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PubMed1981

[Dimorphism of fungi - review of the literature].

A recherche of 260 publications about dimorphism of fungi was elaborated. Beginning with the term dimorphism of fungi a description was represented of the distribution in the classes of the fungi, the ontogenesis of both types of the growth, the habits of dimorphic species of fungi, the conditions of the cultivation for the induction and maintenance of the dimorphic growth, mutants of dimorphic species of fungi, the physiology and biochemistry of cellular and filamentous forms of growth of species of fungi and general law of the dimorphism of fungi. As fundamentally exogenic factors of dimorphism were emphasized gas atmosphere, temperature, inoculum, form of cultivation, pH-value, C- and energy source, N-source and supplements in the substrate. Main working points of exogenic factors are the structure and function of the cell wall, mitochondria and growth zone of many dimorphic species of fungi. Aureobasidium pullulans, Candida albicans, Blastomyces brasiliensis and B. dermatitidis, Histoplasma capsulatum and H. farciminosum and species of Mucor and Mycotypha were selected as model organisms of the dimorphic growth. The metabolism processes of dimorphic Mucoraceae and activities of enzymes and paramorphogenes of the cellular form of growth were summarized in a scheme.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed1980

[Vaginal fungi in toxemia of pregnancy (author's transl)].

In order to prevent the transfer of the fungi in maternal vagina into a neonate through transvaginal delivery, we examined the presence of vaginal fungi in the patients with toxemia of pregnancy occurring chiefly from the later stages of pregnancy and made an analysis from the quantitative aspect of fungi (number of colonies produced on Mizuno-Takada medium). The results obtained are as follows: 1) The detection rate of vaginal fungi was evidently so high as 37.1% in toxemia group compared with 27.6% in non-toxemia group (p less than 0.01). And the detection rate of vaginal Candida albicans (hereinafter: C. albicans) also proved to be higher tendency in toxemia group. 2) When the toxemia patients were divided into mild cases and severe ones for comparison, the detection rate of vaginal fungi and that of vaginal C. albicans were both higher in the severe case group. Particularly in the group which had the symptoms of toxemia at the examination time of vaginal fungi there was seen the higher rate. 3) From the quantitative aspect of vaginal fungi it is evident that there were more cases with over 51 colonies in the group showing the symptoms of toxemia at the time of fungi examination than in the group showing no such symptoms at the examination and the group of non-toxemia (p less than 0.01).

Candida albicans↗
PubMed2006

Environmental fluctuations facilitate species co-existence and increase decomposition in communities of wood decay fungi.

A fluctuating environment may facilitate co-existence of species, and high species richness may be important for maintaining ecosystem processes under changing environmental conditions. A positive relationship has been found between species richness and primary production in many experiments, and there is now an increasing interest whether similar relationships also apply to microorganisms and decomposition. Basidiomycete fungi are the primary decomposers of wood with the functional groups brown and white rot fungi, which differ with respect to decay strategy. In this study, 16 species of boreal wood decay fungi, 8 brown rot fungi and 8 white rot fungi, were assembled in artificial communities. The aims were to study species persistence, wood decomposition and metabolic efficiency in fungal communities of increasing levels of species richness under constant and fluctuating temperature regimes. Species persistence was generally low, but temperature fluctuations facilitated co-existence of species. Decomposition was highest at intermediate diversity levels under the fluctuating temperature regime. Metabolic efficiency, estimated as the amount of fungal mycelium formed per amount of degraded wood, decreased with increasing community complexity under the fluctuating temperature regime. Brown and white rot fungi differed in decomposition rates and metabolic efficiency, but no synergistic effects were found where the two functional groups were mixed. This study demonstrates how niche differentiation in a variable environment may act to maintain diversity and function. In our experiment, differences in functional responses to the varying temperature rather than resource partitioning between brown and white rot fungi had significant effects. Niche differentiation is likely to be particularly important in maintaining species diversity in communities of wood decaying fungi, which are known from previous studies to be characterised by intense competition, and where otherwise metabolically costly interactions lead to species exclusion and dominance by highly competitive species.

Basidiomycota↗
PubMed2006

Soil fungi reduce the iron content and the DNA damaging effects of asbestos fibers.

