Recent records of telamonioid species of Cortinarius (Agaricales: Cortinariaceae) in New Brunswick, Canada

Eight species of Cortinarius (webcaps) subgenus Telamonia and two other telamonioid Cortinarius species are reported from New Brunswick, Canada. Internal transcribed spacer sequences of these were used to build a phylogenetic tree confirming species identifications and relationships to relevant material, especially types and other Canadian collections. Descriptions and photographs of fresh material and microscopic features are provided. Habitat details, particularly potential mycorrhizal partners and dominant bryophytes, were recorded for each collection and compared with published records. Seven species, Cortinarius caninoides, Cortinarius cicindela, Cortinarius fulvescens, Cortinarius harvardensis, Cortinarius plumulosus, Cortinarius pseudobiformis, and Cortinarius valgus are new distribution records for New Brunswick, and C. plumulosus is apparently a first record for North America. Because these species have rarely been reported, they have yet to be given common names

Consumption of Bats (Myotis spp.) by Raccoons (Procyon lotor) During an Outbreak of White-Nose Syndrome in New Brunswick, Canada: Implications for Estimates of Bat Mortality

Across their range, Raccoons (Procyon lotor) will opportunistically exploit bats (Chiroptera) roosting in caves as a source of food. During a significant mortality event associated with white-nose syndrome (WNS) at a cave in eastern Canada, we estimate that Raccoons consumed 3169–3827 dead and dying Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) and Northern Long-eared Bats (M. septentrionalis) infected with white-nose syndrome, equivalent to 62.0–74.9% of the total bat mortality at this site. However, the generally small dispersal distances of Raccoons and their reduced activity during the period when bats are hibernating suggest that Raccoons are likely not a significant vector for moving the fungus associated with white-nose syndrome, Geomyces destructans, between most caves at this latitude. Nevertheless, since we show that significant numbers of bats can be consumed in hibernacula through opportunistic feeding by Raccoons, estimates of in-cave mortality due to white-nose syndrome should incorporate any evidence of consumption of bats by Raccoons and other predators

DETECTING VIABLE PSEUDOGYMNOASCUS DESTRUCTANS (ASCOMYCOTA: PSEUDEUROTIACEAE) FROM WALLS OF BAT HIBERNACULA: EFFECT OF CULTURE MEDIA

Abstract: Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) causes the fungal disease white-nose syndrome (WNS), which has led to high mortality in some hibernating bat species in eastern North America. The ability to detect viable Pd in hibernacula is important for understanding the role the environment plays as a reservoir for infectious Pd. Previous studies have generally used the high-sugar medium Sabouraud-dextrose (SAB) and have had low yields of viable Pd from environmental samples of Pd-positive hibernacula. While cultureindependent methods (i.e., molecular genetics) have previously shown much better success in detecting Pd, these methods cannot determine viability. In 2012 and 2015, we swabbed walls in four hibernacula with WNS-positive bats in New Brunswick, Canada, and cultured the samples using dextrose-peptone-yeast extract agar (DPYA), SAB, and Malt extract (MEA) media. Samples cultured on DPYA produced viable Pd 43.7 to 50.0 % more frequently than SAB, with a maximum overall return for DPYA among sites of 62.5 % Pd-positive samples over both years. During the initial outbreak of WNS in our study region, Pd-positive swabs were produced from 40.0 to 83.3 % of samples on DPYA, whereas SAB produced a maximum of 40.0 %. At one site we detected Pd from 83.3% of swabs cultured on DPYA and 0 % on SAB. MEA produced no viable Pd. Our figures for Pd detection are as high as or higher than previously published culture-independent methods, while also confirming the viability of the Pd present. We found that the yield of viable Pd from hibernacula walls decreased from 2012 to 2015 as the hibernating bat population decreased due to WNS mortality, but patterns varied amongst hibernacula, and overall, were not statistically different. It is possible that environmental growth of Pd contributes to its persistence within hibernacula. We suggest that future studies on the environmental persistence of viable Pd discontinue the use of high-sugar media that lack inhibitory fungal growth ingredients, such as SAB and MEA, as they favor fast-growing fungal species that overgrow and mask slowergrowing fungi such as Pd

First evidence of mutualism between ancient plant lineages (Haplomitriopsida liverworts) and Mucoromycotina fungi and its response to simulated Palaeozoic changes in atmospheric CO2

© 2014 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The attached file is the published version of the article

