Diversity and delimitation of Rhizopus microsporus

January 2014, Volume 64, Issue 1, pp 145-163

First online: 09 April 2013

• Somayeh Dolatabadi
• , Grit Walther
• , A. H. G. Gerrits van den Ende
• , G. S. de Hoog

Abstract

Rhizopus microsporus has been used for centuries in the production of oriental fermented foods, but the species is also known as a toxin producer and from severe human infections. To study the diversity and species delimitation of Rhizopus microsporus, 48 isolates from the reference collection of the CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, comprising nine environmental, ten clinical, and 23 foodborne strains, in addition to six strains from unknown sources and representing all existing varieties of the species, were examined. Sequence diversity was based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and on a part of the actin (ACT) and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF) genes. Differences in physiological properties were assessed including temperature relationships. Spore morphology was studied, mating type tests were performed, and MALDI-ToF profiles were generated. Clinical and food-associated strains as well as members of different varieties mated successfully and consequently they belong to a single biological species. Molecular differences did not match with any other parameter investigated. Based on these results the varieties of Rhizopus microsporus are reduced to synonyms.

Keywords

Rhizopus microsporus Phylogeny Taxonomy Physiology MALDI-ToF Mating type Foodborne fungi Medical mycology Sporulation

Title

Diversity and delimitation of Rhizopus microsporus

Journal

Fungal Diversity
Volume 64, Issue 1 , pp 145-163

Cover Date

2014-01

DOI

10.1007/s13225-013-0229-6

Print ISSN

1560-2745

Online ISSN

1878-9129

Publisher

Springer Netherlands

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Author Affiliations

• 1. CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, P.O. Box 85167, 3508 AD, Utrecht, The Netherlands
• 2. Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 3. Institute of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, University of Jena, Jena, Germany
• 4. Leibniz-Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knöll-Institute, Jena Microbial Resource Collection, Jena, Germany
• 5. Research Center for Medical Mycology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China
• 6. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
• 7. Shanghai Institute of Medical Mycology, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China

For further details log on website :

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13225-013-0229-6