Home • Mortierella multidivaricata RSA 2152 T v1.0
Mortierella multidivaricata
Photo credit: Kerry O'Donnell

Mortierella multidivaricata R.K. Benjamin NRRL 6456 (= CBS 227.78 = IMI 236322) was originally isolated from detritus collected in Moscow, Russia. At the time this species was described (Benjamin 1978) it was placed in Mortierella subgenus Gamsiella (Mortierellaceae). Subsequently, Gamsiella was described as a monotypic genus within the Mortierellaceae (Benny and Blackwell 2004) based on a unique combination of characters, including repeatedly divaricately branched sporangiophores (Fig. 1, also see O'Donnell 1979), 2-spored sporangia born on slender acolumellate sporangiophores (Fig. 2) and ornamented chlamydospores (Fig. 3). However, because this species is deeply nested within Mortierella (Wagner et al. 2013), it is reported here as M. multidivericata. Like many mortierellaceous species, M. multidivaricata produces a garlic-like odor in culture. Sexual reproduction is unknown. As part of the 1000 Fungal Genome Project, the whole-genome sequence of M. multidivaricata should help elucidate evolution within the early diverging fungi.

References

Benjamin RK. 1978. Gamsiella, a new subgenus of Mortierella (Mucorales: Mortierellaceae). Aliso 9:157-170.

Benny GL, Blackwell M. 2004. Lobosporangium, a new name for Echinosporangium Malloch, and Gamsiella, a new genus for Mortierella multidivaricata. Mycologia 96:143-149.

O'Donnell K. 1979. Zygomycetes in Culture. Palfrey Contributions in Botany. No. 2. Department of Botany, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. 257 p.

Wagner L, Stielow B, Hoffmann K, Petkovits T, Papp T, Vágvölgyi C, de Hogg GS, Verkely G, Voigt K. 2013. A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the Mortierellales (Mortierellomycotina) based on nuclear ribosomal DNA. Persoonia 30:77-93.

Genome Reference(s)