TY - JOUR

T1 - Fungi attacking springtails (Sminthuridae, Collembola) with a description of Pandora batallata, sp. nov. (Entomophthoraceae)

AU - Keller, Siegfried

AU - Hülsewig, Thorben

AU - Jensen, Annette Bruun

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Fungi attacking springtails, probably Dicyrtomina sp. (Collembola, Sminthuridae), were collected in north-western Germany.Cadavers were fixed with rhizoids onto moist pieces of dead wood lying on the soil. Fifteen specimens were carefully dissectedand microscopically and genetically examined. The core data of Pandora batallata are as follows: The hyphal bodies measured61.7–65.0 × 18.5 μm and contained on average 10-11 nuclei. The branched conidiophores produced mononucleate primary co-nidia with an average size of 20.8–21.7 × 8.9–9.6 μm. The spiny brown, usually spherical zygospores measured on average 39.6 μmexcluding the spines. The long and strong cystidia had an enlarged rounded ending, which is represented by the epithet. Pandorabatallata sp. nov. differs from related species by host, morphology (long cystidia with the spoon-like ending) and sequence differ-ences in the LSU rDNA. Two other fungi were also found. A single dead springtail was completely filled with spherical fungalstructures (diameter 9–11 μm) and a single adhering hypha. Two other dead springtails were filled with spherical structures re-sembling entomophthoralean resting spores, although their diameter was only 10–12 μm. Both of these fungi were not furtherexamined but they are also considered as pathogenic to springtails.

AB - Fungi attacking springtails, probably Dicyrtomina sp. (Collembola, Sminthuridae), were collected in north-western Germany.Cadavers were fixed with rhizoids onto moist pieces of dead wood lying on the soil. Fifteen specimens were carefully dissectedand microscopically and genetically examined. The core data of Pandora batallata are as follows: The hyphal bodies measured61.7–65.0 × 18.5 μm and contained on average 10-11 nuclei. The branched conidiophores produced mononucleate primary co-nidia with an average size of 20.8–21.7 × 8.9–9.6 μm. The spiny brown, usually spherical zygospores measured on average 39.6 μmexcluding the spines. The long and strong cystidia had an enlarged rounded ending, which is represented by the epithet. Pandorabatallata sp. nov. differs from related species by host, morphology (long cystidia with the spoon-like ending) and sequence differ-ences in the LSU rDNA. Two other fungi were also found. A single dead springtail was completely filled with spherical fungalstructures (diameter 9–11 μm) and a single adhering hypha. Two other dead springtails were filled with spherical structures re-sembling entomophthoralean resting spores, although their diameter was only 10–12 μm. Both of these fungi were not furtherexamined but they are also considered as pathogenic to springtails.

U2 - 10.12905/0380.sydowia75-2023-0037

DO - 10.12905/0380.sydowia75-2023-0037

M3 - Journal article

VL - 75

JO - Sydowia

JF - Sydowia

SN - 0082-0598

ER -