Utility of a cultural method for identification of the ericoid mycobiont Oidiodendron maius confirmed by ITS sequence analysis

AbstractA simple cultural method was investigated for its reliability in distinguishing the ericoid mycobiont Oidiodendron maius from selected other species of Oidiodendron. Forty three isolates were grouped by morphology after 28 d growth on cereal agar overlaid with a cellophane membrane. All isolates of O. maius and its close relative O. citrinum expressed characteristic colonial morphologies allowing recognition regardless of sporulation. Isolates grouped by colonial features correlated with strongly supported groupings obtained by analysis of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequences, including O. maius with O. citrinum, O. griseum with O. flavum, and O. truncatum as an independent group. Isolates of O. tenuissimum, including the ex-type of the purported synonym O. fuscum, demonstrated cultural variation and were dispersed among several different groups in the ITS analysis. O. fuscum is here regarded as a distinct taxon

Disseminated Mycosis in Veiled Chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus) Caused by Chamaeleomyces granulomatis, a New Fungus Related to Paecilomyces viridis▿

An outbreak of disseminated granulomatous disease occurred in a group of veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus) in a zoo collection. An adult female and six offspring developed large granulomas in multiple organs and were euthanized. At necropsy, roughly spherical yellow-to-white nodules 1 to 3 mm in diameter were grossly visible in the liver and other organs. Histopathology revealed fungal elements that were spherical to ovoid in shape, fragments of slender to irregularly swollen hyphae, and occasional conidia produced on phialides. Fungal isolates were initially suspected on the basis of morphology results to represent Paecilomyces viridis, a species known only from one outbreak of fatal mycosis in carpet chameleons (Furcifer lateralis). Data obtained from morphological studies and from phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal rRNA (rDNA) sequence data revealed the Danish chameleon isolates to be a related undescribed anamorphic species within the family Clavicipitaceae that includes many insect pathogens. Chamaeleomyces granulomatis gen. et sp. nov. is given as the name for the newly described fungus, and P. viridis is transferred to the new genus as Chamaeleomyces viridis comb. nov. Chamaeleomyces species are distinguished by having basally swollen phialides tapering to a narrow neck, conidia in fragile chains, and pale green to greenish-gray colonies. Both species are dimorphic, producing a transitory yeast stage characterized by ovoid-to-subglobose or subcylindrical yeast-like cells. Chamaeleomyces species appear to be rare but aggressive pathogens of chameleons

Fungi associated with hibernating bats in New Brunswick caves: the genus Leuconeurospora

Two species of Leuconeurospora, L. capsici and L. polypaeciloides (Ascomycota: Pseudeurotiaceae), are reported from the fur and skin of hibernating bats and from other substrata in caves in New Brunswick, Canada. Separate analyses using ITS, RPB1 and RPB2 DNA sequence data are in agreement and show these two species and the type species, L. pulcherrima form discrete clades within a distinct Leuconeurospora clade. The three species are distinguishable morphologically by their anamorphs, having dark conidia in L. capsici, hyaline conidia in L. polypaeciloides and no conidia in L. pulcherrima. Ascomata and ascospores are produced in L. pulcherrima and in mated isolates of L. polypaeciloides, but have not been observed in L. capsici. Leuconeurospora species are psychrotolerant, with faster growth and heavier conidial development at 7 C than at 22 C. Of 151 bats sampled from 10 caves, 51 yielded isolates of L. polypaeciloides and 15 yielded L. capsici. The results were not uniform: neither species was isolated from bats in 3 caves, while 3 caves yielded isolates of both species and 2 yielded L. polypaeciloides only. These species were also isolated from cave walls and arthropods in the cave.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Graphium basitruncatum Fungemia in a Patient with Acute Leukemia

We report the first case of infection caused by Graphium basitruncatum in a man with acute leukemia who developed persistent fungemia and skin lesions. G. basitruncatum, a member of the Microascaceae, is phylogenetically and morphologically distinct from Graphium penicillioides and the opportunistic pathogens Scedosporium apiospermum (Pseudallescheria boydii) and Scedosporium prolificans