostachys zygospores are medially attached to the zygosporophore at right angles (Type I).     

Dacryodiomyces, a new genus of Harpellales in Chironomidae larvae

A new genus of gut fungus in the Harpellales (Trichomycetes) with the type species Dacryodiomyces oklahomensis, found in Chironomidae larvae, is described from northeastern Oklahoma, USA. The most distinguishing characters are the elongate-ovoid zygospores attached to their zygosporophore at one end (Type IV), together with trichospores bearing a collar and a single appendage.     

Baetimyces, a new genus of Harpellales, and first report of Legeriomyces ramosus from the northeastern Iberian Peninsula

Baetimyces, belonging to the Legeriomycetaceae, is described here as a new genus. Its single species, B. ancorae, has been found growing in the hindgut of mayfly nymphs of the genus Baetis (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae) inhabiting a Pyrenean Mountains canal-stream from the northeastern region of the Iberian Peninsula. The new genus is characterized by having trichospores with two thick appendages of unequal length, and by zygospores perpendicularly and medially attached to the zygosporophore. The new genus may be related to Glotzia, Legeriomyes, and Zygopolaris, and similarities with these and other genera are compared and discussed. The new species often coexists in the same gut with Legeriomyces ramosus, which is reported for the first time in Spain.     

On two nematodes from Brazilian birds and description of a new species (Acuarioidea, Schistorophinae) parasitizing Laterallus viridis (Müller, 1776) (Gruiformes, Rallidae)

The present paper reports acuarioid nematodes recovered from avian hosts. A new species of the genus Schistorophus Railliet, 1916 is proposed based mainly on findings referring to ptilina, spicules and vagina. Ancyracanthopsis coronata (Molin, 1860) Chabaud & Petter, 1959 is referred again in Brazil since its proposition in 1860, from specimens recovered from a Brazilian bird. A revised key to the species of the genus Schistorophus is also presented.     

THE ZYGOSPORIC STAGE OF THE GENUS PIRELLA (MUCORACEAE)

Hesseltine , C. W. (Northern Utilization Research and Development Division, Peoria, Ill.) The zygosporic stage of the genus Pirella (Mucoraceae). Amer. Jour. Bot. 47(3) : 225—230. Illus. 1960.–Pirella circinans Bainier has been found to be heterothallic. The zygospores, which have never before been reported, are formed when + and – strains are mated at 15°C. on such media as tomato paste-oatmeal or potato dextrose agars. Zygospores are formed in a diffuse manner in the aerial mycelium and are similar to those found in the genus Mucor. The single species, P. circinans, is described on a synthetic medium and its synonyms are listed. It is believed to represent a genus between Mucor and the family Thamnidiaceae.     

RADIOMYCES,A NEW GENUS IN THE MUCORALES

Embree , Robert W. (U. California, Berkeley.) Radiomyces, a new genus in the Mucorales. Amer. Jour. Bot. 46(1): 25-30. Illus. 1959.—Radiomyces spectabilis is described as a new genus and species in the order Mucorales of the Phycomycetes. This fungus readily grows in pure culture, and developmental stages of the asexual and sexual reproductive structures are described. The genus is referred to the family Thamnidiaceae, and in doing so, the family concept is necessarily broadened to include almost colorless, smooth-walled zygospores with appendiculate suspensors.     

On Chytridium braun,Diplochytridium N. G., and Canteria N. G. (Chytridiales)

Summary The operculate genus Chytridium Braun is emended and restricted to approximately 25 known species and several incompletely known members which lack an apophysis and develop much like species of Rhizophydium, insofar as the zoosporangium and absorbing or rhizoidal system are concerned, and form endobiotic or intramatrical resting spores. This interpretation corresponds fairly closely to Braun's diagnosis of the type species.A new genus, Diplochytridium, is established to segregate the former Chytridium species with an endobiotic or intramatrical apophysis or prosporangium and resting spores, which may develop sexually or asexually. Some of these species have a well-defined endo-exogenous alternation of growth and development in which the apophysis appears to function as a prosporangium. As interpreted here, Diplochytridium includes approximately 20 of the known species.Another new genus, Canteria, is created for a parasite of Mougeotia which Canter first described as a species of Phlyctidium but later found to develop endobiotic resting spores or zygospores by the fusion of conjugation tubes.     

Nest survival for two species of manakins (Pipridae) in lowland Ecuador

Estimates of reproductive success are essential to understand life-history strategies, yet tropical species remain under-studied relative to their temperate counterparts. Here, we report nest survival probabilities for two manakin species (Pipridae). We monitored 61 wire-tailed manakin Pipra filicauda and 45 blue-crowned manakin Lepidothrix coronata nests during three breeding seasons. Both species suffered high nest failure (84%). We modeled the effects of year, nest height, nest age (for P. filicauda only), as well as nest manipulation on daily survival rates (DSR) using program MARK. DSR decreased with nest age in P. filicauda whereas a constant survival model was best fitted for L. coronata . Average DSR was 89% for P. filicauda and 85% for L. coronata. This study reports some of the lowest nest survival rates among tropical passerines and poses important questions about population maintenance.     

