Home • Dissophora decumbens NRRL 22416 v1.0
Micrograph of Dissophora sporangia (40X), possibly Dissophora ornata. Image by Gregory Bonito.
Micrograph of Dissophora sporangia (40X), possibly Dissophora ornata. Image by Gregory Bonito.

The genome of Dissophora decumbens was sequenced by JGI within the framework of theZyGoLife - Community Sequencing Project 1978 – “Genomics of the early diverging lineages of fungi and their transition to terrestrial, plant-based ecologies”(http://zygolife.org/home/). Zygomycetes are an ancient and diverse group of fungi, whose evolutionary history and ecological associations remain poorly resolved. The ZyGoLife project aims to: 1) reconstruct the genealogical relationships of this early diverging branch in the fungal tree of life; 2) resolve the origins of symbiotic relationships between plants and zygomycetes; 3) reveal how complex body plans evolved in the group; 4) elucidate mechanisms of mating genetics between organisms with complex and differing life cycles, and; 5) develop genomic barcodes to facilitate identification of unknown fungi. Towards these goals we are sequencing genomes of diverse representative zygomycete taxa.

Dissophora is a genus within the Mortierellomycotina (Mucoromycota). Dissophora decumbens is the type species for the genus, which was originally isolated from wood mouse dung collected in Massachusetts, USA (Thaxter 1914; Gams and Carreiro 1989). Its fertile hyphae abruptly differentiate from more slender vegetative filaments of indeterminate growth. Sporangiophores arise as buds, continuously, behind the advancing apex. Colonies grow as pure white, with erect growth that becomes ‘decumbent’ in age posterior to the growing front.

References:

Thaxter R. 1914. New or Peculiar Zygomycetes. 3: Blakeslea, Dissophora, and Haplosporangium, Nova Genera. Botanical Gazette. 58(4):353-366.

Gams W, Carreiro MM. 1989. Two new species of Morteriella and rediscovery of Thaxter's Dissophora decumbens. Studies in Mycology. 31:85-92