Some soil fungi growing on asbestos fibers release chelators and antioxidants. The bioweathering potential of fungi has thus been envisaged as a possible route for bioremediation of asbestos rich soils, where no inactivation procedures have been established so far. The present study reports fungal-mediated modification of the surface reactivity of the fibers and of their potential to damage DNA in vitro. Verticillium sp. and Paecilomyces sp. were selected among the fungi isolated from fragments of chrysotile bearing rocks, as the most potent in iron extraction, and studied in parallel with F. oxysporum, previously reported to modify the surface reactivity of asbestos fibers. One sample of chrysotile from the Western Alps and a sample of UICC (Union Internationale Contre le Cancer) crocidolite were incubated with or without fungi. All fungi extracted iron from both fibers (7.3% from crocidolite and 33.6% from chrysotile by Verticillium sp.), releasing it into the medium. F. oxysporum and Paecilomyces sp. suppressed the potential of the fibers to release hydroxyl radical, while Verticillium sp. suppressed it on crocidolite but enhanced it on chrysotile, a hallmark of ongoing mobilization of reactive iron. Fibers incubated in the growth medium, but in the absence of fungi, exhibited a remarkable potential to damage DNA in vitro, measured by the generation of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine, while all the fungi reduced such effect. Fungi may thus be regarded as appropriate candidates for bioremediation of asbestos rich soils whereby the reactive iron ions responsible for DNA damage are progressively removed from the fibers.

Asbestos, Crocidolite↗
PubMed1995

Alterations in structure, chemistry, and biodegradability of grass lignocellulose treated with the white rot fungi Ceriporiopsis subvermispora and Cyathus stercoreus.

The white rot fungi Ceriporiopsis subvermispora FP-90031-sp and Cyathus stercoreus ATCC 36910 were evaluated for their ability to delignify Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) stems and improve biodegradability. Compositional and structural alterations in plant cell walls effected by the fungi were determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, gas chromatography of alkali-treated residues, microspectrophotometry, and electron microscopy. Contaminating bacteria and fungi, which grew from unsterilized Bermuda grass stems, did not alter the improvement in grass biodegradability by either of the fungi from that of gas-sterilized stems. The biodegradation of stems by ruminal microorganisms, after treatment for 6 weeks with C. subvermispora or C. stercoreus, was improved by 29 to 32% and by 63 to 77%, respectively; dry weight losses caused by pretreatment with the fungi were about 20% over that in untreated, control stems. Both fungi preferentially removed aromatics to carbohydrates, and C. subvermispora removed proportionately more guaiacyl units than did C. stercoreus. Substantial amounts of ester-linked p-coumaric and ferulic acids were removed by both fungi, and about 23 and 41% of total aromatics (determined after 4 M NaOH direct treatment) were removed from the plant biomass after incubation with C. subvermispora and C. stercoreus, respectively. UV absorption microspectrophotometry indicated that ester-linked phenolic acids were totally removed from the parenchyma cell walls, and these cells were readily and completely degraded by both fungi. However, aromatic constituents were only partially removed from the more recalcitrant sclerenchyma cell walls, resulting in variation in electron density and random digestion pits after incubation with fiber-degrading bacteria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Basidiomycota↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Colonization of wounded peanut seeds by soil fungi: selectivity for species from Aspergillus section Flavi.

Soil is a source of primary inoculum for Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, fungi that produce highly carcinogenic aflatoxins in peanuts. Aflatoxigenic fungi commonly invade peanut seeds during maturation, and the highest concentrations of aflatoxins are found in damaged seeds. A laboratory procedure was developed in which viable peanut seeds were wounded and inoculated with field soil containing natural populations of fungi, then incubated under different conditions of seed water activity and temperature. Densities of Aspergillus section Flavi in soil used for inoculating seeds were low relative to the total numbers of filamentous fungi (<1%). Aspergillus species from section Flavi present in soil included A. flavus morphotypes L and S strains, A. parasiticus, A. caelatus, A. tamarii and A. alliaceus. Wounding was required for high incidences of fungal colonization; viability of wounded seeds had little effect on colonization by Aspergillus species. Peanut seeds were colonized by section Flavi species as well as A. niger over broad ranges of water activity (0.82-0.98) and temperature (15-37 C), and the highest incidences of seed colonization occurred at water activities of 0.92-0.96 at 22-37 C. A. parasiticus colonized peanut seeds at lower temperatures than A. flavus, and cool soil temperatures relative to temperatures of aerial crop fruits might explain why A. parasiticus is found mostly in peanuts. Other fungi, dominated by the genera Penicillium, Fusarium and Clonostachys, colonized seeds primarily at water activities and temperatures suboptimal for section Flavi species and A. niger. Eupenicillium ochrosalmoneum frequently sporulated on the conidial heads of section Flavi species and showed specificity for these fungi. The inoculation of wounded viable peanut seeds with soil containing natural populations of fungi provides a model system for studying the infection process, the interactions among fungi and those factors important in aflatoxin formation.

