Genetic stability of ectomycorrhizal fungi is not affected by cryopreservation at -130 °C or cold storage with repeated sub-cultivations over a period of 2 years.

Cryopreservation is considered the most reliable method for storage of filamentous fungi including ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. A number of studies, however, have reported genetic changes in fungus cultures following cryopreservation. In the present study, the genetic stability of six ECM fungus isolates was analyzed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP).

Starmerella neotropicalis f. a., sp. nov., a yeast species found in bees and pollen.

A novel yeast species was found repeatedly and in high cell densities in underground-nesting stingless bees of the species Melipona quinquefasciata and their provisions in northern Minas Gerais (Brazil). One additional strain was isolated from bee-collected pollen in Cuba. Phylogenetic analyses based on rRNA gene sequences (D1/D2 large subunit gene and internal transcribed spacer) indicated that the novel species belongs to the Starmerella clade and is most closely related to Candida (iter.

Wickerhamomyces anomalus in the sourdough microbial ecosystem.

We previously found that Wickerhamomyces anomalus (formerly Hansenula anomala, Pichia anomala) was the second most frequently isolated yeast in Belgian artisan bakery sourdoughs and that the yeast dominated laboratory sourdough fermentations. Such findings are of interest in terms of the advantage of W. anomalus over other commonly encountered sourdough yeasts and its potential introduction into the sourdough ecosystem.

Anamorphic fungi from French Guyana: two undescribed Gliocephalotrichum species (Nectriaceae, Hypocreales).

Morphological and molecular studies of Gliocephalotrichum collections from rain forest leaf litter in French Guyana revealed the occurrence of two undescribed species, described here as G. bacillisporum and G. longibrachium.

Understanding Puccinia striiformis West. epidemics on winter wheat.

Yellow rust epidemics, caused by Puccinia striiformis West., often arise in wheat field as infection focus of a few decimetres of diameter, including some sporulating lesions on a few plants. Under appropriate environmental conditions such as high relative humidity and temperatures between 2 and 20 degrees C, those initial foci may grow rapidly and initiate new foci elsewhere in the field.