Pectinases in Leaf Degradation by Aquatic Hyphomycetes: the Enzymes and Leaf Maceration

Growth and production of aquatic hyphomycetes in decomposing leaf litter

The acetate-to-ergosterol technique was used to estimate fungal productivity of three species of aquatic hyphomycetes growing in decomposing ash leaves in stream microcosms. Following a lag of 20-88 min, incorporation of acetate into ergosterol was linear for at least 10 h. Substrate saturation was reached in the mM range, and there was no indication of isotope dilution. For one species, Articu...

Influence of conidial traits and leaf structure on attachment success of aquatic hyphomycetes on leaf litter.

Attachment of conidia on leaves is a critical first step in the life cycle of aquatic hyphomycetes in streams. In a first series of microcosm experiments, attachment success of three common aquatic hyphomycete species differing in conidial shape (compact, filiform and tetraradiate) was determined on two leaf species, black alder and downy oak. Fungal species identity and leaf surface structure ...

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Horizontal Gene Transfer of Pectinases from Bacteria Preceded the Diversification of Stick and Leaf Insects

Genes acquired by horizontal transfer are increasingly being found in animal genomes. Understanding their origin and evolution requires knowledge about the phylogenetic relationships from both source and recipient organisms. We used RNASeq data and respective assembled transcript libraries to trace the evolutionary history of polygalacturonase (pectinase) genes in stick insects (Phasmatodea). B...

Temperature and sporulation of aquatic hyphomycetes.

Temperature appears to be an important factor affecting the occurrence and distribution of aquatic hyphomycetes, the dominant leaf litter-decomposing fungi in streams. We compared conidium production by eight species of aquatic hyphomycetes grown on yellow poplar leaves in stream-simulating microcosms at three temperatures (15, 20, and 25 degrees C). The greatest conidium production occurred at...