Inoculum 56(4) - Mycological Society of America

MSA ABSTRACTS
from Mortierella verticillata, a readily cultured terrestrial mold in the Zygomycota
(1278 ESTs, average length, 556 nucleotides). Of 1247 non-redundant ESTs
from B. dendrobatidis, 100 were ‘fungal- specific’ in that sequence similarity
within fungi is high but drops off sharply beyond the kingdom level. From M. verticillata,
64 ESTs were fungal-specific. Fungal-specific genes included six subfamilies
of chitin synthases that arose through ancient gene duplications. Suggesting
that early fungi had to scavenge for iron, B. dendrobatidis and higher
fungi share a high affinity iron permease. Septins are also present in animals, but
they help control the form of fungi during development. We found four septin paralogues
among ESTs from Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and two from
Mortierella verticillata. The septins from the spheroidal chytrid appeared to be
basal to genes from other fungi. contributed presentation
Bérube, Jean A. 1 *, Stefani, Frank O.P. 1 and Sokolski, S. 1 Canadian Forest Service,
1055 du PEPS, P.O. Box 3800, Ste-Foy, QC, G1V 4C7 Canada.
jberube@cfl.forestry.ca. Comparison of foliar endophyte biodiversity from
three boreal conifers.
We compared the foliar endophyte biodiversity of white spruce (Picea glauca),
black spruce (P. mariana) and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). Asymptomatic
healthy needles were collected from 67 conifer populations in eastern Canada,
surface sterilized and then plated on nutrient agar. The ribosomal ITS region
were amplified, sequenced and analyzed using maximum parsimony and
Bayesian inference. Results from morphological and molecular studies indicate
white spruce is hosting as many as 49 fungal endophyte species, black spruce is
hosting 42 species and white pine is hosting 30 species. Only four endophyte
species were common among those three hosts, among them Hormonema dematioides
and Phaeocryptopus gaeumannii. Some fourteen species were common to
the two spruces and only one species was common between black spruce and
white pine. Five other species were also found on other conifers not examined in
this study. The remaining 85 species were unique to one conifer host only. They
represent a source of new species needed to fill the gap between known number
of species, 76000 and the 1.5 million estimated number by Hawksworth. contributed
presentation
Bérube, Jean A. 1 *, Stefani, Frank O.P. 1 , Piercey-Normore, Michele D. 2 , Guillaumin,
Jean-Jacques 3 and Hamelin, Richard C. 1 . 1 Canadian Forest Service, 1055 du
PEPS, P.O. Box 3800, Ste-Foy, QC, G1V 4C7 Canada, 2 Department of Botany,
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T2N2, Canada, 3 INRA Centre de Clermont-Ferrand,
UMR 234 Breset, 63039, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
jberube@cfl.forestry.ca. Evidence of ancient recombination in genus Armillaria.
The genus Armillaria has been studied extensively to determine its evolutionary
history in relation to virulence, hosts and distribution. Four coding genes
(actin, beta-tubulin, G3PD and MLL) from 21 species of Armillaria from North
America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and South America were sequenced and
analyzed. Phylogeny of combined genes showed important differences with published
ITS phylogenies. The basal position of A. ostoyae, A. gemina, A. borealis
in the phylogenetic trees inferred from the actin and G3PD genes is evidence of
ancient recombination events in the northern hemisphere that took place after the
Gondwanian disjunction (100 Myr BP) but before the Laurasian disjunction (60
Myr BP). Once recombinant sites removed from phylogenetic analysis, corrected
trees indicate that Armillaria seems to be an ancient genus that originated in the
Jurassic, with some species that have radiated throughout the southern hemisphere
before the Gondwana disjunction. The evolutionary history of many Armillaria
species in relation to continental drift will be presented. contributed presentation
Beyer, David M.*, Paley, Kimerley and Wilkinson, Vija. Dept. of Plant Pathology,
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 USA.
dmb8@psu.edu. Influence of organic acids on the growth and development of
Trichoderma harzianum, a pathogen of Agaricus bisporus.
Previous research has shown that Phase I substrate for Agaricus bisporus
prepared under low oxygen conditions resulted in earlier and more severe development
of Trichoderma harzianum green mold disease. Organic acids are known
to be produced under anaerobic conditions, and their residual compounds may be
involved in the development of the pathogen in mushroom substrate. This research
looked at the influence of several organic acids at different concentrations
on the growth of Trichoderma harzianum in vitro and in vivo. Results suggested
that in vitro higher concentrations of most organic acids had a negative influence
on the growth of the pathogen while lower concentrations of Fumaric, Succinic
and Lactic acid did not. In vivo assays suggested that when Fumaric acid was
added to the substrate it predisposed the substrate to disease development. poster
Binder, Manfred 1 *, Bodensteiner, Philomena 2 , Wang, Zheng 1 and Hibbett, David
S. 1 . 1 Clark University, Biology Department, Lasry Bioscience Center, 950 Main
Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610-1477, USA, 2 Fakultät für Biologie der
Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Department I: Biodiversitätsforschung,
Systematische Mykol., Munich, Germany. mbinder@clarku.edu.
Phylogenetic relationships of cyphelloid and aquatic homobasidiomycetes.