Ευρετικές προσεγγίσεις του μοναδιάστατου προβλήματος πακετοποίησης

Article 59.1, of the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (ICN; Melbourne Code), which addresses the nomenclature of pleomorphic fungi, became effective from 30 July 2011. Since that date, each fungal species can have one nomenclaturally correct name in a particular classification. All other previously used names for this species will be considered as synonyms. The older generic epithet takes priority over the younger name. Any widely used younger names proposed for use, must comply with Art. 57.2 and their usage should be approved by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (NCF). In this paper, we list all genera currently accepted by us in Dothideomycetes (belonging to 23 orders and 110 families), including pleomorphic and non-pleomorphic genera. In the case of pleomorphic genera, we follow the rulings of the current ICN and propose single generic names for future usage. The taxonomic placements of 1261 genera are listed as an outline. Protected names and suppressed names for 34 pleomorphic genera are listed separately. Notes and justifications are provided for possible proposed names after the list of genera. Notes are also provided on recent advances in our understanding of asexual and sexual morph linkages in Dothideomycetes. A phylogenetic tree based on four gene analyses supported 23 orders and 75 families, while 35 families still lack molecular data

Functional analysis of liverworts in dual symbiosis with Glomeromycota and Mucoromycotina fungi under a simulated Palaeozoic CO2 decline.

Most land plants form mutualistic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of the Glomeromycota, but recent studies have found that ancient plant lineages form mutualisms with Mucoromycotina fungi. Simultaneous associations with both fungal lineages have now been found in some plants, necessitating studies to understand the functional and evolutionary significance of these tripartite associations for the first time. We investigate the physiology and cytology of dual fungal symbioses in the early-diverging liverworts Allisonia and Neohodgsonia at modern and Palaeozoic-like elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations under which they are thought to have evolved. We found enhanced carbon cost to liverworts with simultaneous Mucoromycotina and Glomeromycota associations, greater nutrient gain compared with those symbiotic with only one fungal group in previous experiments and contrasting responses to atmospheric CO2 among liverwort-fungal symbioses. In liverwort-Mucoromycotina symbioses, there is increased P-for-C and N-for-C exchange efficiency at 440 p.p.m. compared with 1500 p.p.m. CO2. In liverwort-Glomeromycota symbioses, P-for-C exchange is lower at ambient CO2 compared with elevated CO2. No characteristic cytologies of dual symbiosis were identified. We provide evidence of a distinct physiological niche for plant symbioses with Mucoromycotina fungi, giving novel insight into why dual symbioses with Mucoromycotina and Glomeromycota fungi persist to the present day.The ISME Journal advance online publication, 27 November 2015; doi:10.1038/ismej.2015.204

Psychrotolerant Microfungi Associated with Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) in a White-nose Syndrome Positive Bat Hibernaculum in Eastern Canada

With the exception of recent work on bats, no reports on the fungi present on live mammals in underground habitats have been published. We cultured psychrotolerant fungi from the external surface and faeces of live Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), and from the intestinal contents of a single freshly killed P. maniculatus, overwintering in a white-nose syndrome positive bat hibernaculum and from adjacent summer forest in eastern Canada. A low diversity of psychrotolerant fungi was cultured from P. maniculatus compared with that found in previous studies of the mycoflora of bats and arthropods occupying bat hibernacula in the region. Although the grooming habits of P. maniculatus may reduce the accumulation of a diverse psychrotolerant fungal assemblage on their external surface, we demonstrate that active euthermic mammals in underground habitats can carry viable spores of psychrotolerant fungi, both externally and internally. Small rodents using cave habitats may also play a role in dispersing psychrotolerant fungi between caves and suitable low-temperature habitats (i.e., burrows) in adjacent forest

Bat Populations and Cave Microclimate Prior to and at the Outbreak of White-Nose Syndrome in New Brunswick

Information on bat populations and hibernacula is important for understanding the impacts of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fatal fungal disease of bats. Estimates of bat populations prior to the outbreak of white-nose syndrome are presented for 2009–2011 for the most significant bat hibernacula known in New Brunswick. At one of these sites we recorded a major mortality event from white-nose syndrome, the first in the Maritime provinces, late in the winter of 2011. Winter surveys of hibernating bats suggest that a minimum of 7000 bats overwintered in these hibernacula prior to the outbreak of white-nose syndrome in New Brunswick. The majority of hibernating bats in New Brunswick caves are Myotis lucifugus (Little Brown Myotis) and M. septentrionalis (Northern Myotis), with low numbers of Perimyotis subflavus (Tricolored Bat). The New Brunswick hibernacula that support the greatest numbers of overwintering bats have little temperature variation, winter dark zone temperatures averaging 4–5°C, and minimum dark zone temperatures dropping to no lower than 3.1°C. New Brunswick caves with these temperature patterns characteristically have ≥140 m of main passage and lack both running water and multiple entrances. Few cave sites in the province meet these criteria, and the known winter bat population appears to be smaller than the summer population. Many bats present during the summer in New Brunswick either hibernate in unknown locations in the province or migrate out of the province to locate suitable hibernacula. Such movements may have hastened the arrival of white-nose syndrome in New Brunswick