Pseudallescheria boydii (Shear) McGinnis, A.A. Padhye & Ajello, Mycotaxon

Melo, Roger Fagner Ribeiro, Maia, Leonor Costa & Miller, Andrew Nicholas, 2017, Coprophilous ascomycetes with passive ascospore liberation from Brazil, Phytotaxa 295 (2), pp. 159-172 : 166-167

9. Pseudallescheria boydii (Shear) McGinnis, A.A. Padhye & Ajello, Mycotaxon 14(1): 97 (1982)

( Plate 1 , Figs. 22–24)

Ascomata non-ostiolate, gregarious, superficial, globose, black or dark brown, 150–250 μm diam., glabrous to sparsely hairy. Hairs hyphoid, simple to rarely branched, thin-walled, septate, smooth to finely roughened, hyaline, 2–2.5 μm thick at the broadest part, narrowing towards the apex. Peridium pseudoparenchymatous, membranaceous, 33–35 μm thick, formed by angular to elongated (textura epidermoidea), light brown to golden cells, 5–15 μm, thin-walled. Asci 8-spored, saccate, 15–16 μm long, “pars sporifera” 7–8.5 μm, evanescent. Ascospores 1-celled, ellipsoid to slightly fusoid, smooth, light yellow to pale golden, copper colored “en masse”, 5–6.5 × 3–4 μm, with two terminal germ pores.

Material examined: — BRAZIL. Pernambuco, Instituto Agronômico de Pernambuco ( IPA), Caruaru, on goat dung, 03 Jan 2013, R. F. R. Melo ( URM 86685a!, 86685b!, 86685c!, URM 86688a!, 86 688b!, 86688c!). Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco ( UFRPE), Recife, on cattle dung, 20. Mar 2012, R. F. R. Melo ( URM 86686!), 26 Mar 2012, R. F. R. Melo ( URM 86687!).

Habitat: —Occasionally recorded in clinical samples and commonly on soil and dung of various animals, especially domestic herbivores.

Distribution: —Worldwide.

Notes:— Pseudallescheria boydii has similar morphology to P. fusoidea (Arx) McGinnis, A.A. Padhye & Ajello (1973: 98) , which differs by having broader ascospores (3–4 μm) and to P. africana (Arx & G. Franz) McGinnis, A.A. Padhye & Ajello (1982: 97) , which differs mainly by its smaller ascomata. Isolates identified as P. boydii were agents of mycosis in humans, associated with some degree of immunosuppression. The material analyzed here has shorter ascospores than the average for this species. However, the slightly fusoid shape differs from P. minutispora Gilgado, Gené, Cano & Guarro (2005: 4938) , with ellipsoidal ascospores, with rounded ends ( Guarro et al. 2012).

Figures

PLATE 1. Coprophilous ascomycetes with passive ascospore liberation recorded in Brazil. Corynascus sepedonium 1. Ascoma, 2. peridium, 3. ascospores and 4. conidium. Kernia nitida 5. Ascoma on dung and 6. hair tip. Leuconeurospora pulcherrima 7. Ascoma, 8. peridium and 9. ascospores. Lophotrichus bartlettii 10. Ascoma on dung, 11. mounted and 12. asci. Melanospora damnosa 13. Ascoma on dung and 14. mounted. M. zamiae 15. Ascoma in mounting and 16. ascospores. Monascus ruber 17. Ascoma in mounting. Mycoarachis inversa 18. Ascoma on incubation paper and 19. mounted, 20. asci and 21. ascospores. Pseudoallescheria boydii 22. Ascoma in mounting, 23. ascus and 24. mature ascospores. Thielavia terrestris 25. Ascomata on dung. 26. mature ascospores. Tripterosporella pakistani 27. Ascoma in mounting, 28. ascus and 29. mature ascospore. Zopfiella erostrata 30. Cleistothecium in mounting. Z. longicaudata 31. Cleistothecium in mounting. Scale bars: 1, 6, 9, 16, 17=10 μm. 2, 21= 2.5 μm. 3, 4, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26= 5 μm. 5=200 μm. 7, 11, 14=50 μm. 8, 12, 13= 20 μm. 15, 18=100 μm. 19=25 μm. 10, 25= 300 μm. Figure: R.F.R. Melo.