http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Fusarium_oxysporum

Fusarium oxysporum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Fusarium oxysporum

Scientific classification Kingdom: Division: Class: Order: Family: Genus: Species: Fungi Ascomycota Sordariomycetes Hypocreales Nectriaceae Fusarium F. oxysporum Binomial name Fusarium oxysporum
Schlecht. emend. Snyder & Hansen

Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. as emended by Snyder and Hansen[1] comprises all the species, varieties and forms recognized by Wollenweber and Reinking[2] within an infrageneric grouping called section Elegans. While the species, as defined by Snyder and Hansen, has been widely accepted for more than 50 years,[3][4] more recent work indicates this taxon is actually a genetically heterogeneous polytypic morphospecies[5][6] whose strains represent some of the most abundant and widespread microbes of the global soil microflora.[7] These remarkably diverse and adaptable fungi have been found in soils ranging from the Sonoran Desert, to tropical and temperate forests, grasslands and soils of the tundra.[8] F. oxysporum strains are ubiquitous soil inhabitants that have the ability to exist as saprophytes, and degrade lignin[9][10] and complex carbohydrates[11][12][13] associated with soil debris. They are also pervasive plant endophytes that can colonize plant roots[14][15] and may even protect plants or be the basis of disease suppression.[16][17] Although the predominant role of these fungi in native soils may be as harmless or even beneficial plant

endophytes or soil saprophytes, many strains within the F. oxysporum complex are pathogenic to plants, especially in agricultural settings. Pathogenic strains of F. oxysporum have been studied for more than 100 years. The host range of these fungi is extremely broad, and includes animals, ranging from arthropods[18] to humans,[19] as well as plants, including a range of both gymnosperms and angiosperms. While collectively, plant pathogenic F. oxysporum strains have a broad host range, individual isolates usually cause disease only on a narrow range of plant species. This observation has led to the idea of "special form" or forma speciales in F. oxysporum. Formae speciales have been defined as "...an informal rank in Classification.....used for parasitic fungi characterized from a physiological standpoint (e.g. by the ability to cause disease in particular hosts) but scarcely or not at all from a morphological standpoint. As a category, forma specialis is mentioned in, but not regulated by, the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and sometimes it has been inconsistently applied. Exhaustive host range studies also have been conducted for relatively few formae speciales or F. oxysporum. [20] For more information on Fusarium oxysporum as a plant pathogen, see Fusarium wilt.

The Fusaria are imperfect filamentous fungi belonging to the class Deuteromycetes. Known perfect forms (sexual) belong to the class Ascomycetes (Gibberella, Calonectria, Nectria, Plectosphaerella). This genus contains 50 to 70 species, many of which are phytopathogenic, causing crop diseases grouped under the term fusariose. Their rapid-growing colonies are cottony or flaky and have generally bright colours: white to cream, yellow, brown, pink, red, purple or lilac. The conidiophores are grouped into sporodochia with relatively elongated phialides, producing pear-shaped, fusiform or ovoid microconidies (1 to 2 cells) and fusiform, septate, curved, crescent-shaped macroconidies with a pedicellate basal cell. The Fusaria are ubiquitous, cosmopolitan (cereals, plants, seeds, soil, etc.), and very common. Some saprophytic species are incidentally able to grow as secondary pathogens on senescent plant tissues. Some species are involved in type I allergy, others in serious disorders, especially among immunocompromised individuals and in severe burns. They can produce many relatively dangerous mycotoxins (trichothecene, T-2 toxin, zearalenon, vomitoxin, deoxynivalenol, fumonisin, etc.). The Fusaria have an important veterinary interest in the production of zearalenon, which is an anabolic that stimulates growth in animals is also a contraceptive substance.

The Penicilliums are imperfect filamentous fungi belonging to the class Deuteromycetes. Some perfect forms (sexual) are known and belong to the class Ascomycetes (Carpenteles, Eupenicillium, Talaromyces). This genius contains between 100 and 250 species. The colonies are powdery or downy, grow rapidly, and are usually green or rarely white. The isolated conidiophores, grouped in loose bundles or aggregated in well-defined corema, simple or branched, have a shape resembling that of a brush. The conidia are arranged in long chains, globular, elliptical, cylindrical or fusiform, are smooth or rough, and are hyaline, grayish or greenish. The Penicilliums are polyphages, very common in the environment and may be responsible for many types of degradation.Their habitats are soil, food, decomposing organic matter, compost, seeds, cereals ... Various species are cultivated for the industrial manufacture of cheese (Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium camembertii), for the production of metabolites such as antibiotics (Penicillium notatum, Penicillium chrysogenum), gluconic acid (Penicillium purpurogenum), and many mycotoxins (citrioviridin, griseofulvin, patulin, penicillin, roquefortin, etc.).