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Phellinus ellipsoideus

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Fomitiporia ellipsoidea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Fungi
Division:
Basidiomycota
Class:
Agaricomycetes
Order:
Hymenochaetales
Family:
Hymenochaetaceae
Genus:
Fomitiporia
Species:
F. ellipsoidea
Binomial name
Fomitiporia ellipsoidea[1][2]
B.K. Cui & Y.C. Dai 2008
F. ellipsoidea is known from Fujian Province and Hainan Island, China.

Fomitiporia ellipsoidea is a species of polypore in the Hymenochaetaceae family, noted because of the discovery of an extremely large fruit body, the largest ever recorded. Found in China, the species produces brown, woody fruit bodies which grow on dead wood, where the species feeds as a saprotroph. It is perennial, allowing it to grow very large in the correct circumstances. F. ellipsoidea produces distinct ellipsoid spores, after which it is named, and unusual setae. These two features allow it to be easily differentiated microscopically from other, similar species.

First recorded in 2008 by Bao-Kai Cui and Yu-Cheng Dai in Fujian Province, the species received international attention in 2011 when it was revealed that a very large fruit body, measuring up to 1,085 centimetres (427 in) in length, had been found by the pair on Hainan Island. The specimen, which was 20 years old, was estimated to weigh between 400 and 500 kilograms (880 and 1,100 lb). This was markedly larger than the previously largest recorded fruit body; a specimen of Rigidoporus ulmarius found in the United Kingdom, which had a circumference of 425 centimetres (167 in). Though the findings are yet to be published, they have attracted international attention from the mainstream press.

Discovery and taxonomy

The species was first described in 2008 by Bao-Kai Cui and Yu-Cheng Dai, both of the Beijing Forestry University, in an article in the journal Mycotaxon.[1][3] Five specimens of the then-unknown species were collected during field work in the Wanmulin Nature Reserve (27°03′N 118°08′E / 27.050°N 118.133°E / 27.050; 118.133), Jian'ou, Fujian Province. The pair named the species Fomitiporia ellipsoidea. The specific name ellipsoidea is from the Latin meaning ellipsoid, and is in reference to the shape of the species's spores.[4] Fomitiporia ellipsoidea was the eleventh species of Fomitiporia recorded in China,[5] and species of the order Hymenochaetales, of which which F. ellipsoidea is one, make up 25% of the over 700 species of polypore found in China.[6] Though the type specimen was not unusually large, the species received attention when a much larger specimen was discovered by the pair later.[7]

Description

Fomitiporia ellipsoidea produces hard, woody fruit bodies which are resupinate, and remain hard and woody whether fresh or dry.[4] The original description described them as measuring up to 30 centimetres (12 in) "or more" in length,[8] and, since then, a significantly larger specimen has been found.[7] The fruit bodies typically measure 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in width, and extend 8 millimetres (0.31 in) from the wood from which they grow at their thickest point. The outermost layer is typically a yellow to yellowish brown colour, measuring 2 millimetres (0.079 in) in thickness. The shiny hymenium surface, which is covered in pores, ranges in colour from a yellow-brown to a rust-brown. There are between 5 and 8 pores per millimetre, with a somewhat thick space between. The tubes are up to 8 millimetres (0.31 in) in depth, and have the same colouration as the surface of the hymenium, and are distinctively layered. They are also hard and woody. The very thin layer of flesh measures less than 0.5 millimetres (0.020 in) in width, and is coloured yellow-brown. As with much of the rest of the fruit body, it is hard and woody.[9] The fruit bodies lack any odour or taste.[4]

Microscopic features

Fomitiporia ellipsoidea produces basidiospores which are ellipsoid or broadly ellipsoid in shape. The spore shape is one of the features that makes the species easily recognisable microscopically. and measure from 4.5 to 6.1 by 3.5 to 5 micrometers (μm). The average spore length was 5.25 μm, while the average width was 4.14 μm. The spores have thick cell walls, and are hyaline. They are strongly cyanophilous, meaing that the cell walls will readily absorb Methyl blue stain. In addition, they are weakly dextrinoid, meaning that they will stain slightly reddish brown in Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution. The spores are borne on barrel-shaped basidia, with four spores per basidium, measuring 8 to 12 by 6 to 7 μm. There are also basidioles, which are similar in shape to the basidia, but slightly smaller.[9]

In addition to the spore shape, the species is easily identified with the use of a microscope due to its setae. Setae are a kind of unusual cystidia unique to the family Hymenochaetaceae, and, in F. ellipsoidea, are found in the hymenium. In shape, the setae are ventricose, with distinctive hooks on their tips. In colour, they are yellow-brown, and they have thick cell walls. They measure 20 to 30 by 10 to 14 μm. Niether more standard cystidia, nor cystidoles (underdeveloped cystidia) can be found in the species, but there a number of large rhomboid crystals throughout the hymenium and the flesh.[9]