Arachis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Monotropa uniflora plants of eastern Massachusetts form mycorrhizae with a diversity of russulacean fungi.

Plant species in the subfamily Monotropoideae are mycoheterotrophs; they obtain fixed carbon from photosynthetic plants via a shared mycorrhizal network. Previous findings show mycoheterotrophic plants exhibit a high level of specificity to their mycorrhizal fungi. In this study we explore the association of mycorrhizal fungi and Monotropa uniflora (Monotropoideae: Ericaceae) in eastern North America. We collected M. uniflora roots and nearby basidiomycete sporocarps from four sites within a 100 km2 area in eastern Massachusetts. We analyzed DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) from the fungal nuclear ribosomal gene to assess the genetic diversity of fungi associating with M. uniflora roots. In this analysis we included 20 ITS sequences from Russula sporocarps collected nearby, 44 sequences of Russula or Lactarius species from GenBank and 12 GenBank sequences of fungi isolated from M. uniflora roots in previous studies. We found that all 56 sampled M. uniflora mycorrhizal fungi were members of the Russulaceae, confirming previous research. The analysis showed that most of the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi spreads across the genus Russula. ITS sequences of the mycorrhizal fungi consisted of 20 different phylotypes: 18 of the genus Russula and two of Lactarius, based on GenBank searches. Of the sampled plants, 57% associated with only three of the 20 mycorrhizal fungi detected in roots, and of the 25 sporocarp phylotypes collected three, were associated with M. uniflora. Furthermore the results indicate that the number of different fungal phylotypes associating with M. uniflora of eastern North America is higher than that of western North America but patterns of fungal species abundance might be similar between mycorrhizae from the two locations.

Agaricales↗
PubMed1988

Ecological and physiological studies on fungi associated with human hair.

Thirty-seven species attributed to 19 genera of keratinophilic fungi were recovered from 100 human hair samples collected from the Assiut governorate. The genera Aspergillus followed by Penicillium and Chrysosporium were frequently isolated from 65, 43 and 30% of the samples respectively. Fifteen species and 13 genera of thermophilic and thermotolerant fungi (recovered at 45 degrees C) were identified. The thermotolerant Aspergillus fumigatus was frequently encountered and emerged from 82% of the samples. Thirteen isolates of keratinophilic and 20 isolates of thermophilic fungi were tested for lipolytic and proteolytic activities. All the keratinophilic fungi showed lipolytic and proteolytic activities while 100 and 85% of the thermophilic fungi showed lipolytic and proteolytic activities. Using the paper-disc plate method, 12 types of shampoos and oils were tested for their antifungal activities on 42 strains of keratinophilic and thermophilic or thermotolerant fungi. Three out of four types of shampoo proved to be highly effective against all the test fungi.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Effect of inorganic nutrients on relative contributions of fungi and bacteria to carbon flow from submerged decomposing leaf litter.

The relative contributions of fungi and bacteria to carbon flow from submerged decaying plant litter at different levels of inorganic nutrients (N and P) were studied. We estimated leaf mass loss, fungal and bacterial biomass and production, and microbial respiration and constructed partial carbon budgets for red maple leaf disks precolonized in a stream and then incubated in laboratory microcosms at two levels of nutrients. Patterns of carbon flow for leaf disks colonized with the full microbial assemblage were compared with those colonized by bacteria but in which fungi were greatly reduced by placing leaf disks in colonization chambers sealed with membrane filters to exclude aquatic hyphomycete conidia but not bacterial cells. On leaves colonized by the full microbial assemblage, elevated nutrient concentrations stimulated fungi and bacteria to a similar degree. Peak fungal and bacterial biomass increased by factors of 3.9 and 4.0; cumulative production was 3.9 and 5.1 times higher in the high nutrient in comparison with the low nutrient treatment, respectively. Fungi dominated the total microbial biomass (98.4 to 99.8%) and cumulative production (97.3 and 96.5%), and the fungal yield coefficient exceeded that of bacteria by a factor of 36 and 27 in low- and high-nutrient treatments, respectively. Consequently, the dominant role of fungi in leaf decomposition did not change as a result of nutrient manipulation. Carbon budgets indicated that 8% of leaf carbon loss in the low-nutrient treatment and 17% in the high-nutrient treatment were channeled to microbial (essentially fungal) production. Nutrient enrichment had a positive effect on rate of leaf decomposition only in microcosms with full microbial assemblages. In treatments where fungal colonization was reduced, cumulative bacterial production did not change significantly at either nutrient level and leaf decomposition rate was negatively affected (high nutrients), suggesting that bacterial participation in carbon flow from decaying leaf litter is low regardless of the presence of fungi and nutrient availability. Moreover, 1.5 and 2.3 times higher yield coefficients of bacteria in the reduced fungal treatments at low and high nutrients, respectively (percentage of leaf carbon loss channeled to bacterial production), suggest that bacteria are subjected to strong competition with fungi for resources available in leaf litter.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2006

