Book of Abstracts (PDF) - International Mycological Association

IMC7 Main Congress Theme II: SYSTEMATICS, PHYLOGENY AND EVOLUTION Posters
(net blotch and spotted net blotch). Molecular phylogenetic
analyses were used to examine species concepts within
Pyrenophora. The initial ITS sequence analysis revealed
species-specific sequence motifs in the ITS1 region for
most species sampled but failed to definitively differentiate
among barley isolates at the species level. This result
supported prior mating experiments suggesting that P. teres
and P. graminea represent one biological species, despite
morphological differences, and differing mode of infection
and disease symptoms on a single host. Further parsimony
analyses were performed using sequence data from three
genetic loci for multiple strains. Several isolates were
included whose P. teres pathovar identification had been
confirmed in inoculation trials on the host and several
strains of P. graminea newly isolated from distinctive leaf
stripe lesions. Two distinct clusters corresponded to P.
teres f. teres and P. graminea, while numerous strains
variously identified but including those confirmed as P.
teres f. maculata, were intermediate.
677 - Molecular and morphological characterization of
a cosmopolitan root endophyte allied to the
Leotiomycetes
S. Hambleton 1* , L. Sigler 2 & R.S. Currah 3
1 Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0C6, Canada. - 2 University of Alberta Micorfungus
Collection and Herbarium, University of Alberta,
Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E1, Canada. - 3 Department of
Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada. - E-mail:
hambletons@em.agr.ca
Sterile fungi isolated from surface-sterilized roots of the
Ericaceae were hypothesized to be conspecific based
primarily on restriction fragment length polymorphisms
and provisionally named as Variable White Taxon (VWT).
In preliminary re-synthesis trials with Vaccinium
myrtilloides and V. vitis-idaea, two isolates tested did not
form ericoid mycorrhizas. Several isolates of culturally
similar fungi were obtained from roots of the Orchidaceae
and Pinaceae and suspected of being VWT based on colony
morphology and characters of the mycelium. To assess
conspecificity and infer their phylogenetic affinities, partial
nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences were determined.
Parsimony analyses supported a species level distinction
for VWT isolates and indicated that the taxon is closely
related to, but distinct from, Hymenoscyphus ericae
(Leotiomycetes). A new anamorph genus and species is
proposed to accommodate this endophyte, which so far has
remained sterile in culture, to facilitate information
retrieval and discussion and provide a sound foundation for
additional experimental work. Strains are identified using a
suite of morphological characters in conjunction with ITS
sequence data.
678 - Knufia cryptophialidica, close phylogenetic relative
of Coniosporium spp. (Ascomycota, incertae sedis)
S. Hambleton 1* , A. Tsuneda 2 & K.A. Seifert 1
1 Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0C6, Canada. - 2 Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian
Forest Service, Edmonton, Alberta T6H 3S5, Canada. - Email:
hambletons@em.agr.ca
When first described, the taxonomic position of Knufia
cryptophialidica (monotypic genus, Hyphomycetes),
isolated from galls on stems and branches of Populus
tremuloides, was hypothesized to be related to the
metacapnodiaceous sooty molds. Similar characteristics of
the group include slow-growing, black, cerebriform growth
on agar, the production of undifferentiated conidiogenous
cells on moniliform hyphae, and phialidic conidiogenesis
in some species. In a study focused on the identification
and phylogenetic placement of a sterile black cerebriform
fungus from Sphagnum leaves also suspected of being
related to the Metacapnodiaceae, DNA sequences from the
nuclear ribosomal RNA gene were determined for 4 strains
of Knufia cryptophialidica for comparative purposes.
Parsimony analyses indicated that K. cryptophialidica was
distant from the sooty molds in the Capnodiales but closely
related to Coniosporium apollinis and C. perforans, two
species shown previously to form a strongly supported
sister clade to the Chaetothyriomycetes. The Coniosporium
spp. were isolated from stone and are superficially similar
in morphology to K. cryptophialidica, but develop catenate
muriform conidia from meristematic conidiophores.
679 - Hawaiian puffballs, earthstars and stinkhorns
D.E. Hemmes 1* & D.E. Desjardin 2
1 University of Hawaii at Hilo, Biology Department, 200 W.
Kawili St., Hilo, Hawaii 96720, U.S.A. - 2 San Francisco
State University, Department of Biology, 1600 Holloway
Ave., San Francisco, California 94132, U.S.A. - E-mail:
hemmes@hawaii.edu
An annotated list of gasteromycetes found in the Hawaiian
Islands including members of the Lycoperdaceae,
Geastraceae, Nidulariaceae, Tulostomataceae, Phallaceae,
Clathraceae, and Sclerodermataceae will be presented from
collections taken over the past ten years on all the major
islands. Alien habitats such as coastal Casuarina groves,
coastal Prosopsis groves, cypress plantings, and hillside
Leucaena thickets harbor a number of earthstars and
stalked puffballs including Tulostoma and Battarreoides.
The native mamane-naio vegetation zones on the leeward
sides of the high volcanic mountains are also excellent
habitats for xerophytic earthstars, Battarrea, and
Tulostoma. Members of the Phallaceae including
Dictyophora, Mutinus, Pseudocolus, and Phallus are found
in agricultural and horticultural settings whereas Aseroë
rubra, along with various species of Scleroderma are
Book of Abstracts 205