Collection Activities
Significant collections received for deposit in 2010-2011
To see what we have been up to in years past, please see our Annual Reports
Aromatic hydrocarbon degrading bacterium from Alberta. Pseudomonas fluorescens strain LP6a (= UAMH 11620) has been extensively characterized by Dr. J. Foght (U of A Biological Sciences) and her group and assessed for efficacy in bioremediation of oil spills. The bacterium was one of eleven isolates comprising the Standard Inocula used by Environment Canada to perform Oil Spill Bioremediation Agent efficacy tests (see publication list). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons serve as carbon source for this microbe, as well as conventional organic substrates (e.g., glucose, acetate, Plate Count Agar). The organism grows at a temperature range of <4°C to 35°C. Pseudomonas fluorescens strain LP6a was isolated from soil contaminated by sulfur-rich petroleum condensate from a sour gas well blow-out in Lodgepole, Alberta in 1982. This link provides history for the incident: Lodepole blowout
Ammonia fungi are ones in which growth is stimulated by addition
of urea or other nitrogenous materials to forest soils. The new mushroom species,
Coprinopsis neophlyctidospora, was discovered by Dr. K. Suzuki, Chiba University during surveys for ammonia fungi in Alberta boreal forests conducted while on sabbatical leave at the U of A. This mushroom fruits readily in culture.
Distillery warehouse and other black fungi from walls and other surfaces. Black, slow growing, so-called meristematic fungi
grow as sooty black deposits on rocks, archeological monuments and other surfaces.
Baudoinia compniacensis is known as the warehouse staining mold or angel's share fungus. It produces a sooty black biofilm on outdoor surfaces associated with low level exposure to ethyl alcohol vapors.
Twenty-two isolates of this fungus are now accessioned held at UAMH. These include UAMH 10762 for which the genome has recently been sequenced and the epitype strain UAMH 10808 isolated from a tree near the Remy Martin distillery in France. See these sites for more information, on Baudoinia and its role in the ecology of warehouse staining in distilleries.
Another slow growing black meristematic fungus isolated from an environmental source in Nevada was identified by ITS sequencing as Pseudotaeniolina globosa. This rare species is represented by only three other isolates worldwide.
Fungi associated with bats. North American bats are threatened by a disease called white nose syndrome caused by the fungus
Geomyces species UAMH 11161
Geomyces destructans. Over the past two years, we have been cooperating with K. Vanderwolf, M. Sc. student from Univ of New Brunswick and NB Museum, who has done extensive surveying of living hibernating bats in New Brunswick caves for incidence of the white nose pathogen G. destructans. In addition to 132 isolates deposited in 2010, another 68 isolates were received for deposit in 2011. These represented large numbers of Geomyces species other than G. destructans as well as numerous rare or uncommon fungi of scientific interest. We have verified or identified many of the isolates and we are now collaborating on several taxonomic projects. In April 2011, the first cases of white nose syndrome and the presence of G. destructans was confirmed in New Brunswick bats. This devastating fungal disease continues to spread among bats in New Brunswick and in other parts of Canada and the US.
Fungi associated with tree bark beetles. The mountain pine beetle is responsible for destruction of large areas of lodgepole pine forests in western Canadian and is now moving into hybrid tree species as well as jackpine thereby increasing its potential for spread eastward in the boreal forest. Over the past 2 years, 130 fungi representing six species of ophiostomatoid fungi (blue stain fungi) have been acquired from the mountain pine beetle genomics project involving scientists from the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia. The most common pine pathogen is
Grosmannia clavigera for which the whole genome has recently been sequenced for isolate KW1407 = UAMH 11150.
Grosmannia clavigera isolates from different species of beetle and pine have been found to represent two phylogenetic species based on genetic and ecological assessment (see
Alamouti et al Mol Ecol 2011). The isolates from these projects are listed in the UAMH catalogues but a complete list of recent acquisitions is available
here.