Detection of fungi in the sinus mucosa using polymerase chain reaction.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the presence of fungi in the sinus mucosa of patients with and without chronic rhinosinusitis. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective observational study using polymerase chain reaction and conventional culture to detect fungi in the sinus mucosa. Middle meatus mucosal samples were collected from 31 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and 14 control subjects. RESULTS: Fungi were detected in 6.5% of subjects with chronic rhinosinusitis and in none of the control subjects using polymerase chain reaction. Fungi were detected in 29% of subjects with the combination of inhalant allergies, nasal polyposis, and asthma. Fungi were detected in none of the subjects without the combination of these three comorbidities (P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Polymerase chain reaction assay appears to be able to detect fungi in chronic rhinosinusitis. SIGNIFICANCE: Fungi may not be implicated in the pathogenesis of most chronic rhinosinusitis. EBM RATING: B-3b.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed2002

Dustborne fungi in large office buildings.

Fungi are ubiquitous in our daily environments. However, their effects on office workers' health are of great interest to many environmental health researchers. Dust has been considered an important reservoir of indoor fungi from which aerosolization and exposure could occur. We have examined the characteristics of dustborne fungal populations recovered from floors and chairs in office buildings. We investigated twenty-one offices in four office buildings in Boston, MA over a year beginning May 1997. We conducted intensive environmental sampling every six weeks to measure culturable dustborne fungi from floors and chairs, surface dust levels and water activity in carpeting. Carbon dioxide, temperature, and relative humidity were monitored continuously. Concentrations of total dustborne fungi recovered from floors were positively related to carbon dioxide (beta = 0.00064; p-value = 0.0002) and temperatures between 20 and 22.5 degrees C (p-value = 0.0026). Also, total fungal concentrations in floors gradually increased over the year (p-value = 0.0028). Total fungi recovered from chairs varied significantly by season (p-value < 0.0001), highest in September and lowest in March, and were positively correlated with dust loads in floors (beta = 0.25; p-value < 0.0001). We used principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce various observed fungal species to fewer factors. Six groups (PCA factors) were obtained for dustborne fungi recovered from both floors and chairs. The models of the first PCA factors for both floors and chairs were similar to those for total fungal concentrations. The results of this study provide essential information to further evaluate the effects of dustborne fungi on office workers' health.

Air Microbiology↗
PubMed2003

Dustborne and airborne fungal propagules represent a different spectrum of fungi with differing relations to home characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to fungi is often assessed by culturing floor dust or air samples. Our objective was to evaluate the relationships between dustborne and airborne fungi and to identify factors that modify these relationships. METHODS: From November 1994 to September 1996 sequential duplicate 45-l air samples were collected in bedrooms of 496 homes in the Boston area, using a Burkard culture plate sampler. After air sampling, bedroom floors were sampled with a vacuum cleaner that was modified to collect dust in a cellulose extraction thimble. Dust was sieved, and the fine dust was dilution-plated onto DG-18 media. RESULTS: Concentrations of total culturable fungi per gram of bedroom-floor dust were correlated weakly, but significantly, with those of indoor air (r = 0.13, P < 0.05). Concentrations of some individual taxa in the dust and indoor air were also weakly associated. Adjusting for the concentrations of fungi in outdoor air, dustborne fungal concentrations were positively associated with those in indoor air for the taxa Cladosporium and Penicillium, but not for total fungi. The indoor air fungal levels were often predicted by different covariates to those predicting fungal levels in dust. The type of housing (house or apartment) and the presence of carpeting were often predictive factors for dust fungi. In contrast, outdoor fungal levels were often predictive of the indoor air fungal levels. CONCLUSIONS: Because our data do not indicate a strong overall relationship between culturable fungi in dust and indoor air, the results from these two methods (dust and air sampling) likely represent different types of potential fungal exposures to residents. It may be essential to collect both air and dust samples, as well as information on housing characteristics, as indicators for fungal exposure.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2004

Viable fungi and bacteria in personal exposure samples in relation to microenvironments.