Cyphelloid fungi include minute terrestrial, cupulate or tubular-shaped
forms in the euagarics clade. Our previous studies showed that some aquatic fungi
like the marine gasteromycete Nia vibrissa have been derived from cyphelloid
10 Inoculum 56(4), August 2005
forms, while others (e. g., Mycaureola dilseae) are derived from agaricoid forms
and represent separate lineages of aquatic fungi in the euagarics. In a broad phylogenetic
survey of cyphelloid and aquatic homobasidiomycetes, we used a twopronged
approach generating nuc-lsu and ITS data for 140 collections of cyphelloid
fungi consisting of multiple samples of 57 well described species. Data from
multiple rDNA regions (nuc-ssu, nuc-lsu, mt-ssu, mt-lsu, ITS) that were additionally
sequenced for a subset of 25 cyphelloid species served as a backbone in
weighted parsimony and Bayesian analyses to identify the major lineages of
cyphelloids within the euagarics and their closest relatives. It has long been suspected
that cyphelloid fungi form a polyphyletic group and our study suggests
there may be at least 18 independent origins, which will be presented in detail.
Thus, morphological reduction via cyphellization is a major theme in the evolution
of euagarics. One of the most remarkable examples of evolutionary transitions
from the terrestrial cyphelloid habit to fungi living in aquatic habitats can be
observed in the Nia clade, which contains the largest proportion of cyphelloid
fungi studied so far. Our preliminary results indicate that the marine fungi in this
clade are a monophyletic group including N. vibrissa, Halocyphina villosa, Calathella
mangrovei, and as a new result Digitatispora marina, a resupinate species
that has lost the ability of active spore discharge. poster
Bischoff, Joseph F. 1 *, Rehner, Stephen A. 2 and Humber, Richard A. 3 . 1 GenBank,
NCBI-NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA, 2 Insect Biocontrol Laboratory,
USDA-ARS, Beltsville, Maryland 20705, USA, 3 Plant Protection Research Unit,
USDA-ARS-ARSEF, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
bischoff@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. A multilocus phylogenetic analysis of the entomopathogen
Metarhizium.
Species of the cosmopolitan entomopathogenic form genus Metarhizium
play important ecological roles by regulating arthropod populations and recycling
insect biomass. The ubiquity of Metarhizium species and their broad host range
have made them an attractive alternative to chemical pesticides. Despite commercial
interest in the genus and its widespread occurrence, species delimitation,
intrageneric relationships, and placement within the Clavicipitaceae remain undefined.
Historically, two species and a single variety were accepted in the genus.
However, in a recent molecular phylogenetic study 10 lineages (i.e., species and
varieties) were proposed. The purpose of this study is to, 1) determine if Metarhizium
is monophyletic, 2) identify its sister lineage within Clavicipitaceae, 3) resolve
phylogenetic species and infer intrageneric relationships. A multilocus
dataset (EF1-alpha, RPB1, beta-tubulin and RPB2) supports the monophyly of
Metarhizium and its close association with the largely plant associated members
of Clavicipitaceae (subfamily Clavicipitoideae). In addition, a minimum of 12 distinct
lineages has been resolved, exceeding prior estimates of diversity in the
genus. contributed presentation
Branco, Sara. The Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago,
Chicago, IL 60637 USA. sbranco@uchicago.edu. Macrofungal communities of
northeastern Portugal.
Quercus pyrenaica woodlands and serpentinic Quercus rotundifolia woodlands
are two important plant communities of northeastern Portugal. These forests
are significant natural habitats in the region and are considered priorities in terms
of nature conservation. Quercus pyrenaica is a native and widespread oak species.
Serpentine woodlands are communities with an impoverished flora characterized
by Quercus rotundifolia and several endemic herbaceous species. They are confined
to serpentine soils, characterized by high heavy metal content and low nutrient
levels. In each woodland one 1000 sqm permanent plot was established and
macrofungi were surveyed biweekly during 2001, 2002 and 2003. In both woodlands
the sporocarp fruiting occurred throughout autumn, between October and
December. The Quercus pyrenaica plot had much higher species diversity (146
species) than the serpentinic plot (73 species) and only 17% of the recorded
species occurred in both plots. Mycorrhizal species composed more than 60% of
all the species found in either habitat. Twenty three of the identified taxa were new
records for the country and 47 were new records for the region. These results indicate
that these forests are diverse and distinct in macrofungal species and require
proper management and conservation. poster
Bruhn, Johann N. 1 , Kromroy, Kathryn 2 , Baucom, Deana 1 and Mihail, Jeanne D. 1 *
1 Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia MO 65211, USA,
2 USDA Forest Service, North Central Research Station, St. Paul, MN 55108,
USA. bruhnj@missouri.edu. Armillaria species associated with oak stump
sprout regeneration in upland Missouri Ozark forests.
Stump sprouts are favored in North American oak regeneration. Many trees
selected for cutting in upland Missouri Ozark forests are infected with one or more
Armillaria spp., especially in oak stands experiencing forest decline. After harvest,
Armillaria infections in these trees spread to the root crown, reducing stump
sprout production and causing sprout mortality. We examined the implications of
these infections for survival and growth of remaining sprouts. During 2003 and
2004, we characterized sprouting and presence of Armillaria on oak stumps created
in 1996 on 35 study plots. Single Armillaria isolates were collected from 145
stumps; dual isolates were collected from widely-spaced roots of 29 additional
stumps. Dual isolates from 14 stumps represent different genets. We have found
Continued on following page