genetics and physiology of fungi
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biomed.cas.cz/mbu/lab112/
Improving determinations tools in Aspergillus


Diversity and taxonomy of endophytic fungi associated with forest trees

Endophytic fungi are growing in living plant tissues without causing any symptoms. They can eventually become pathogens or saprotrophs and effectively degrade wood matrix. Endophytes often represents ancient ecological strategy representing evolutionary old lineages within particular fungal group and produces metabolites serving for protection of plants against insects, pathogenic fungi and other stress factors. There are also pool for fungi living in symbioses with subcortical insect, fungi occurring in rhizosphaere and phyloplane. Knowledge about their diversity is necessary for understanding of interactions and live cycles in forest habitat. In particular we are looking for endophytes, which are known as insect symbionts (Daldinia, Geosmithia), forest pathogens and potent degraders of death wood. During the survey of hardwoods of temperate forest interesting spectrum of fungi were isolated and characterized by molecular methods. One of the most abundant taxa occurring on Salix, Quercus, Alnus and Ulmus were described by as new genus Liberomyces with two species representing new family related to Xylariales.
Plates showing morphology of newly described species Liberomyces saliciphylus Pažoutová, Kolařík et Kubátová.