HYMENOMONAS CORONATA SP. NOV., A NEW COCCOLITHOPHORID FROM THE TEXAS COAST1,2

A new species of Hymenomonas (H. coronata) has been isolated from the Texas coast, grown in axenic culture, and examined by both light and electron microscopy. Certain cultural and ultrastructural observations are presented. This alga has several haptophycean characteristics, although a definite haptonema has not been observed. Similarities to other members of the genus are evident, such us type and shape of coccoliths and pyrenoid-chloroplast morphology.     

Chromosome number of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Orthophytum</Emphasis> species (Bromeliaceae)

The genus Orthophytum Beer comprises 53 species, all narrow endemics to south-eastern and north-eastern Brazil. In this study we present meiotic and mitotic chromosome numbers of 12 species of this important genus in Bromeliaceae. For six of these taxa we are reporting the first cytogenetic study. Orthophytum albopictum, O. amoenum and O. burle-marxii presented 2n = 100 chromosomes and O. hatschbachii, O. mucugense, O. vagans, O. supthutii, O. zanonii and O. ophiuroides showed 2n = 50 chromosomes. These results are consistent with the proposed basic number of x = 25 for Bromeliaceae family. In the genus Orthophytum, polyploidy seems to play an important role in chromosome evolution associated with habitat differentiation among diploid and polyploid species.     

SNOW ALGAE OF THE WINDMILL ISLANDS, CONTINENTAL ANTARCTICA: DESMOTETRA AUREOSPORA, SP. NOV. AND D. ANTARCTICA, COMB. NOV. (CHLOROPHYTA)

Two cryophilic Desmotetra species, D. aureospora , sp. nov., and D. antarctica (Fritsch) Ling appear to be unique to the southern hemisphere snow ecosystem, or at least to the Windmill Island region, Antarctica. They have not been encountered in previous extensive studies of the Arctic and northern alpine regions. Also unusual are the higher pH (6.8 and 7.8) and conductivities of 279 μS·cm⁻¹ and 426 μS·cm⁻¹ for habitat conditions of D. antarctica that can be attributed to the influence of penguin guano. Both species are characterized by cells enveloped in individual mucilage layers, 1–3 contractile vacuoles, and a cup-shaped chloroplast containing a diffuse pyrenoid. The cells divided in three planes to form cubical loosely aggregated green cell packages embedded in mucilage. Vegetative cells of the two species cannot be distinguished with certainty; however, their zygospores are very different. Desmotetra aureospora has spherical, smooth-walled, golden zygospores, whereas D. antarctica has pale, yellow green, aereolate zygospores. Mucilage stalk morphology of cells in stationary-phase cultures can also be used to separate the two species. Zygospores of D. antarctica have previously been identified as the snow alga Trochiscia antarctica Fritsch. Both species are currently maintained in culture at the Australian Antarctic Division. The cultures did not grow at temperatures above 15° C. The two species are compared with the soil alga D. stigmatica (Deason) Deason et Floyd, the only other species in the genus, and also with Chlorosarcina stigmatica Deason strain T105. Results show that the three Desmotetra species form a natural group and that the absence or presence of a wall on the zoospore is of dubious value in classifications of green algal taxa above the species level.     

Revision of the genus Absidia (Mucorales, Zygomycetes) based on physiological, phylogenetic, and morphological characters; thermotolerant Absidia spp. form a coherent group, Mycocladiaceae fam. nov.

The genus Absidia comprises ubiquitously distributed soil fungi inhabiting different growth temperature optima ranging from 20–42 °C. Some of the mesophilic species are important biotechnologically in the biotransformation of steroids or as producers of rennin-like components, whereas species with higher growth temperature optima are of clinical relevance as opportunistic human pathogens. The aim of this study was to investigate the phylogenetic relationships between these species and to establish a revision of their systematics. For this purpose single and combined genealogies based on distance, MP, ML, and Bayesian analyses of aligned nucleotide sequences of the nuclear-encoded genes for actin (act) and for the 5.8S ribosomal RNA flanked by the ITS regions 1 and 2 (comprising 807 and 828 characters, respectively) of 16 Absidia species were reconstructed. The phylogenetic reconstructions suggest a trichotomy of the Absidia genus consisting of a mesophilic, a fast-growing thermotolerant, and a slowly-growing mycoparasitic Absidia group. The trichotomous phylogenetic grouping is concordant with the morphology of the zygospores, which are zygotes resulting from sexual conjugation between two compatible mating partners. Whereas the mesophilic group comprises the majority of absidiaceaeous species forming sterile hair-like, mycelial appendages on the suspensors of their zygospores, the thermotolerant group is characterised by the formation of smooth-walled zygospores, and the mycoparasitic group, namely Absidia parricida and A. zychae, by Mucor-like rough-walled zygospores. Based on the phylogenetic coherence of mesophilic and thermotolerant Absidia species, we propose that the two groups are separated into two distinct genera, Absidia for the mesophilic Absidia species resembling the Absidiaceae and Mycocladus for the thermotolerant species A. corymbifera, A. blakesleeana and A. hyalospora. Because Mycocladus is physiologically, phylogenetically, and morphologically distinct from the Absidiaceae s. str. we suggest that they are classified as a separate family, Mycocladiaceae fam. nov., which comprises the three species M. corymbifer, M. blakesleeanus and M. hyalospora.     

