Inoculum 63(3) - Mycological Society of America

Fungi are crucial components of all ecosystems and their conservation requires
strategies specifically tailored to them. However, a major stumbling block
in fungal conservation is our lack of knowledge of their true diversity. In the UK,
waxcap fungi (Hygrocybe s.l. and Cuphophyllus) have been the subject of longterm
monitoring, they have excited the attention of non-specialists, their presence
has led to designation of a few Special Sites of Scientific Interest in the UK, and
they are included in the sites analyzed in the Important Fungus Areas survey.
Moreover, all four national statutory conservation bodies have funded survey and
monitoring of these fungi. However, over the last decades, application of molecular
markers to species diagnosis in fungi has called into question the reliability
of a strictly morphology-based approach. A key requirement for many fungi of
conservation concern in the UK is the need for molecular diagnostic tools to assist
in species definition (including recognition of cryptic taxa). For this project,
we focused on generating DNA barcodes from waxcap fungi to assist in identification
of cryptic species that may need to be considered for conservation management.
New citizen-led survey work has contributed over 500 new collections
across Great Britain. In addition, sequencing information was harvested from over
650 fungarium specimens representing most of the known species in the UK.
Over 200 new ITS barcode sequences were analyzed in combination with all of
the Hygrocybe ITS sequences available on GenBank plus unpublished reference
sequences, revealing a number of cryptic species and species with identification
problems in the UK and USA. A reevaluation of morphological characters correlated
with distinct ITS clades will inform future rapid, field-based surveys and
monitoring efforts. In addition, these sequences have helped in revising infrageneric
names in Hygrophoraceae - the first full revision since Hesler and Smith
(1963).
Desai, Nikhilesh S. Chicago Botanic Garden, Plant Science Center, 1000 Lake
Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL 60022. Mycorrhizal community composition of Quercus
oleoides as a function of stand maturity in a regenerating dry tropical
forest
Species rich dry tropical forests (DTFs) are the most endangered ecosystems
in the tropical biome, threatened by many anthropogenic activities. In Costa
Rica, deforestation of the DTF has occurred for centuries; however, conservation
efforts over the past 30 years have restored these forests to 47.9% of their original
extent. To better understand the role of mycorrhizal fungi in the regeneration
of DTFs, this project studies the mycorrhizal communities associated with a
younger (10 years old) and older (25 years old) stand of Quercus oleoides (tropical
live oak). The study site is Sector Santa Rosa of the Área de Conservación
Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica, where Q. oleoides were once regionally
dominant. This project is intended to evaluate: 1) the ectomycorrhizal
(EM) diversity in older and younger stands of oak and the overlap in community
composition between stands; 2) whether older stands contain more rare EM
species than younger stands; and 3) how the balance between arbuscular mycorrhizal
(AM) and EM abundance reflects stand age. Data collection occurred over
two weeks in July 2011. Using two 20-m x 50-m plots from young and old stands,
soil cores were collected and the associated EM root tips were pooled for analysis
of species composition using molecular methods. Sporocarps were collected
for DNA analysis of fresh fungal tissue. DNA sequences were used to identify
EM fungi using BLAST searches against GenBank and UNITE databases. Oak
roots without mantles were analyzed for AM presence by staining with Trypan
blue. More EM root tip colonization was observed in soil cores from older stands.
Preliminary RFLP results suggest that this reflects a greater EM richness in these
communities. Further results and discussion will be presented in the poster.
Li, De-Wei 1 and Guihua Zhao 2 . 1 The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station,
Valley Laboratory, 153 Cook Hill Road, Windsor, CT 06095, 2 Center of
Biotechnology R&D, Jiangsu Polytechnic College of Agriculture and Forestry, 3
Jushu Road, Jurong, Jiangsu 212400, China. Two new hyphomycetes, Strelitziana
windsorensis sp. nov. and Zeloasperisporium toonae sp. nov., from
Toona sinensis in Connecticut
Two new hyphomycetes, Strelitziana windsorensis and Zeloasperisporium
toonae, that were collected from Toona sinensis in Windsor, Connecticut were
found to be new to science according to the morphological characters and analysis
of ITS sequences. Strelitziana windsorensis is described and illustrated with
filiform conidia, smooth, 63-103 _ 2.0-2.5 _m and conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous
cells and Zeloasperisporium toonae with conidia, smooth, 12.3-17 µ
3.5-4.4 µm, 0-2 (1) septate. Keys to the species of Strelitziana and Zeloasperisporium
are provided.
van Diepen, Linda TA 1 , Serita D Frey 1 , and W Kelley Thomas 2 . 1 Department
of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire,
Durham, NH 03824, 2 Hubbard Center for Genome Studies, University of New
Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824. Soil metatranscriptomics reveals changes in
expression of transcripts encoding lignocellulolytic enzymes in the forest
floor of a temperate forest under increased nitrogen deposition
16 Inoculum 63(3), June 2012
Fungi are ubiquitous in terrestrial ecosystems and play an important role
in biogeochemical cycling because of their function as litter decomposers. It has
been demonstrated that increased nitrogen (N) deposition decreases fungal biomass
and changes the relative abundance of particular groups and species. In addition
increased N can slow litter decomposition and reduce lignolytic enzyme activity.
