A new species of Daldinia (Xylariaceae) from the Argentine subtropical montane forest

Based on a combination of morphological, molecular phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic evidence, a new species of Daldinia from Northwest of Argentina is described. Daldinia korfii is morphologically related to D. placentiformis, but differs in having brown vinaceous, KOH-extractable pigments and the tissue below the perithecial layer is composed of inconspicuous to conspicuous alternating zones in the new taxon.Fil: Sir, Esteban Benjamin. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Botánica. Instituto de Micologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lambert, C.. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung; AlemaniaFil: Wendt, L.. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung; AlemaniaFil: Hladki, Adriana Ines. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Botánica. Instituto de Micologia; ArgentinaFil: Romero, Andrea Irene. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Stadler, M.. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung; Alemani

Topical Application of Imiquimod as a Treatment for Chromoblastomycosis

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

MycoBank gearing up for new horizons.

MycoBank, a registration system for fungi established in 2004 to capture all taxonomic novelties, acts as a coordination hub between repositories such as Index Fungorum and Fungal Names. Since January 2013, registration of fungal names is a mandatory requirement for valid publication under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (ICN). This review explains the database innovations that have been implemented over the past few years, and discusses new features such as advanced queries, registration of typification events (MBT numbers for lecto, epi- and neotypes), the multi-lingual database interface, the nomenclature discussion forum, annotation system, and web services with links to third parties. MycoBank has also introduced novel identification services, linking DNA sequence data to numerous related databases to enable intelligent search queries. Although MycoBank fills an important void for taxon registration, challenges for the future remain to improve links between taxonomic names and DNA data, and to also introduce a formal system for naming fungi known from DNA sequence data only. To further improve the quality of MycoBank data, remote access will now allow registered mycologists to act as MycoBank curators, using Citrix software

Enabling community-based metrology for wood-degrading fungi

Background: Lignocellulosic biomass could support a greatly-expanded bioeconomy. Current strategies for using biomass typically rely on single-cell organisms and extensive ancillary equipment to produce precursors for downstream manufacturing processes. Alternative forms of bioproduction based on solid-state fermentation and wood-degrading fungi could enable more direct means of manufacture. However, basic methods for cultivating wood-degrading fungi are often ad hoc and not readily reproducible. Here, we developed standard reference strains, substrates, measurements, and methods sufficient to begin to enable reliable reuse of mycological materials and products in simple laboratory settings. Results: We show that a widely-available and globally-regularized consumer product (Pringles™) can support the growth of wood-degrading fungi, and that growth on Pringles™-broth can be correlated with growth on media made from a fully-traceable and compositionally characterized substrate (National Institute of Standards and Technology Reference Material 8492 Eastern Cottonwood Whole Biomass Feedstock). We also establish a Relative Extension Unit (REU) framework that is designed to reduce variation in quantification of radial growth measurements. So enabled, we demonstrate that five laboratories were able to compare measurements of wood-fungus performance via a simple radial extension growth rate assay, and that our REU-based approach reduced variation in reported measurements by up to ~ 75%. Conclusions: Reliable reuse of materials, measures, and methods is necessary to enable distributed bioproduction processes that can be adopted at all scales, from local to industrial. Our community-based measurement methods incentivize practitioners to coordinate the reuse of standard materials, methods, strains, and to share information supporting work with wood-degrading fungi

Pseudocercospora opuntiae sp. nov., the causal organism of cactus leaf spot in Mexico.

Pseudocercospora opuntiae is newly described from Opuntia spp. from Mexico, where it causes a serious disease of this host. Although P. opuntiae is morphologically similar to other members of the genus with pigmented conidia and conidiophores, and unthickened, not darkened conidiogenous scars, DNA sequence data of the ITS region revealed that it clusters distant from other species of Pseudocercospora within Mycosphaerella. These data support the assumption that Pseudocereospora is paraphyletic within Mycosphaerella

Six simple guidelines for introducing new genera of fungi

We formulate five guidelines for introducing new genera, plus one recommendation how to publish the results of scientific research. We recommend that reviewers and editors adhere to these guidelines. We propose that the underlying research is solid, and that the results and the final solutions are properly discussed. The six criteria are: (1) all genera that are recognized should be monophyletic; (2) the coverage of the phylogenetic tree should be wide in number of species, geographic coverage, and type species of the genera under study; (3) the branching of the phylogenetic trees has to have sufficient statistical support; (4) different options for the translation of the phylogenetic tree into a formal classification should be discussed and the final decision justified; (5) the phylogenetic evidence should be based on more than one gene; and (6) all supporting evidence and background information should be included in the publication in which the new taxa are proposed, and this publication should be peer-reviewed

