Ingoldian fungi in terrestrial damp woody litter of five tree species
Kodandoor Sharathchandra1, Kandikere Ramaiah Sridhar1, 2, *
Affiliations
1Department of Biosciences, Mangalore University, Mangalagangotri, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
2Centre for Environmental Studies, Yenepoya (deemed to be) University, Mangalore, India
*Corresponding author, email: [email protected]
Abstract
Ingoldian fungi are known to occur beyond their preferred lotic habitats. While their occurrence in tree canopies (stemflow, throughfall, and tree holes) and terrestrial leaf litter has been reported, this study aimed to assess the assemblage and diversity of Ingoldian fungi in terrestrial damp woody litter of five tree species grown in scrub jungles of southwest India. Bubble (2 days) and damp chamber (14 days) incubations were conducted using segments of bark and cambium samples. Conidia released into water were trapped using Millipore filters, stained, and assessed. A total of 30 fungal species were recorded, with higher species richness observed in the bubble chamber incubation method compared to the damp chamber method (25 species vs. 18 species). The bubble chamber incubation method yielded more species from bark samples than cambium samples (19 species vs. 16 species). Furthermore, the bubble chamber incubation method showed a higher number of exclusive species in bark samples compared to cambium samples (8 species vs. 6 species). Simpson and Shannon diversities were higher in bark samples than cambium samples in the bubble chamber incubation, with low Pielou’s equitability. The frequency of occurrence of the top three species (Anguillospora longissima, Flagellospora curvula, and Triscelophorus acuminatus) and top two species (A. longissima and F. curvula) were the same in both bubble and damp chamber incubations, respectively. Among the tree species, the bark samples of Terminalia paniculata and cambium samples of Ficus benghalensis showed the highest number of average species in the bubble chamber incubation. Acacia auriculiformis bark samples and F. benghalensis cambium samples exhibited the highest number of average species in the damp chamber incubation, while Artocarpus heterophyllus cambium samples showed the highest number of average species. All tree species exhibited a higher number of average conidia in bark samples compared to cambium samples in the bubble chamber incubation, with Anacardium occidentale displaying the highest frequency. In the damp chamber incubation, Acacia auriculiformis bark and F. benghalensis cambium samples exhibited the highest average conidia. The bubble chamber incubation method proved to be a rapid and efficient means of assessing Ingoldian fungi in damp woody litter.
Citation
Sharathchandra K, Sridhar KR (2020) Ingoldian fungi in terrestrial damp woody litter of five tree species. MycoAsia 2020/07. https://doi.org/10.59265/mycoasia.2020-07
Submission History
Received: 17.11.2020
Accepted: 19.12.2020
Published: 19.12.2020
Editorial Team
Handling Editor: Dr. B. Devadatha
Reviewers: Dr. V. Venkateswara Sarma, Dr. Sudeep D. Ghate