Techniques for staining fungal nuclei and appendages

PUNITHALINGAM, E., 1989. Techniques for staining fungal nuclei and appendages. The use of HCl-Giemsa stain for staining nuclei and a modified Leifson's flagellum staining technique for staining appendages in Coelomycetes has produced useful information which could further our knowledge of fungi and help to reappraise earlier concepts.     

Bambusicolous fungi in Japan (7): a new coelomycetous genus, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Versicolorisporium</Emphasis>

A new genus, Versicolorisporium, is established for the coelomycetous fungus collected in Japan on dead culms of the bamboos Pleioblastus chino and Sasamorpha borealis. The type species of the genus, V. triseptatum, is characterized by the production of holoblastic, 3-septate, obovoid, versicolored conidia. Versicolorisporium is similar to Toxosporiella, Neohendersonia, Toxosporiopsis, and Scolicosporium in having versicolored conidia, but differs from these genera by the uniloculate pycnidial conidiomata with a periphysate ostiole, lacking paraphyses, and the conidia without black-banded septa. A BLAST search using LSU nrDNA sequence indicates that the new genus is a member of Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes.     

Description of Pestalotiopsis pallidotheae: a new species from Japan

A new coelomycetes fungal species, Pestalotiopsis pallidotheae, is described. This endophytic fungus, isolated from a leaf of Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica), has knob-tipped appendages on the apical and basal cells of the conidia. The conidial morphology is similar to that of Pestalotiopsis theae except that the color of the median cells is paler in P. pallidotheae. Molecular analyses of the ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2 site placed P. pallidotheae in a group different from P. theae.     

湖南省木本植物上的拟茎点霉新种

报道了采自湖南省木本植物上的10个拟茎点霉Phomopsis新种,即喜树拟茎点霉Ph. camptothecae、腊梅拟茎点霉Ph.chimonanthi、杜仲生拟茎点霉Ph.eucommiicola、紫薇拟茎点霉Ph.lagerstroemiae、红继木拟茎点霉Ph.loropetali、厚朴拟茎点霉Ph.magnolina、海桐拟茎点霉Ph.pittospori、竹柏拟茎点霉Phomopsis podocarpi、石榴拟茎点霉Ph.punicicola和酸枣拟茎点霉Ph.ziziphicola。对新种与其近似种在形态及ITS序列上的差异进行了讨论。文中附有新种的拉丁文、英文描述及显微结构图。模式标本保存于华南农业大学真菌标本室(SCHM)。     

几种具纤毛分生孢子的腔孢菌

本文报道了河北省具纤毛(setulae)分生孢子的腔孢菌(Coelomycetes)5种,它们隶属于多毛孢属(Polynema Lev.),星毛孢属(Stauronema H.Sydow,Sydow ＆Butler),刺杯毛孢属(Dinemasporium Lev.)和双毛壳孢属(Discosia Lib.)。其中多毛孢属和星毛孢属系国内新记录属。记载了一新种中国多毛孢(Polynema sinense w.-P.Wu)和一中国新记录种甘蔗星毛孢(Stauronema sacchari H.Sydow,Sydow ＆Butler)。在刺杯毛孢属和双毛壳孢属内共鉴定出3个种,它们是槭刺杯毛孢(Dinemasporium acerinum Peck),刚毛刺杯毛孢(Dinemasporium strigosum(Pets.:Ft.)Sate.)和双毛壳孢(Discosia artocreas(Tode:Fr。)Ff.)。文中对这些种进行了详细描述,新种有拉丁文描述。研究标本保藏于河北省科学院生物研究所。     

Phyllosticta ophiopogonis sp. nov. from Ophiopogon japonicus (Liliaceae)

A leaf spotting disease of an ornamental variety of Ophiopogon japonicus was discovered at several locations in northern Thailand. In all cases a species of Phyllosticta was associated with the lesions. Phyllosticta ophiopogonis sp. nov. is distinguished from Phyllosticta species from Liliaceae in conidia size, mucilaginous sheath and appendage thus the species is introduced as new in this paper. The new species which causes unsightly lesions on this ornamental plant is described, illustrated and compared with other similar Phyllosticta species.     

Bambusicolous fungi in Japan (8): a new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudolachnella from</Emphasis> Yakushima Island,southern Japan

A coelomycetous fungus occurring on culms of Pleioblastus sp. in Yakushima Island, southern Japan, is described and illustrated as a new species, Pseudolachnella yakushimensis. The species is characterized by cupulate, superficial black setose conidiomata, and cylindrical 3-septate conidia with two to five appendages at each end. Pseudolachnella yakushimensis is similar to P. indica and P. scolecospora by its 3-septate conidia, but is different from them by its smaller conidia with more than two appendages.     

座隔孢属一新种

座隔孢属(Toxosporiopsis Sutton & Sellar)为腔孢纲(Coelomycetes)之一小属,已描述2种。本文报道了该属产自中国的一个新种:中国座隔孢(Toxosporiopsis sinensisW.P.Wu)。新种生于胡桃(Juglans regia L.)枯枝上,它与已知种尖顶座隔孢(Toxosporio-psis capitata Sutton & Sellar)和大孢座隔孢(Toxosporiopsis macrosperma(Cavara)Sutton& Dyko)在子座大小,产孢细胞长度,分生孢子形态、大小,侧丝长度及其外围胶质鞘的有无等特征上差别极大,故另立新种。     

Diversity of coelomycetous fungi in human infections: A 10-y experience of two European reference centres

The coelomycetous fungi are difficult to properly identify from their phenotypic characterization and their role as etiologic agents of human infections is not clear. We studied the species distribution of these fungi among clinical isolates that had been collected and stored over a ten-year period in two European reference laboratories (France and Spain). We identified phenotypically and molecularly 97 isolates by sequencing the D1-D2 fragment of the 28S nrRNA (LSU) gene and we provided the in vitro antifungal susceptibility pattern of seven antifungals against 46 isolates. Species of the orders Pleosporales and Glomerellales were present in both collections, and Botryosphaeriales and Diaporthales only in the French one. The most prevalent species were Medicopsis romeroi, Neocucurbitaria keratinophila, Neocucurbitaria unguis-hominis and Paraconiothyrium cyclothyrioides, which had been recovered primarily from superficial tissues. The Didymellaceae was the most common family represented, with 27 isolates distributed into five genera. Most of the isolates tested were susceptible to antifungals, and only the geometric mean (GM) and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of itraconazole and caspofungin had higher values. This study provides a good picture of the great diversity of coelomycetous fungi in the European clinical context, and the basis for future studies on this interesting but neglected group of fungi.     

Morphology evolution and molecular phylogeny of Pestalotiopsis (Coelomycetes) based on ITS2 secondary structure

The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) located between the 5.8S and 28S genes of the nuclear ribosomal gene cistron is conserved at the level of secondary structure rather than primary sequence. Within the fungal genus Pestalotiopsis, there were two types of ITS2 sequence patterns, and hence secondary structures, which were supported by high bootstrap values in phylogenies based on the ProfDist distance and Profile neighbor-joining algorithms. Pestalotiopsis consists of two groups that differ in color intensity of the spore as measured by optical density (OD) in three median cells of conidia comprised of five cells with one basal and two to four apical appendages. OD was quantified using a novel method with the publicly available software, Image J. OD values of species within one clade were high (dark OD >0.6), while OD values of species in the other clade were low (pale OD <0.6). However, knobbed-tipped appendages, which have been used to classify species of Pestalotiopsis, were observed in both clades. In the dark clade, knobbed-tipped appendage strains aggregated in one subclade, but in the pale group, these strains did not aggregate.