Abstract Detail

Poster Session

Smith, Matthew E. [1], Rollins, Jeffrey [1].

How many fungi make sclerotia?

Almost all fungi produce some type of durable microscopic structures such as spores, but many species also produce dense, macroscopic aggregations of tissue called sclerotia. These persistent structures help fungi to survive challenging conditions such as freezing temperatures, desiccation, microbial attack, or the long-term absence of a host. Sclerotia are primarily considered as an important life history trait in several generalist necrotrophic plant pathogens but these structures have actually been found in several fungal lineages with diverse ecological niches. During investigations of hypogeous fungi, we encountered fungal sclerotia that were morphologically variable and not clearly linked with a known fungal species. The variation in morphology, microhabitat, and geography suggested that the fungi involved in their formation were not closely related and probably differed in their trophic modes. The diversity of fungal sclerotia encountered during random sampling also suggested the possibility that many species form sclerotia but that these structures have gone unnoticed because they occur sporadically in soil, wood, and other opaque substrates. The discovery of these diverse sclerotia generated several questions that are addressed here: 1) What are the identities of the unknown sclerotia-forming fungi we found in nature and what are their likely trophic modes? 2) How many unrelated fungal species produce sclerotia? and 3) Besides plant pathogens, what are the trophic modes of the sclerotia-forming fungi? This poster will present data based on our review of the literature as well as molecular phylogenetic analyses of sclerotia collected in nature.

1 - University of Florida, Plant Pathology, 2517 Fifield Hall, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States

Keywords:
Dikarya
Systematics
sclerotia
convergent evolution.

Presentation Type: Offered Paper - Poster
Session: P2
Location: Lincoln Room/Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center
Date: Tuesday, June 10th, 2014
Time: 8:00 PM
Number: P2004
Abstract ID:75
Candidate for Awards:None