|
|
Cleistopycnidial ontogeny and sequences of nuclear internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and large subunits (LSU) were compared for five strains of Endoconidioma populi Tsuneda et al.: three from trembling aspen and two from alder. The cleistopycnidia of two of the aspen strains, including the type strain, were subglobose to flask-shaped (mostly 35-100 µm × 30-60 µm), and consisted solely of meristematic cells with thick cell walls that were heavily impregnated with melanin granules. Peridial cells were not visibly differentiated from locular cells and were also capable of forming endoconidia. Endoconidia were released from one to several sites of the cleistopycnidium by the dissolution of peridial cell wall. The alder strains shared these characteristics, except that their cleistopycnidia released both endoconidia and conidiogenous cells. Unlike those four strains, cleistopycnidia of the third aspen strain were cylindrical, often exceeding 500 µm in length, branched, and possessed a peridium of textura angularis that developed from short, determinate hyphae. Conidiogenous cells contained abundant lipid bodies that were not mobilized until the onset of endoconidiogenesis. The peridium at the basal area was prone to breakage by external forces, indicating that the individual cleistopycnidium, as a whole, functions as a dispersal unit. A small number of ITS nucleotide differences among strains corresponded to their observed morphological differences and host association. Phylogenetic analyses suggested a close relationship of E. populi with Hormonema carpetanum Bills, Peláez & Ruibal, and Coniozyma leucospermi (Crous & Denman) Crous.
|
