An Ophiostoma fungus was isolated from a stump of Pinus thunbergii in a forest on the West coast of Korea. Microscopic analysis using a light microscope, a stereo microscope, and a scanning electron microscope revealed that it had morphological features of Pesotum and Sporothix synanarmorphs. Based on the β-tubulin gene sequence analysis, the fungus was identified as the anamorph of Ophiostoma ...

The emergence of new microbial pathogens can result in destructive outbreaks, since their hosts have limited resistance and pathogens may be excessively aggressive. Described as the major ecological incident of the twentieth century, Dutch elm disease, caused by ascomycete fungi from the Ophiostoma genus, has caused a significant decline in elm tree populations (Ulmus sp.) in North America and ...

BERBEE, M. L., AND TAYLOR, J. W. 1992. 18s ribosomal RNA gene sequence characters place the human pathogen Sporothrix schenckii in the genus Ophiostoma. Experimental Mycology 16, 87-91. Using the sequence of the gene for the 18s subunit of ribosomal RNA, we show that the asexual human pathogen Sporothrix schenckii lies phylogeneticaily within the sexual genus Ophiostoma. By distance or maximum ...

The Canadian Ophiostoma Genome Project, which was initiated in 2001, is a collaborative effort between research teams in four different universities. Its general objective is to conduct a large-scale identification and analysis of genes controlling important aspects of the life cycle of Ophiostomatoid fungi. To this end, several expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries were obtained for the Dutch...

Ophiostoma stenoceras is a well-known sapwood-colonizing fungus occurring on some coniferous and hardwood hosts in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, the fungus has been reported only from New Zealand. The human pathogen, Sporothrix schenckii, has been suggested to be the anamorph of O. stenoceras. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the phylogenetic re...

The Cape Floristic Region (CFR) displays high levels of plant diversity and endemism, and has received focused botanical systematic attention. In contrast, fungal diversity patterns and co-evolutionary processes in this region have barely been investigated. Here we reconstruct molecular phylogenies using the ITS and beta-tubulin gene regions of the ophiostomatoid fungi Gondwanamyces and Ophiost...

Wood extractives in radiata pine are the source of the observed pitch problems in the pulp and paper industry. Various methodologies have been studied and used to reduce or eliminate their negative effects. A biological treatment with albino fungi of the Ophiostoma genus, fungi that degrade the lipidic components of extractives, has been proposed as a more environmentally friendly alternative f...

The genus Ophiostoma (Ophiostomatales) has a global distribution and species are best known for their association with bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) on conifers. An unusual assemblage of these fungi is closely associated with the African endemic plant genus Protea (Proteaceae). Protea-associated Ophiostoma species are ecologically atypical as they colonise the fruiting structures of ...

New Zealand produces large diameter radiata pine (Pinus radiata) in short rotations, making it the dominant species used in its forest products industry. As with other fast growing pine species, radiata pine produces wood that consists primarily of sapwood, and is susceptible to dark discolorations due to sapstaining fungi. As a result, significant losses are incurred by the New Zealand forest ...

Ophiostoma galeiforme was described first in 1951 from Larix kaempferi in Scotland, where it was found to be associated with the bark beetles Hy-lurgops palliatus, Dryocoetes autographus, and the ambrosia beetle Trypodendron lineatum. The taxonomy of this fungus has been uncertain because of a lack of sexual structures on the type specimen and contamination of a preserved ex-type culture. The a...