Dendroctonus jeffreyi and D. ponderosae are sibling species of bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) with few morphological and molecular genetic differences. The two species are believed to have diverged relatively recently. Dendroctonus jeffreyi colonizes only Pinus jeffreyi, while D. ponderosae colonizes up to thirteen Pinus spp., but not P. jeffreyi. Adult beetles of both D. jeffreyi and D....

Ophiostomatoid fungi were isolated from Scolytus ratzeburgi infesting Betula pendula and B. pubescens in Norway. Fungi were identified based on morphology, DNA sequence comparison for two gene regions and phylogenetic analyses. The most abundant fungus was Ophiostoma karelicum, suggesting a specific relationship between the fungus, the vector insect and the host tree. Our results suggest that O...

H istologic evaluation of tissues is a quick and easy way to identify fungal organisms, and a strong adjunct to microbiologic culture for diagnosis of fungal infections. Histologic evaluation of granulomatous inflammation and granulomas must include special stains to exclude or include presence of fungi and acid fast bacteria. Gomori Methenamine Silver (GMS) and Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) are t...

Using new and existing 18S rRNA sequence data, we show that at least five species of glomalean fungi lie outside the previously defined families and diverged very early in the evolution of that group. These five fungi would have been missed by many previous ecological studies because their sequences are not well matched to available taxon-specific primers and they do not stain well with the sta...

Sedecula is a monotypic genus of hypogeous fungi that is rare and endemic to dry conifer forests of the western United States. The only known species, Sedecula pulvinata, was described in 1941 and its taxonomic placement and trophic status have remained uncertain ever since. Here we employ isotopic and molecular phylogenetic analyses to determine its nutritional mode and placement on the fungal...

Apart from growing fungi for nutrition, as seen in the New World Attini, ants cultivate fungi for reinforcement of the walls of their nests or tunnel-shaped runway galleries. These fungi are grown on organic material such as bark, epiphylls or trichomes, and form stable 'carton structures'. In this study, the carton of the runway galleries built by Azteca brevis (Formicidae, Dolichoderinae) on ...

flower morphology of ten fritillaria species of subgenera theresia and fritillaria growing wild in iran is studied using seventy morphological characters. qualitative and quantitative datasets separated taxa into subgenera, sectional and groups. three enigmatic species f. caucasica, f. zagrica (endemic to zagros mountains) and f. pinardii (recently reported from zagros mountains) appeared as cl...

In the framework of study on taxonomy of the genus of Septoria in Iran, we studied herbarium specimen of R. muricatus (IRAN 8006F) collected during 1990 from Golestan province (N Iran). A Septoria species was observed on the specimen with following morphological features: leaf lesions, brown, amphigenous, extended through the entire leaf and equally visible on both sides. Conidiomata amphigeno...

This study evaluated both the possible fungal metabolites involved in degradation of commercial consolidant known as Paraloid® B72 and national artisanal named transparent dispersion casein deteriorative potential melanised fungi. Fungi were found to have capacity produce organic acids, proteases esterases when they grow on consolidants, which can be used nutrients. Mycelia produced by fungi af...