Grosmannia clavigera in culture
Ophiostomatoid fungi live in complex symbiotic relationships with the beetle and the availability of large numbers of well characterized isolates allows for study of the biological interactions between fungi, beetle and tree. The isolates represent different haplotypes and have been used for phylogenetic, population genetic and phylogenographic studies. Several molecular markers have been evaluated for their utility in identifying isolates among closely related blue stain fungi (see Roe et al Mol Ecol Res 2010; Roe et al Mol Ecol 2011).
Genome sequencing. The complete genome of Grosmannia clavigera was sequenced (ACXQ02000000) for Grosmannia clavigera isolate SLKW1407 = UAMH 11150 (see DiGuistini et al 2011; DiGuistini et al 2009; Hesse-Orce et al 2010).
Fungi associated with plant roots. The UAMH holds large collections of mycorrhizal and root associated fungi established from different hosts, habitats and regions in Canada and northern temperate regions. These vouchers are used by researchers to determine how endophytic fungi interact with their plant hosts, and their potential to improve plant growth particularly under conditions of environmental stress, but the ecological roles of many root endophytic fungi are still poorly understood.
The UAMH holds many isolates of orchid mycorrhizal fungi some of which have been shown to promote seed germination. The research of Dr. L.W. Zettler, Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL focuses on conservation of threatened orchids and the symbiotic germination of orchid seed with host-specific and locally adapted mycorrhizal fungi. Results of Dr. Zettler’s work on symbiotic germinations have identified specific UAMH cultures as ones promoting seed germination in vitro (See Zettler et al 2011, Keel et al 2011). In 2011, 22 isolates were received for deposit and included Ceratorhiza and Epulorhiza species obtained mainly from roots of the U.S. Federally threatened eastern prairie fringed orchid Platanthera leucophaea.
Fungi accessioned in 2010 (and their associated sequences) included endophytes from Cenococcum geophilum mycorrhizae of Abies balsamea, Picea glauca or Betula papyrifera collected in Nova Scotia and Quebec (see Kernaghan 2011) and Meliniomyces species from ericoid and ectomycorrhizal hosts collected in forests of Scotland (see Grelet 2009, 2009, 2010).
Wood spalting fungi. Wood spalting is the production of pigments and zone lines in wood caused by fungi
Scytalidium cuboideum UAMH 3101 showing blue-black pigment
and the effects of different fungi have been studied by Dr. S. Robinson (Fac Forestry, Univ of Toronto) (see
Robinson et al 2011;
Robinson et al 2011b). Among these were
Scytalidium cuboideum (formerly known as
Arthrographis cuboidea), several isolates of
Xylaria polymorpha and
Trametes versicolor. Although
Scytalidium cuboideum is a species well represented in UAMH, these are the first isolates studied in these types of applications.
Genome sequencing. Uncinocarpus reesii, described by Sigler & Carmichael in 1976 (Mycotaxon 4:349-488), is a nonpathogenic fungus related to the pathogens
Coccidioides immitis and
Coccidioides posadasii. The
Fungal 
Genome Initiative of the Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, produces and analyzes sequence data from fungal organisms that are important to medicine, agriculture and industry.
Uncinocarpus reesii strain UAMH 1704 is part of this project and sequences are deposited at DDBJ/ EMBL/ GenBank under the accession
AAIW00000000. See publications on
Uncinocarpus and its
phylogenetic relationship to
Coccidioides.
The Annual Report for 2011 provides a synopsis of the diverse ways in which UAMH fungi have been used.
Previous reports: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2001, 2000.
New species of fungi described in 2010
(sequences in Genbank)
New species of fungi described in 2009
(sequences in GenBank)
Candida subhashii
Phialocephala urceolata
Monodictys arctica
Leptographium piriforme
New species of fungi described in 2006
(sequences in GenBank)
Monodictys arctica
Leptographium piriforme
Cladophialophora minutissima
Meliniomyces variabilis
Cryptosporiopsis ericae
New species of fungi described in 2005
(sequences in GenBank)
Meliniomyces variabilis, M. bicolor, M. vraolstadiae
Cryptosporiopsis ericae, C. brunnea
Acremonium exuviarum
Arachnomyces glareosus
New species of fungi described in 2004
(sequences in GenBank)
Acremonium exuviarum
Arachnomyces glareosus