New consideration based on light and electron microscopic investigation of Triangularia batistae

During mycological work carried out on tropical forest soils, Triangularia batistae Bezerra and Maciel was foud. New description based on light and electron microscopic investigation is also offered

Le comunità fungine della lettiera di Coffea arabica in Messico

The mycoflora colonizing Coffea arabica leaf litter in two cultivations in Mexico was analyzed in two different climatic (rainy and dry) periods. Among the most frequent species, dominant ones can be presumed on the basis of the level of positive association between them. Fluctuations in frequency of selected species in each climatic period are statistically significant. Litter of Inga sp., the shadowing plant, is colonized by different species: a specificity for the medium can be supposed

Fungal role in the movement, leaching and deposition of minerals across leaf litter and soil

A considerable number of fungi have been described as having the power to translocate nutrients, but little is known about this role in the leaf litter-soil interface food web. A technique for evaluating the mechanisms of cellulose colonization by fungi and the changes in elemental composition of cellulose during its exploitation was set up. Ten sheets of pure cellulose (cotton linter) filter paper (10cm2) were layered to form a pad which was then inserted into a square-shaped terylene netting bag (15cm2), with a mesh size of 1mm2 . This package was then incubated for 6 months under leaf litter originating from an area of a low mixed Mediterranean maquis located in southern Italy (408570N; 138550E). Four different sites as field replicates were considered along three sampling times. The analysis of cellulose sheets by means of Scanning electron microscopy and EDS (Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) after 45, 180 and 600 days of field incubation has provided evidence of a progressive increase in the fragmentation of the niche represented by the cellulose itself in the course of proceeding of the decomposition. A clear change occurred in the content of trace elements during decomposition: two groups of elements were observed that seemed to have behaved differently over time. A larger group whose average concentration has been increasing with field incubation time was composed by Si, Fe, Al K, Cl, Mg. A second group of three elements (Ca, P and S) instead has followed a very different trend, increasing in some cases significantly and almost logarithmically between the first and the second sampling, and then remaining constant or even decreased (as in the case of Ca) between the second and the third sampling. The first group of microelements is clearly linked to the contribution of the soil (sandy), while the elements of the second group appeared correlated to biological activity. During the decomposition of cellulose Ca enters into fungal enzymatic mechanisms related to the tricarboxylic acid cycle (i.e. accumulation or precipitation of calcium oxalate in the environment); this can explain the peculiar behaviour of this element across the incubation time. The P and S are biogenic elements that enter directly in the composition of proteins and nucleic acids and other fundamental biological molecules (ATP , co-enzymes, structural proteins), and could be associated to the extent of fungal colonisation of cellulosic material. The results of the study provided evidence of a functional role of fungal hyphae and rhizomorphs in the movement, leaching and deposition of minerals across soil and leaf litter layers

Influenza del substrato sulla morfologia di un ceppo africano di Chaetopsina fulva (Deuteromycotina)

The morphology of a Chaetopsina fulva Rambelli strain inoculated on different matrices is investigated. Some important morphological differences on particular subtrata are described. Some considerations on intraspecific variability are carried out

Metarhizium sp., an Antarctic mitosporic fungus (Ascomycota), with a distinct evolutionary lineage based on sequences of the ribosomial DNA and beta tubulin coding genes.

IN THIS WORK WE DESCRIBE A NEW SPECIES OF METARHIZIUM FROM ANTACTIC SOIL AND ITS PHYLOGENY BY DNA, ITS-1 AND ITS-2 ANALYSE

La ricostituzione delle comunità fungine di suoli di foresta tropicale (Costa d'Avorio): esiste un modello di organizzazione temporale?

Mycological studies of tropical forest (Ivory Coast) were carried out to evaluate, in permanent plots, the effects of edaphic and meteorological variability and of experimental disturbance, simulating shifting cultivation, on the soil mycoflora. In this paper spatial and temporal organization of these microfungal communities through diversity analysis is focused. Values of niche width and overlap, calculated for each type of soil and treatment considered, were analyzed for both intra- and interannual sequenc

Fungal soil bioinoculants and their skills to improve phosphorus slow solubilisation and release

