Home • Phoma multirostrata 7a v1.0
Phoma multirostrata on PDA plate.
Phoma multirostrata on PDA plate.
Image Credit: Eitan Salomon
Hyphae of Phoma multirostrata.
Hyphae of Phoma multirostrata.
Image Credit: Eitan Salomon

Phoma multirostrata (Mathur, Menon & Thirum.) Dorenbosh and Doerema, previously described as Sphaeronema multirostrata, shares a number of common morphological characteristics (such as the presence of pycnidia with many well-defined ostioles) with P. americana, P. herbarum and P. rumicicola. P. multirostrata has been primarily reported to be a pathogen of several plant species (including grapevine, palm, tea, orchids, fuchsia, lavender, oregano, coriander and baru in Asia, Europe, Australia and South America). A case of isolation of P. multirostrata from a human cutaneous preparation has also been reported. Strains of this species also produce unique cytochalasins as part of their secondary metabolism. Recently, P. multirostrata has been isolated from the marine environment, as a symbiont from the reef building coral Orbicella faveolata (listed as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature). Information on this (and additional O. faveolata-associated fungi) will serve as a basis for studying the mostly uncharted aspects (beneficial and detrimental) of fungal-coral interactions. Sequence information will be mined for secondary metabolite production potential, compared with additional strains isolated from other coral samples and used for designing probes for in-situ analysis of coral-fungus interactions.