Species Diversity and Distribution of Trichomycete Gut Fungi in Their Arthropod Hosts

节肢动物宿主中毛霉菌肠道真菌的物种多样性和分布

• 批准号: 9006368
• 负责人: Robert Lichtwardt
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Kansas Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-07-15 至 1992-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9006368&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Species; Diversity; Distribution; Trichomycete; Gut

Trichomycetes are fungi that live obligately within the guts of many kinds of arthropods such as crustaceans, millipedes, and insects. The nature of the relationship with their hosts is not known in most cases although there is evidence that some of these fungi can kill their hosts whereas others may benefit them by synthesizing sterol nutrients required by the host. Dr. Robert Lichtwardt of the University of Kansas is one of the few specialists in the world working on the taxonomy and biology of these commensalistic fungi, and it is his efforts over the years that have led to the present stage of knowledge about them. In continuing studies of Trichomycetes, Dr. Lichtwardt is surveying their occurrence in aquatic hosts in two widely separated regions, Australia and New Zealand and in Costa Rica. Preliminary work by him has indicated that new species of fungi, and possibly new genera, occur in both regions, and with varying levels of specificity toward their hosts. Efforts to culture the fungi under controlled laboratory conditions will continue, along with studies to determine their complete life history, including processes by which fungal spores are dispersed and come to infect appropriate host arthropods. Dr. Lichtwardt's studies also contribute to the inventory of microbial organisms in the world, especially of tropical regions, an inventory at present very incomplete.

毛霉菌是专性生活在许多种类的节肢动物如甲壳类动物、千足虫和昆虫的肠道内的真菌。在大多数情况下，与宿主的关系的性质是不知道的，虽然有证据表明，这些真菌中的一些可以杀死他们的主机，而其他人可能会受益于他们合成所需的固醇营养素的主机。堪萨斯大学的Robert Lichtwartt博士是世界上少数几位致力于这些真菌分类学和生物学的专家之一，正是他多年来的努力才导致了对它们的目前阶段的认识。在毛霉菌的持续研究中，Lichtwardt博士正在调查它们在澳大利亚和新西兰以及哥斯达黎加这两个相距甚远的地区的水生宿主中的发生情况。他的初步工作表明，在这两个地区都出现了新的真菌物种，可能还有新的属，并且对它们的宿主具有不同程度的特异性。将继续努力在受控的实验室条件下培养真菌，沿着研究以确定其完整的生活史，包括真菌孢子分散并感染适当宿主节肢动物的过程。Lichtwartt博士的研究也有助于世界上微生物有机体的清单，特别是热带地区，目前的清单非常不完整。