Neurospora
| Neurospora | ||||||||||||
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Neurospora crassa hypha |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Neurospora | ||||||||||||
| Shear & BO Dodge |
Neurospora is a genus of fungi from the division of Ascomycota (Ascomycota).
description
Species of the genus Neurospora are very variable, both morphologically and in their reproduction. There are both homothallic (self-fertile, with both mating types in one thallus ), heterothallic (self-sterile, both mating types in different thalli) or pseudo- homothallic (self-fertile, with both mating types in one spore ) species.
The homothallic species, such as Neurospora africana , Neurospora dodgei or Neurospora lineolata , do not form conidia , but rather form perithecia . These come from a stem and arise from a cell nucleus.
The heterothallic species, such as Neurospora crassa , Neurospora intermedia or the red bread mold ( Neurospora sitophila ), produce conidia and not perithecia unless they are crossed .
The pseudohomothalic species, such as Neurospora tetrasperma , form conidia and perithecia from a single heterokaryotic stem.
The morphology is very variable within the genus and even within the species. For example, there is a strain of Neurospora crassa that does not develop mycelium at all , but a mucus of yeast-like cells. However, the following characteristics apply to most individuals.
The mycelium is fast growing and woolly downy. The conidia are ellipsoidal, smooth, and orange in color. They are 10 to 12 micrometers long and between 8 and 10 micrometers wide. They sit in chains on branched girders. Due to the many conidia, the whole mycelium often appears orange in color. The perithecia are black-brown.
distribution
Neurospora is a genus of mold with a cosmopolitan distribution. In Central Europe, the red bread mold ( Neurospora sitophila ) is particularly widespread; it is often found on bread and in bakeries. Neurospora crassa is an important model organism in microbiology .
In nature, all species live on damp and rotting parts of plants.
Systematics
The genus Neospora currently includes twelve species. However, the genus does not appear to be monophyletic . Rather, it is paraphyletic with the closely related genus Gelasinospora . The Neurospora species are:
- Neurospora africana
- Neurospora crassa
- Neurospora discreta
- Neurospora dodgei
- Neurospora galapagosensis
- Neurospora intermedia
- Neurospora lineolata
- Neurospora pannonica
- Red bread mold ( Neurospora sitophila )
- Neurospora sublineolata
- Neurospora terricola
- Neurospora tetrasperma
A molecular genetic investigation in 2001 revealed the following phylogenetic tree for the relationships within Neurospora and Gelasinospora :
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literature
- Werner Rothmaler: Excursion flora for Germany . Volume 1: Lower Plants, 3rd edition. Fischer, Jena 1994. ISBN 3-334-60827-1 , p. 284
- SK Dutta, Inamul Sheikh, Johnson Choppala: Morphological Variation in the Genus Neurospora: Ascospore and DNA Studies. In: Transactions of the American Microscopical Society. Volume 95, No. 3, July 1976, pp. 462-469, ( abstract ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jeremy R. Dettman, Fred M. Harbinski, d John W. Taylor: Ascospore Morphology Is a Poor Predictor of the Phylogenetic Relationships of Neurospora and Gelasinospora. In: Fungal Genetics and Biology. Volume 34, Number 1, October 2001, pp. 49-61. ( doi : 10.1006 / fgbi.2001.1289 )