Phosphorus is one of the most important nutrients for plant development and deficiencies and in soil it limits agricultural crop yields worldwide since its soluble forms rapidly becomes insoluble or unavailable to organisms. This forces growers to repeated applications of fertilizers to crops, resulting in eutrophication and other ecological challenges. The global P reserves are projected to be depleted in 50 years, raising concern over food production for the human population which is thought to increase in next decades. The use of microorganisms, fungi and bacteria, as biological fertilizers is a growing practice and the subject of intense research. Fungi are ubiquitous in soil and can be dominant components of the microbiota in many soil types. Among the potentialities of fungi to be employed in innovative forms of soil amendment, the ability of some fungal species in the leaching of minerals and elements' chelation and translocation has been yet very little evaluated and even less exploited. The aim of this study was to identify the best P biofertilizers among the tested fungal species for their application in agricultural soil, in order to increase the P availability for plant development from insoluble tricalcium phosphate (TCP). We tested selected fungal isolates (29 species: 4 Zygomycota and 25 Ascomycota) with different life strategies on Pikovskaya’s medium containing 5% TCP. Fungal growth was evaluated by diametric extension of colonies and biomass yield in order to also consider the density of fungal mycelium. The surface pH of the agar was measured at specific intervals across the diameter of the Petri dish with a pH meter. The halo zones around the colonies were assessed and the solubilising efficiency was calculated according to different indexes. The solubilised phosphorus in broth cultures and the P content of fungal biomass were estimated by colorimetric methods. Different patterns of solubilisation by fungi were described and related to fungal growth. The results of the study provided evidence on some saprotrophic fungi ability to mobilize P from insoluble compounds, and thus release it with different speeds. P forms slowly released by fungi in soil can become available to plants at a sustainable rate. This study integrates the number of P solubilising fungal species and shed the light on mechanisms and parameters that are important to be considered in the choice of efficient soil P-biofertilizers

Safeguarding saproxylic fungal biodiversity in Apennine beech forest priority habitats

The FAGUS LIFE Project (LIFE11/NAT/IT/135) targets two European priority habitats, i.e. Habitat 9210* Apennine beech forests with Taxus and Ilex, and Habitat 9220* Apennine beech forests with Abies alba, within two National Parks: Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni; Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga. The current limited distribution of the target habitats is also due to the impact of human activities on forest systems, such as harvesting and grazing. The FAGUS project aims at developing and testing management strategies able to integrate the conservation of priority forest habitats (9210* and 9220*) and the sustainable use of forest resources. In order to assess the responses to different management treatments the BACI monitoring design (Before-After, Control-Intervention) has been applied on forest structure and diversity of focus taxa before and after experimental harvesting treatments. Conventional management of Apennine beech forests impacts a wealth of taxonomic groups, such as saproxylic beetles and fungi, which are threatened throughout Europe by the lack of deadwood and of senescing trees, and by the homogeneous structure of managed forests. Deadwood has been denoted as the most important manageable habitat for biodiversity in forests not only for supporting a wide diversity of organisms, but also for playing a prominent role in several ecological processes, creating the basis for the cycling of photosynthetic energy, carbon, and nutrients stored in woody material. Especially fungi can be regarded as key group for understanding and managing biodiversity associated with decaying wood. The before-intervention field sampling was carried out in Autumn 2013 in 33 monitoring plots across the two national Parks. The occurrence at plot level of both Ascomycota and Basidiomycota sporocarps was surveyed. All standing and downed deadwood with a minimum diameter of 10 cm was sampled for sporocarps larger than 1 mm, and information on decay class and fungal morphogroups was recorded. Our results confirm Apennine beech forests as important repositories of saproxylic fungal diversity. We identified species of high scientific concern, in both National Parks. The most represented genus is Mycena with six and five species in the sampling units of “Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga” and “Cilento,Vallo di Diano and Alburni” national Parks respectively. Within the “Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park” the area of Incodara is of special interest due to the occurrence of the species Ossicaulis lignatilis, which is among the 21 identified indicator species for assessing conservation value of beech forests in Europe. A consistent group of Ascomycota species, including Biscogniauxia nummularia, Bisporella citrina, Diatrype disciformis, Kretzschmaria deusta, Nemania serpens, and Xylaria hypoxylon, was tightly associated with coarse woody debris in “Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park” plots. The decay stage seemed to exert a major influence on both species richness and their spatial patterns, with coarse woody debris in the intermediate to late stages of decay being the richest in species