Sequence variation in the coding region of the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (MC1R) is not associated with plumage variation in the blue-crowned manakin (Lepidothrix coronata)

Avian plumage traits are the targets of both natural and sexual selection. Consequently, genetic changes resulting in plumage variation among closely related taxa might represent important evolutionary events. The molecular basis of such differences, however, is unknown in most cases. Sequence variation in the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (MC1R) is associated with melanistic phenotypes in many vertebrate taxa, including several avian species. The blue-crowned manakin (Lepidothrix coronata), a widespread, sexually dichromatic passerine, exhibits striking geographic variation in male plumage colour across its range in southern Central America and western Amazonia. Northern males are black with brilliant blue crowns whereas southern males are green with lighter blue crowns. We sequenced 810 bp of the MC1R coding region in 23 individuals spanning the range of male plumage variation. The only variable sites we detected among L. coronata sequences were four synonymous substitutions, none of which were strictly associated with either plumage type. Similarly, comparative analyses showed that L. coronata sequences were monomorphic at the three amino acid sites hypothesized to be functionally important in other birds. These results demonstrate that genes other than MC1R underlie melanic plumage polymorphism in blue-crowned manakins.     

根据广义形态性状和nrDNA ITS序列试论长颖固沙草的归并

固沙草属是禾本科中一个具有重要经济价值的高山特有属,共记载6个物种,它们均具有较强的抗逆特性,是农业良种繁育、畜牧业牧草改良利用的重要资源;并且,固沙草属物种形态差异不显著,种间界限较模糊。本研究通过广义形态性状的观测、统计和分析,同时结合核基因组ITS片段的研究,系统探讨了长颖固沙草、固沙草和鸡爪草3个近缘物种的主要形态性状和分子序列的差异,旨在评判长颖固沙草的系统分类归属。研究表明,在广义形态性状上长颖固沙草与固沙草差异甚小,难以进行区分,但与鸡爪草差异明显,是典型的种间关系;从基于ITS序列构建的系统发育树看,3个物种中只形成两个比较明显的遗传分支,一个分支是由长颖固沙草和与固沙草所测个体构成,另一分支仅由鸡爪草所测个体组成,并且分支的靴带支持率高达100%。故本研究认为,长颖固沙草与固沙草应是同一个物种,长颖固沙草应作为固沙草的异名处理。     

Zygospores of selected Trichomycetes in larval Diptera of the families Chironomidae and Simuliidae

The midgut-inhabiting fungi (Harpellaceae) Harpella melusinae and Stachylina pedifer were induced to form zygospores, using an application of a pH 10 potassium hydroxide solution with culture media. The previously unknown zygospores of S. pedifer are borne perpendicular to the zygosporophore, as in Harpella melusinae. The zygospores of the hindgut-inhabiting species Smittium coloradense, borne obliquely to the zygosporophore (in vivo), are described for the first time.     

New species of black corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from the New Zealand region,part 2

ABSTRACT

One new genus and ten new species of antipatharian corals are described from the New Zealand region. Differential diagnoses are given and comparisons are made to related nominal species. Described as new is the genus Acanthosaropathes and the following species: Antipathes coronata, A. dicrocrada, A. polyhedra, Acanthosaropathes uniseriata, Phanopathes ctenocrada, Cupressopathes simplex, Stylopathes stenotes, Stauropathes stellata, Telopathes tasmaniensis, and Heteropathes intricata. This research highlights the diversity of deepsea corals for the region, improves knowledge of the distributional limits of species, which in turn can inform assessments of species prevalence for conservation initiatives and management decisions.     

中国云南巨须隐翅虫亚属的新种和新纪录(鞘翅目,隐翅虫科,巨须隐翅虫亚科)(英文)

报道中国云南巨须隐翅虫属Oxyporus Fablicius和巨须隐翅虫亚属subgenus Oxyporus的4个种,其中包括2新种,玉龙巨须隐翅虫Oxyporus (Oxyporus) yulong sp.nov.和李氏巨须隐翅虫O.(O.)lii sp.nov.,补充了仙台巨须隐翅虫O.germanus Sharp和横沟巨须隐翅虫O.transversesulcatus Bernhauer新的地理分布。