Lobosporangium transversale (Malloch) M. Blackwell & Benny was originally isolated and described as Echinosporangium transveralis (Malloch 1967) from a culture obtained from Nevada soil in 1964 (NRRL 3116 = ex type strain). This species appears to be rare, having only been reported subsequently from Texas soil (= NRRL 5525) and the Sonoran Desert in Mexico (Benny and Blackwell 2004). Like other members of the Mortierellaceae (O’Donnell et al. 2001), cultures of this “zygomycete” produce a garlic-like odor. As the name suggests, L. transversale produces elongate smooth-walled, multispored sporangia that bear several apical spine-like projections (see figure). Sexual reproduction in this species is unknown. It is important industrially for the production of lipids that contain highly unsaturated fatty acids and diverse other fatty acids. As part of the 1000 Fungal Genome Project, the whole-genome sequence of L. transversale should help elucidate fatty acid biosynthesis evolution within this important family of early diverging fungi.
Genome Reference(s)
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Nat Genet. 2017 Jun;49(6):964-968. doi: 10.1038/ng.3859
References
Benny GL, Blackwell M. 2004. Lobosporangium, a new name
for Echinosporangium Malloch, and Gamsiella, a
new genus for Mortierella multidivaricata. Mycologia
96:143–149.
Malloch D. 1967. A new genus of Mucorales. Mycologia
59:326–329.
O’Donnell K, Lutzoni FM, Ward TJ, Benny GL. 2001.
Evolutionary relationships among mucoralean fungi (Zygomycota):
evidence for family polyphyly on a large scale. Mycologia
93:286–297.