PCR-based characterisation of entomopathogenic fungi for ecological studies

The implementation of PCR-based tools for characterisation of organisms has greatly advanced our understanding of the phylogenies and species boundaries in entomopathogenic fungi, especially the widespread taxa Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae. These fungi have received a lot of interest due to their potential as biocontrol agents of pests. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the fundamental ecology of these fungi in both managed and natural ecosystems, but such information is necessary both for risk assessments prior to release of biocontrol agents in the environment as well as if we wish to understand the distribution of the fungi and their impact on host populations. This latter focus is essential if the fungi are to be included in pest management strategies based on conservation biological control. A series of unspecific PCR methods have been used to characterise isolates of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae, and many studies have concluded that the fungi contain a lot of genetic diversity. The problem with these methods is that they provide little phylogenetic information of the fungi and the characters can not be used to explicitly compare data between studies. Sequences from specific targets in the DNA provide tools for explicit comparison between isolates across studies. There is now a range of primer sets published along with reference sequences in GenBank to make these comparisons possible. Multi-gene phylogenies have revealed that both B. bassiana and M. anisopliae are complexes of species that contain cryptic taxa or clades. Using merely morphological characteristics will not result in the same degree of taxa identification as will the use of DNA sequence data. Similarly, when using microsatellite markers for population genetic studies of fungal communities, it is necessary to first separate the populations in clades as allele sizes can convert across populations. In the near future, USDA-ARS in Beltsville will launch a web-based platform (MBID, Metarhizium-Beauveria ID) including lists of primers, databases of reference sequences and type isolates of new described species for the reliable identification of taxa for the scientific community. This tool should provide a common framework and nomenclature for scientists and create basis for making comparisons among studies. There should be great potential to learn more about the ecology of the entomopathogenic fungi with the application of these molecular markers. However, designing an appropriate sampling scheme in the environment is absolutely necessary to conduct these ecological studies. The use of isolates from culture collections should be avoided

Fungicidal activity plus reservoir effect allow short treatment courses with terbinafine in tinea pedis

Terbinafine, a synthetic allylamine, exerts fungicidal activity against dermatophytes, the causative pathogens of tinea pedis. As proven in numerous clinical trials, tinea pedis can be effectively and safely treated by topical terbinafine. In fact, a 1-week application of terbinafine 1% cream eradicated fungal pathogens at least as effectively as 4-week treatment courses with topical azole derivative antifungals and showed lower relapse rates. A new innovative single-application formulation of terbinafine 1% in a film-forming solution produces a high concentration gradient on the skin surface and enables a prolonged (up to 13 days) exposure of the skin to terbinafine. High drug penetration into the skin results in an otherwise not obtained drug reservoir in the horny layer, the location of dermatophytes in tinea pedis. Although azole antimycotics can also effectively penetrate into the horny layer of the skin, short-term therapy might not be feasible due to its primarily fungistatic activity against dermatophytes. Thus, we conclude that the high efficacy of short-term treatment with terbinafine in patients with tinea pedis is possible due to its fungicidal activity coupled with a distinct reservoir formation in the upper layers of the epidermis. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

Myrtaceae, a cache of fungal biodiversity

Twenty-six species of microfungi are treated, the majority of which are associated with leaf spots of Corymbia, Eucalyptus and Syzygium spp. (Myrtaceae). The treated species include three new genera, Bagadiella, Foliocryphia and Pseudoramichloridium, 20 new species and one new combination. Novelties on Eucalyptus include: Antennariella placitae, Bagadiella lunata, Cladoriella rubrigena, C. paleospora, Cyphellophora eucalypti, Elsinoë eucalypticola, Foliocryphia eucalypti, Leptoxyphium madagascariense, Neofabraea eucalypti, Polyscytalum algarvense, Quambalaria simpsonii, Selenophoma australiensis, Sphaceloma tectificae, Strelitziana australiensis and Zeloasperisporium eucalyptorum. Stylaspergillus synanamorphs are reported for two species of Parasympodiella, P. eucalypti sp. nov. and P. elongata, while Blastacervulus eucalypti, Minimedusa obcoronata and Sydowia eucalypti are described from culture. Furthermore, Penidiella corymbia and Pseudoramichloridium henryi are newly described on Corymbia, Pseudocercospora palleobrunnea on Syzygium and Rachicladosporium americanum on leaf litter. To facilitate species identification, as well as determine phylogenetic relationships, DNA sequence data were generated from the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1, 5.8S nrDNA, ITS2) and the 28S nrDNA (LSU) regions of all taxa studie