Personal exposures to viable fungi and bacteria were compared with the concentrations being assessed by stationary samplers in home and workplace microenvironments. A random sample of 81 elementary school teachers in eastern Finland performed two 24-hour measurement periods in wintertime. Concentrations and prevalences of viable fungi and bacteria on the collection filters were determined by cultivation method. The geometric mean concentration was 3-12 cfu m(-3) for total viable fungi, 0.6-3.7 cfu m(-3) for Penicillium and mainly under 1 cfu m(-3) for other fungi. The samples with higher fungal concentrations also had higher diversity of fungi than samples with lower concentrations. The total number of fungal genera recovered was 39 for personal, 34 for home and 23 for work samples. The variation in concentration of Penicillium explained even 25-95% of the variations of total fungal concentration in personal exposure, home and workplace environments. There was an association between personal exposure and home concentration of viable fungi and between personal exposure and home and work concentrations of viable bacteria. Personal exposure and home concentrations of fungi were higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Our results also indicate that presence of a certain fungus in a microenvironment does not necessarily mean similar findings in personal exposure samples.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2003

Fungi are the predominant micro-organisms responsible for degradation of soil-buried polyester polyurethane over a range of soil water holding capacities.

AIMS: To investigate the relationship between soil water holding capacity (WHC) and biodegradation of polyester polyurethane (PU) and to quantify and identify the predominant degrading micro-organisms in the biofilms on plastic buried in soil. METHODS AND RESULTS: High numbers of both fungi and bacteria were recovered from biofilms on soil-buried dumb-bell-shaped pieces of polyester PU after 44 days at 15-100% WHC. The tensile strength of the polyester PU was reduced by up to 60% over 20-80% soil WHC, but no reduction occurred at 15, 90 or 100% soil WHC. A PU agar clearance assay indicated that fungi, but not bacteria were, the major degrading organisms in the biofilms on polyester PU and 10-30% of all the isolated fungi were able to degrade polyester PU in this assay. A 5.8S rDNA sequencing identified 13 strains of fungi representing the three major colony morphology types responsible for PU degradation. Sequence homology matches identified these strains as Nectria gliocladioides (five strains), Penicillium ochrochloron (one strain) and Geomyces pannorum (seven strains). Geomyces pannorum was the predominant organism in the biofilms comprising 22-100% of the viable polyester PU degrading fungi. CONCLUSIONS: Polyester PU degradation was optimum under a wide range of soil WHC and the predominant degrading organisms were fungi. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: By identifying the predominant degrading fungi in soil and studying the optimum WHC conditions for degradation of PU it allows us to better understand how plastics are broken down in the environment such as in landfill sites.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗
PubMed2004

Mites and fungi in heavily infested stores in the Czech Republic.

Toxigenic and allergen-producing fungi represent a serious hazard to human food and animal feed safety. Ninety-four fungal species were isolated from mite-infested samples of seeds taken from Czech seed stores. Fungi were isolated from the surface of four kinds of seeds (wheat, poppy, lettuce, and mustard) and from the gut and external surface of five species of mites (i.e., Acarus siro L., 1758, Caloglyphus rhizoglyphoides (Zachvatkin, 1973), Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank, 1781), Tyrophagus putrescentnae (Schrank, 1781) and Cheyletus malaccensis Oudemans 1903) separately. Multivariate analysis of fungi complex composition showed that the frequency of fungal was species significantly influenced by the kind of seed. Fungal frequencies differed between mites gut and exoskeleton surface and between the surfaces of mites and seeds. Three groups of fungal species were recognized: 1) mite surface-associated fungi: Penicillium brevicompactum, Alternaria alternata, and Aspergillus versicolor; 2) mite surface- and seed-associated fungi: Aspergillus niger, Penicillium crustosum, Penicillium aurantiogriseum, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Aspergillus flavus; and 3) seed-associated fungi: Cladosporium herbarum, Mucor dimorphosporus f. dimorphosporus, Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium griseofulvum, and Eurotium repens. Mite-carried species of microfungi are known to produce serious mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxin B1, cyclopiazonic acid, sterigmatocystin, ochratoxin A, and nephrotoxic glycopeptides) as well as allergen producers (e.g., A. alternata and P. brevicompactum). Storage mites may play an important role in the spread of some medically hazardous micromycetes. In addition, these mite-fungi associations may heighten the risk of occurrence of mycotoxins in food and feed stuffs and cause mixed contamination by fungal and mite allergens.

