Author
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Rossman, Amy |
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Farr, David |
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Castlebury, Lisa |
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 8/27/2001 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The majority of plant-associated microfungi occur on non-economic plants and, for the most part, are understudied or not yet discovered. With the increased use of molecular systematics, the relationships of these relatively unknown fungi to those of importance to humankind have become evident. Species of Herpotrichiella that produce minute, black ascomata on rotten wood have been found to produce anamorphs that are the human pathogenic black yeasts. Likewise, Stachybotrys, an anamorphic genus that includes S. chartarum, the toxic air pollutant, belongs in the hypocrealean family, Niessliaceae, which are little known and rarely collected. The teleomorphs of several important biocontrol species of Trichoderma have recently been discovered and described as new species of Hypocrea that produce inconspicuous fruiting bodies on wood. The diaporthalean genus Schizoparme is the teleomorph of Coniella, a genus that includes a strain that has the potential to control purple loosestrife, an invasive weed. In most cases the connection was based on morphological studies with sequence data supplying additional evidence. Research that clarifies the phylogenetic relationships among these fungi contributes to understanding their biology and facilitates their use or control. |
