Helicobasidium mompa | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Pucciniomycetes |
Order: | Helicobasidiales |
Family: | Helicobasidiaceae |
Genus: | Helicobasidium |
Species: | H. mompa |
Binomial name | |
Helicobasidium mompa Nobuj. Tanaka (1891) | |
Synonyms | |
Septobasidium mompa(Nobuj. Tanaka) Racib. (1909) Contents |
Helicobasidium mompa is a species of fungus in the subdivision Pucciniomycotina. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are corticioid (patch-forming) and are typically violet to purple. Microscopically they have auricularioid (laterally septate) basidia. [1] Helicobasidium mompa is an opportunistic plant pathogen and is one of the causes of violet root rot of crops and other plants. DNA sequencing suggests that it is a distinct, eastern Asian species. [2] [3]
Helicobasidium mompa was first described in 1891 by Japanese mycologist Nobujiro Tanaka for a species found on mulberry in Japan that was similar to the European Helicobasidium purpureum , but with basidiospores depicted as ovoid and of slightly smaller size. In 1955 Seiya Ito synonymized the long-spored H. mompa f. macrosporum and H. compactum with the short-spored H. mompa. [1] As a result at least some subsequent references to H. mompa refer to a long-spored species. [3] A 1999 study considered H. mompa a nomen dubium (a name of unknown application) because of uncertainty concerning its description and interpretation. [1] Initial molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, indicates, however, that Japanese and Korean specimens determined as H. mompa form a grouping distinct from those named Helicobasidium longisporum or H. purpureum. [3] [2] [4]
Basidiocarps are corticioid smooth, membranaceous, purple to purple-brown. Microscopically the hyphae are easily visible, 5-8 μm diam., brownish-purple, and lack clamp connections. Basidia are tubular, curved or crook-shaped, and auricularioid (laterally septate). Basidiospores were originally described as ovoid, 10 -12 x 5 -7 μm, [1] but have been re-interpreted as elongated, 10–23 x 4–7.5 μm. [3]
Helicobasidium mompa has been recorded mainly from temperate areas of Japan, Korea, and China. [3] [4] It is reported to cause violet root rot of various crops. [3]