To understand the functioning of fungi under increased N addition in more
detail, we performed a soil metatranscriptomic analysis on forest floor samples
from a chronic N-addition experiment at Harvard Forest (MA, USA). We extracted
total RNA, followed by reverse transcription of poly-A tailed mRNA and
Illumina paired-end sequencing of the cDNA. In the forest floor of control and N
amended plots, a total of ~460,000 genes were expressed at the time of sampling,
of which 172,000 and 95,000 were uniquely expressed in the N addition and control
plots, respectively. More than 20,000 genes (~5% of all expressed genes)
were either significantly up-regulated or down-regulated in the control versus the
N-amended plots (P5, Reads Per Kilobase of exon per Million
mapped sequence reads) in either the control or N-amended plots. Most of the differences
in expression were found within primary metabolic and cellular processes.
More specifically, several genes closely related to fungal glycoside hydrolases
and laccases, involved in lignocellulose degradation, were found to be down-regulated
in the N-amended plots compared to the control plots. Within our study,
metatranscriptomics proved to be a useful technique to study the activity of specific
genes of interest, while at the same time revealing shifts in the activity of
genes that would be overlooked in gene-specific qPCR analysis.
Dillon, Husbands R 1 and Henkel W Terry 2 . 1 Department of Agriculture, Faculty
of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana, 2 Department
of Biological Sciences, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521.
Synopsis of Boletaceae from the central Guiana Shield
Mycological exploration in the remote tropical forests of Guyana, in the
central Guiana Shield phytogeographic region of northeastern South America, has
uncovered upwards of 30 species of the pore mushroom family Boletaceae sensu
lato. Boletes have heretofore been poorly documented from the South American
tropics. These species are distributed across eight sensu lato genera including Austroboletus,
Boletellus, Chalciporus, Fistulinella, Phylloporus, Pulveroboletus,
Tylopilus, and Xerocomus. Eighteen of these species, most of which were new to
science, have been formally described. Molecular analysis of roots has confirmed
that at least sixteen of these bolete species are ECM associates of the Fabaceae
hosts Dicymbe spp., Aldina insignis, the endemic dipterocarp Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea,
or Coccoloba spp. (Polygonaceae). We will discuss current work on
new species of Xerocomus from this bolete-rich region.
Duong, Tuan A 1 , Z Wilhelm de Beer 2 , Brenda D Wingfield 1 , and Michael J
Wingfield 1 . 1 Department of Genetics, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology
Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa, 2 Department of Microbiology
and Plant Pathology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute,
University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa. Cloning, characterization
and population analysis of the mating-type genes from Leptographium
procerum and L. profanum
Leptographium procerum and its sibling species, L. profanum, are ascomycetes
associated with root-infesting beetles of respectively pines and hardwood
trees. Both species are native to North America, although L. procerum has
been introduced into Europe, New Zealand, and South Africa. The latest introduction
of L. procerum was into China in association with the red turpentine beetle
(Dendroctonus valens), where the fungus apparently contributes to killing of
millions of native Chinese pine trees. As for many other Leptographium species,
sexual states have never been observed in L. procerum and L. profanum. The objectives
of this study were to clone and characterize the mating type loci of these
fungi, and to develop markers that can be used to characterize the mating-type of
individual isolates. To achieve this, we amplified a partial sequence of MAT1-2-
1 using degenerate primers targeting the high mobility group (HMG) box. A complete
MAT1-2 idiomorph of L. procerum was subsequently obtained by screening
a genomic library using the HMG sequence as a probe. Long range PCRs were
used to amplify the complete MAT1-1 idiomorph of L. procerum and both the
MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 idiomorphs of L. profanum. Characterization of the MAT
idiomorphs suggested that the MAT genes are fully functional and that individuals
of both these species are self-sterile in nature with a heterothallic mating system.
Mating type markers were developed and tested on a population of L. procerum
isolates from the USA, the assumed center of origin for this species. The
results suggested that cryptic sex is occurring or has recently taken place within
this population. The information regarding the MAT genes and mating type markers
developed in this study will now be used in studies considering the population
genetics and origin of these fungi.
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