Pythium burgundicum sp. nov. isolated from soil samples taken in French vineyards

During the course of investigation on pythiaceous fungi occurring in the Burgundian vineyards, a new species of Pythium has been isolated. This oomycete is characterized by its nonproliferating and nonsporulating, spherical to cylindrical type of sporangia (hyphal bodies) germinating through germ tubes, smooth-walled oogonia that are supplied with hypogynous, monoclinous or rarely diclinous antheridia, and smooth-walled oospores. The antheridial cells are very prominent and are reminiscent of Pythium bifurcatum, Pythium segnitium and Pythium longandrum described previously by the author. The internal transcribed spacer region of the rRNA of this new species is composed of 883 bases, which is quite different from that of the closest relatives. Morphological and molecular features of this new species, named as Pythium burgundicum, are discussed in this article.