Transactions of The British Mycological Society 

About: Transactions of The British Mycological Society is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Spore & Mycelium. Over the lifetime, 5565 publications have been published receiving 101311 citations.

Improved procedures for clearing roots and staining parasitic and vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for rapid assessment of infection.

Abstract: During studies on the effect of vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhiza, caused by species of Endogene, on plant growth, we needed to estimate the amount of mycorrhizal infection in the root cortex. Such infections in gramineous roots stain fairly clearly with standard procedures such as simmering in o·I % trypan blue in lactophenol (Hayman, 1970), or cotton blue and Sudan IV in lactophenol (Nicolson, 1959), and in some dicotyledonous roots by boiling for 10 min in 0'0 I % acid fuchsin in saturated chloral hydrate (Gerdemann, 1955), or standing cold overnight in any of these stains. Infection in onion, our main test plant (Hayman & Mosse, 1970), is difficult to estimate using these methods because, although external hyphae and entry points are strongly stained, internal hyphae, arbuscules and vesicles are usually only well defined near the cut ends of the root segments. To improve stain penetration and clearing in whole mycorrhizal roots of onion and other host plants, and in roots infected by other fungi, we developed...two procedures, which give deeply stained fungal structures which show distinctly against the outlines of the cells in the cortex of intact roots.

Spores of mycorrhizal Endogone species extracted from soil by wet sieving and decanting

Abstract: Extra-matrical spores of Endogone were found to be common in cultivated soils in Scotland. Six types of spores are described which are believed to represent distinct species. In preliminary inoculation experiments 4 of the 6 formed endotrophic mycorrhiza: three of these formed arbuscules and vesicles, and one formed only arbuscules. In field soil extra-matrical spores are much more abundant than spores formed in sporocarps.

Antagonistic properties of species-groups of Trichoderma: II. Production of volatile antibiotics

Abstract: Isolates from different species-groups of Trichoderma were tested for production of non-volatile antibiotics, by an agar layer technique. Preliminary studies on the chemical nature of these antibiotics were made. Many isolates produced non-volatile antibiotics active against a range of fungi. The ability to produce such antibiotics varied between isolates of the same species-group as well as between isolates of different species groups. The susceptibility of fungi to these antibiotics varied widely; Fomes annosus (Fr.) Cooke was the most susceptible and Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht, ex Fr. the most resistant of the test fungi used. Gliotoxin and viridin were not produced, but other chloroform-soluble antibiotics, including trichodermin and peptide antibiotics were detected.

Antagonistic properties of species-groups of Trichoderma: III. Hyphal interaction

Abstract: When grown in dual culture, hyphae of the majority of Trichoderma isolates coiled around hyphae of different test fungi. Penetration of hyphae by Trichoderma hyphae seldom occurred. The importance of antibiotics and extracellular enzymes during hyphal interaction is discussed.

Changes in atmospheric spore content: Diurnal periodicity and the effects of weather

Abstract: The use of a power-operated suction trap, in which spores are impacted on the sticky surface of a slowly moving slide, made it possible to estimate accurately the concentration of different kinds of spore in the air at any given time. In an open field at 2 m. above ground the catches often consisted predominantly of small hyaline spores, of types rarely caught by other kinds of trap. Changes in the types of spore caught at different times of day showed that some species have well-defined diurnal periodicity; the catches also reflect changes in weather. In dry weather, pollen grains and spores of such fungi as Cladosporium, Erysiphe, Alternaria , smuts and rusts, are the main components of the air spora; they are most abundant in the afternoon and least in the early morning. Phytophthora infestans and Polythrincium trifolii also occur, but reach their maximum concentration before noon. Prolonged rain removes most of these spores, and for a time there are few in the air. Within a few hours of the start of rain, the typical dry-air spora is replaced by hyaline spores ; few of these can be identified, but they include splash-dispersed types, ascospores and basidiospores. Except after rain this damp-air spora occurs in quantity only at night when dew is formed, and the greatest concentration is reached between midnight and dawn. Basidiospores were at times the dominant type of spore. Hyaline forms, often mainly Sporobolomyces sp., rapidly reached large numbers in the early hours of the morning, particularly when there was heavy dew, and then disappeared almost completely. Coloured basidiospores mainly from the Agaricales were also commonest at night, but their occurrence depended less on weather than the hyaline forms and their diurnal periodicity was less pronounced.