Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Dictyostelids (Cellular Slime Molds) Colonizing the Ascocarp of <i>Morchella</i>
<i>Morchella</i> spp. (true morels) are precious edible mushrooms consumed around the world, with a delicious taste, rich nutritional value, and unique healthcare effects. Various fungi and bacteria have been reported to colonize the ascocarps of <i>Morchella</i>, damaging th...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-09-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Fungi |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/10/10/678 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850206203323351040 |
|---|---|
| author | Wen-Shu Hu Lin-Lin Jiang Pu Liu Xiao-Yan Zhang Wei Wei Xi-Hui Du |
| author_facet | Wen-Shu Hu Lin-Lin Jiang Pu Liu Xiao-Yan Zhang Wei Wei Xi-Hui Du |
| author_sort | Wen-Shu Hu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Morchella</i> spp. (true morels) are precious edible mushrooms consumed around the world, with a delicious taste, rich nutritional value, and unique healthcare effects. Various fungi and bacteria have been reported to colonize the ascocarps of <i>Morchella</i>, damaging their fruiting bodies and leading to serious economic losses in cultivation. The species identification of these colonizing organisms is crucial for understanding their colonization mechanisms on morels. Slime molds, which have characteristics of both “fungi” and “animals”, can occasionally colonize crops and edible fungi. However, there have been no reports of dictyostelid cellular slime molds (dictyostelids) colonizing plants and fungi to date. In this study, we discovered that dictyostelids colonized the surface of one wild ascoma of <i>Morchella</i> in the forest of Chongqing, China, with the tissues being black and rotten. Macro- and micro-morphological observations, along with molecular phylogenetic analyses, identified the specimens investigated in this study as <i>Dictyostelium implicatum</i> and <i>Morchella</i> sp. <i>Mel</i>-21. The results provide new knowledge of dictyostelid colonization on organisms and contribute to the diversity of species colonizing true morels. Moreover, this is also the first report of dictyostelids distributed in Chongqing, China. This study enhances our insights into the life history and potential ecological significance of dictyostelids and updates their distribution area in China. Further research will be conducted to uncover the mechanisms behind the colonization observed in this study. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3a1b965c554b4bbfa49b2707f84c68f3 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2309-608X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Fungi |
| spelling | doaj-art-3a1b965c554b4bbfa49b2707f84c68f32025-08-20T02:10:54ZengMDPI AGJournal of Fungi2309-608X2024-09-01101067810.3390/jof10100678Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Dictyostelids (Cellular Slime Molds) Colonizing the Ascocarp of <i>Morchella</i>Wen-Shu Hu0Lin-Lin Jiang1Pu Liu2Xiao-Yan Zhang3Wei Wei4Xi-Hui Du5College of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, ChinaEngineering Research Center of Chinese Ministry of Education for Edible and Medicinal Fungi, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China<i>Morchella</i> spp. (true morels) are precious edible mushrooms consumed around the world, with a delicious taste, rich nutritional value, and unique healthcare effects. Various fungi and bacteria have been reported to colonize the ascocarps of <i>Morchella</i>, damaging their fruiting bodies and leading to serious economic losses in cultivation. The species identification of these colonizing organisms is crucial for understanding their colonization mechanisms on morels. Slime molds, which have characteristics of both “fungi” and “animals”, can occasionally colonize crops and edible fungi. However, there have been no reports of dictyostelid cellular slime molds (dictyostelids) colonizing plants and fungi to date. In this study, we discovered that dictyostelids colonized the surface of one wild ascoma of <i>Morchella</i> in the forest of Chongqing, China, with the tissues being black and rotten. Macro- and micro-morphological observations, along with molecular phylogenetic analyses, identified the specimens investigated in this study as <i>Dictyostelium implicatum</i> and <i>Morchella</i> sp. <i>Mel</i>-21. The results provide new knowledge of dictyostelid colonization on organisms and contribute to the diversity of species colonizing true morels. Moreover, this is also the first report of dictyostelids distributed in Chongqing, China. This study enhances our insights into the life history and potential ecological significance of dictyostelids and updates their distribution area in China. Further research will be conducted to uncover the mechanisms behind the colonization observed in this study.https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/10/10/678<i>Dictyostelium</i>18S rRNAtrue morelmulti-genedistributionsorocarp |
| spellingShingle | Wen-Shu Hu Lin-Lin Jiang Pu Liu Xiao-Yan Zhang Wei Wei Xi-Hui Du Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Dictyostelids (Cellular Slime Molds) Colonizing the Ascocarp of <i>Morchella</i> Journal of Fungi <i>Dictyostelium</i> 18S rRNA true morel multi-gene distribution sorocarp |
| title | Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Dictyostelids (Cellular Slime Molds) Colonizing the Ascocarp of <i>Morchella</i> |
| title_full | Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Dictyostelids (Cellular Slime Molds) Colonizing the Ascocarp of <i>Morchella</i> |
| title_fullStr | Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Dictyostelids (Cellular Slime Molds) Colonizing the Ascocarp of <i>Morchella</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Dictyostelids (Cellular Slime Molds) Colonizing the Ascocarp of <i>Morchella</i> |
| title_short | Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Dictyostelids (Cellular Slime Molds) Colonizing the Ascocarp of <i>Morchella</i> |
| title_sort | morphological and phylogenetic analyses reveal dictyostelids cellular slime molds colonizing the ascocarp of i morchella i |
| topic | <i>Dictyostelium</i> 18S rRNA true morel multi-gene distribution sorocarp |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/10/10/678 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wenshuhu morphologicalandphylogeneticanalysesrevealdictyostelidscellularslimemoldscolonizingtheascocarpofimorchellai AT linlinjiang morphologicalandphylogeneticanalysesrevealdictyostelidscellularslimemoldscolonizingtheascocarpofimorchellai AT puliu morphologicalandphylogeneticanalysesrevealdictyostelidscellularslimemoldscolonizingtheascocarpofimorchellai AT xiaoyanzhang morphologicalandphylogeneticanalysesrevealdictyostelidscellularslimemoldscolonizingtheascocarpofimorchellai AT weiwei morphologicalandphylogeneticanalysesrevealdictyostelidscellularslimemoldscolonizingtheascocarpofimorchellai AT xihuidu morphologicalandphylogeneticanalysesrevealdictyostelidscellularslimemoldscolonizingtheascocarpofimorchellai |