Alternaria↗
PubMed1992

Molecular evolution of the fungi: human pathogens.

The morphological, ecological, and clinical diversity among ascomycete fungi that are pathogenic to humans suggest that the potential for pathogenicity may have arisen multiple times within these higher fungi. We have obtained 18S ribosomal DNA sequences from a diverse group of human pathogenic fungi in order to determine their evolutionary origins. The fungi studied include a skin pathogen that is confined to humans (Trichophyton rubrum) and three systemic, facultative parasites that cause histoplasmosis (Histoplasma capsulatum), blastomycosis (Blastomyces dermatitidis) and coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides immitis) in humans and other higher animals. Also included in our analysis are representatives of non-pathogenic fungi, as well as two opportunistic pathogens, Pneumocystis carinii and Candida albicans, that cause severe disease in immunocompromised individuals, especially those with AIDS. Two of the fungi we sequenced, T. rubrum and C. immitis, are limited to asexual modes of reproduction and therefore lack the sexual structures that are most useful for evolutionary comparison as well as being essential for classification among the higher fungi. Coccidioides immitis is particularly problematic owing to its contradictory and confusing asexual morphologies, which have caused it to be placed in three fungal classes and the protista. Our analysis shows that the specialized, superficial parasite and the systemic, facultative parasites, including C. immitis, are closely related ascomycetes, which clearly demonstrates the power of molecular characters to compensate for missing or confusing reproductive morphology. Analysis also shows that the opportunistic pathogens are more distantly related, with the likely explanation that pathogenicity has arisen more than once within the Ascomycetes.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Monoclonal antibodies to Gliocladium roseum, a potential biological control fungus of sap-staining fungi in wood.

Immunological probes were developed to discriminate between a potential biological control fungus and sap-staining fungi present in wood. This paper describes the production of monoclonal antibodies to isolated cell wall fragments of the biological control fungus Gliocladium roseum. Two monoclonals, designated 6A5 and 3F12, were characterized. Their specificity was assessed by ELISA, by immunogold silver staining light microscopy, by immunogold electron microscopy, and by immunoblotting. Monoclonal 6A5 specifically recognized G. roseum and closely related species and did not react with any of 21 sap-staining fungi tested. Monoclonal 3F12 recognized most of the biological control fungi tested and also showed reactivity with two of the 21 sap-staining fungi. Both monoclonals appeared to recognize carbohydrate epitopes of the cell wall in G. roseum. Although the antibodies were produced against the cell wall of fungus grown in liquid culture, they also detected specific fungi in wood and, therefore, can be used for studies of wood colonization by fungi and for investigations of the interactions between different fungi growing on wood.

Antibodies, Fungal↗
PubMed1994

Isozyme analysis of anaerobic rumen fungi and their relationship to aerobic chytrids.

Isozymes of 23 cultures of the anaerobic rumen fungi and seven cultures of aerobic chytridiomycete fungi were analysed by PAGE. A total of 14 isozyme loci were successfully typed by PAGE. They were peptidase A & C-1, peptidase A & C-2, peptidase D-1, peptidase D-2, malate dehydrogenase-1, malate dehydrogenase-2, esterase-1, esterase-2, malic enzyme-1, malic enzyme-2, isocitrate dehydrogenase, shikimate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. Isozyme analysis can be used for studying the genetic relationships among the different anaerobic rumen fungi and the aerobic chytridiomycete fungi and the isozyme characteristics can serve as additional taxonomic criteria in the classification of the anaerobic rumen fungi. A dendrogram based on the isozyme data demonstrated that the anaerobic rumen fungi formed a cluster, indicating a monophyletic group, distinctly separated from the aerobic chytridiomycete fungi. Piromyces communis and P. minutus showed a close relationship but P. spiralis showed a more distant relationship to both P. communis and P. minutus. Piromyces as a whole was more related to Caecomyces than to Neocallimastix. Orpinomyces was also found to be more related to Piromyces and Caecomyces than to Neocallimastix. Orpinomyces intercalaris C 70 from cattle showed large genetic variation from O. joyonii, indicating that it is a different species.

Aerobiosis↗