CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF AMBROSIA FUNGI. II. ENDOMYCOPSIS FASCICULATA NOM. NOV. (ASCOMYCETES)

BATRA, LEKH R. (U. Kansas, Lawrence.) Contributions to our knowledge of ambrosia fungi. II. Endomycopsis fasciculata nom. nov. (Ascomycetes). Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(5): 481-487. Illus. 1963.-Endomyces bispora Verrall (1943) is a later homonym of E. bisporus Beck (1922) (= Endomycopsis bispora [Beck] Dekker), and the former is now described under the new name Endomycopsis fasciculata Batra. The ambrosia beetle Gnathotrichus materiarius (Fitch) lives symbiotically with Endomycopsis fasciculata which serves as the major source of food for the larvae and probably for the adults. The fungus forms an extensive palisade lining throughout the larval or pupal cells and the main tunnel dug by the mother. All stages of the fungus can be obtained from the same tunnel and the fungus seems to be homothallic. The asci are typically 2-spored and ascospores are cucullate. The fungus does not assimilate nitrate as the sole source of nitrogen. Detailed morphology anid nutritional requirements of E. fasciculata are discussed. THE GENUS Endom11ycopsis Dekker belongs to the family Endomycetaceae (Hemiascomycetidae) and was established as a segregate from Endomyces Reess by Stelling-Dekker (1931). She included the species forming blastospores as well as occasional arthrospores in the genus Endomnycopsis, while the species forming arthrospores exclusively were retained in Endomnyces. The following 8 species were treated: Endomycopsis albicans (Vuill.) Dekker, E. bispora (Beck) Dekker, E. capsularis (Schidnning) Dekker, E. fibuliger (Lindner) Dekker, E. javanensis (Klocker) Dekker, E. mali (Lewis) Dekker, E. selenospora (Nadson and Krassiln.) Dekker, and E. vernalis (Ludwig) Dekker. Lodder and Kreger-van Rij (1952) emended the genus Endomycopsis in their monographic work on yeast taxonomy. Endomycopsis vernalis was excluded from this genus and treated under the asporogenous genus Trichosporon Behrend. Likewise, they removed E. albicans from this list on the assumption that it never produced ascospores when studied earlier by Stelling-Dekker and treated this fungus as Candida albicans (Robin.) Berkhout. They showed that Endomycopsis bispora (Beck) Dekker, found to be negative by Stelling-Dekker (1931), is positive for nitrate as' Received for publication October 10, 1962. The research was supported by grant G-15666 from the National Science Foundation to Dr. Robert W. Lichtwardt and Dr. Charles D. Michener, The University of Kansas, for a project entitled "Biological Relationships of Ambrosia Fungi and Beetles." The author is grateful to Dr. Stephen L. Wood, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, for the identification of ambrosia beetles. Mr. Roif Schmidt and other staff members of the Huntingdon District Office, Department of Forests and Waters, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, were very kind and helpful in providing facilities for field work in forest ranges under their jurisdiction. Dr. Arthur F. Verrall, Division of Forest Disease Research, USDA, New Orleans, Louisiana, was very kind in examining my cultures of Endomycopsis fasciculata. He also read my description of the fungus and indicated that it is synonymous with Endomyces bispora Verrall. similation. Since the type species for Endomnycopsis was not clearly indicated by the original author, Lodder and Kreger-van Rij (1952) designated E. capsularis (Schi6nning) Dekker as the type for the genus. The genus Endomycopsis as emended by these authors thus includes those forms of Endomycetales which are truly mycelial, asexually reproduce by blastospores, with 1to 4-spored asci originating by isogamous conjugation or by parthenogenesis, and having globose, ellipsoid, sickle-shaped or hat-shaped ascospores. The assimilation of nitrate by these forms may be positive or negative. Lodder and Kreger-van Rij also recognize Endomnycopsis fibuliger (Lindner) Dekker var. monospora (Saito) Lodder and Kreger-van Rij. A review of the literature shows that 8 additional species and 2 varieties have been described since the publication of their monograph. These additions are: Endomycopsis balearica Socias Amoros, Ramirez Gomez and Genestar Serra (1954); E. clamitans Batista & Coelho (1960b); E. dermatensis Batista, Campos & Coelho (1959); E. epidermalis Batista, Silveira & Campos (cited from Leal, 1959); E. guilliermondii Wickerham & Burton (1954); E. interdigitalis Batista & Coelho (1960a); E. mali (Lewis) Dekker var. faecalis Batista & Silveira (cited from Leal, 1959); E. ohmeri Etchells & Bell (1950); E. ohmeri Etchells & Bell var. minor Etchells & Bell (1950); E. wickerhamii Van der Walt (1959). MATERIALS AND METHODS-The fungus described below was isolated from inside the main tunnels, from the larval and pupal cells, from the wood adjacent to the tunnels, and from the living larvae, pupae, and adults of the ambrosia beetle Gnathotrichus materiarius (Fitch). The techniques employed for the isolation of the fungus in pure culture, the fixation of material for microscopic examination, and the staining procedures were the same as described for the study of ambrosia fungi in my previous papers (Batra, 1959; Batra and