LSC: Axenic Culture Collection of Insect Gut Fungi (Harpellales) and Other Symbionts of Arthropods: Incorporating the Isolates into Other Culture Collections

Harpellales （Zygomycota, Trichomycetes）是生活在水生昆虫幼虫后肠中的真菌共生体，包括低双翅目（Nematocera）如黑蝇、蚊子、蠓等五科，以及石蝇（Plecoptera）、蜉蝣目（Ephemeroptera）、caddisfly （Trichoptera）的幼虫或若虫阶段，很少生活在甲虫幼虫（鞘翅目）和等足目（Isopoda）中。这种与昆虫的世界性联系从共生到共生或寄生，取决于真菌及其宿主的种类和发展阶段。这个独特的收集包括250多个分离株，代表8属和43种，加上最大属Smittium目前尚未确定的物种的44多个分离株。该奖项提供资金，将这些独特的内共生菌的培养物纳入包括美国农业部在内的其他机构的收藏中，从而使研究人员和教师能够在未来很长一段时间内使用它们。有关该收集的信息和有关毛原菌生物学和系统学的专著的链接，关于肠道真菌研究的全球参考文献列表，一个不断更新的所有物种的交互式图解钥匙，以及一个目前正在完成的大型数据库，可以在www.nhm.ku.edu/~fungi上找到。

Harpellales (Zygomycota, Trichomycetes) are fungal symbionts that live in the hindgut of larval aquatic insects, including lower Diptera (Nematocera) such as black flies, mosquitoes, midges, and five other families, and the larval or nymphal stages of stoneflies (Plecoptera), mayflies (Ephemeroptera) caddisflies (Trichoptera), and rarely in beetle larvae (Coleoptera) and isopods (Isopoda). This worldwide association with insects ranges from commensalistic to mutualistic or parasitic, depending upon the species and the stages of development of both the fungi and their hosts. This unique collection consists of more than 250 isolates representing 8 genera and 43 species, plus more than 44 isolates of currently unidentified species of the largest genus, Smittium. This award provides funds to incorporate the cultures of these unique endosymbionts into collections at other institutions including the USDA, thereby making them available to researchers and teachers well into the future. Information about the collection and links to a book-length monograph on the biology and systematics of Trichomycetes, a worldwide list of references to studies on gut fungi, a constantly updated interactive illustrated key to all species, and a large database that is currently being completed can be found at www.nhm.ku.edu/~fungi.