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Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Protocols for Problematic Plant, Oomycete, and Fungal Samples
Published on: February 3, 2017
The genus Smittium (Trichomycetes, Harpellales) in the Iberian Peninsula
Laia G Valle1, Sergi Santamaria
1Unitat de Botànica, Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain.
Abstract:
A study of larval Diptera (Chironomidae, Culicidae and Simuliidae) from Spain has been carried out to fulfill a catalogue of species of the genus Smittium (Harpellales: Legeriomycetaceae) present within these hosts. Among the reported taxa, eight are new species: Smittium brevisporum, S. bulbosporo-phorus, S. gracilis, S. hecatei, S. heterosporum, S. inex-pectans, S. prostratum and S. pseudodimorphum. We also report six previously described species, which are new for the Iberian Peninsula: S. alpinum, S. dipterorum, S. megazygosporum, S. pusillum, S. typhellum and S. fecundum. Three other species (S. simulii, S. culicis and S. culisetae) previously were reported from Spain. In two of them (S. fecundum and S. culicis), we describe for the first time the presence of zygospores. Some of the included species have been artificially cultured as well as ultrastructurally studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), with the purpose of observing the surface of both trichospores and the trichospore collar and the morphology of the trichospore appendage.
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