Most of the tissue of a fungal fruit body is made up of hyphae, which can be of three forms; generative, skeletal and binding. In F. ellipsoidea, the tissue is dominated by skeletal hyphae, but also has generative hyphae; it lacks binding hyphae. For this reason, the hyphal structure of F. ellipsoidea can be referred to as "dimitic". The hyphae are divided into separate cells by septae, which lack clamp connections. The skeletal hyphae does not react with Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution, and are not cyanophilous. While the hyphae will darken when potassium hydroxide is applied (the KOH test), they remain essentially unchanged.[9]

The main structure of the fruit body is comprised primarily of an agglutination (mass) of interwoven skeletal hyphae, which are golden-brown to rust-brown. They are unbranched, forming a long tubes 2 to 3.6 μm in diameter, with a lumen that can be thick or thin. There are also hyaline generative hyphae. These hyphae have thinner walls than the skeletal hyphae, and are also septate (possessing of septa), but are sometimes branched. They measure 2 to 3 μm in diameter.[9] The flesh, again, is primarily made up of skeletal hyphae with some generative hyphae. The thick-walled skeletal hyphae are a yellow-brown to rust brown, and are slightly less agglutinate. The hyphae in the flesh are a little smaller; the skeletal hyphae measure 1.8 to 3.4 μm in diameter, while the generative hyphae measure 1.5 to 2.6 μm in diameter.[9]

Similar species

Fomitiporia ellipsoidea differs from other species of Fomitiporia in two key respects. Firstly, the spores are not as dextrinoid as in other species of the genus, and, secondly, the spores are an atypical shape. However, other traits are typical of the genus.[10] Five other species of Fomitiporia, F. bannaensis, F. psedopunctata, F. sonorae, F. sublaevigata and F. tenuis, share with F. ellipsoidea the resupinate fruit bodies and the setae in the hymenium. However, all of them but F. ellipsoiea have straight hymenial setae, and all of them have spores which are spherical or almost spherical, which is much more typical of the genus.[11]

Two other potentially similar species are Phellinus caribaeo-quercicola and P. uncinatus. The former shares the hooked hymenial setae and ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid spores. However, details of the fruit body differ, and the spores are hyaline to yellowish, and not dextrinoid. Further, the species is known only from tropical America, where it grows upon Quercus cubana. Phellinus uncinatus again has hooked hymenial setae, and the spores are, as with Fomitiporia ellipsoidea, thick-walled and dextrinoid. However, the spores are spherical or nearly, and somewhat larger than those of F. ellipsoidea, measuring 5.5 to 7 by 5 to 6.5 μm. The species is also known only from tropical America, where it grows upon bamboo.[11]

Distribution and ecology

Fomitiporia ellipsoidea has been recorded growing upon the fallen wood of Cyclobalanopsis oaks, as well as the wood of other flowering plants.[4][12] The species favours the trunk of trees.[12] Upon these substrates, it feeds as a saprotroph, causing white rot.[9] F. ellipsoidea fruit bodies are perennial growers, meaning that they can, in the right circumstances, grow very large.[7] The species has been recorded in the tropical and subtropical climes of southern China; specifically, in Fujian Province and Hainan Province.[7][12] It is not a common species, and fruit bodies are only occasionally encountered.[12]

Largest fruit body

In 2010, Cui and Dai were performing field work in tropical woodland on Hainan Island, China, studying wood-inhabiting fungi. The pair uncovered a very large F. ellipsoidea fruit body on a fallen Quercus patelliformis log. The fruit body was 20 years old, and up to 1,085 centimetres (35.60 ft) in length. It was between 82 and 88 centimetres (32 and 35 in) wide, and between 4.6 and 5.5 centimetres (1.8 and 2.2 in) thick. The total volume of the fruit body was somewhere between 409,000 and 525,000 cubic centimetres (25,000 and 32,000 in3). It was estimated to be between 400 and 500 kilograms (880 and 1,100 lb) in weight, based on three samples from different areas of the fruit body.[13] The specimen had an average of 49 pores per square millimetre, meaning that there were around 425 million pores at the time of discovery.[14] This is the largest fruit body of any fungus yet documented.[7] The fruit body was found at an altitude of 958 metres (3,143 ft).[13] Previously, the largest recorded fruit body of any fungus was a specimen of Rigidoporus ulmarius, found in Kew Gardens, United Kingdom. It measured 150 by 133 centimetres (59 by 52 in) in diameter, and had a circumference of 425 centimetres (167 in).[13] The discovery has yet to be formally published,[13] but it has gained attention in the mainstream press worldwide.[15]

Chemistry

In 2011, research into the chemistry of F. ellipsoidea, was published in the journal Mycosystema by Cui, along with Hai-Ying Bao and Bao-Kai Liu of the Jilin Agricultural University.
The research discussed how several chemical compounds could be isolated from F. ellipsoidea. Six compounds could be isolated from F. ellipsoidea-derived petroleum ether extract, including ergosterol and ergosterol peroxide. In addition, three compounds could be isolated from F. ellipsoidea-derived defatted chloroform extract. Two of the compounds, one from the petroleum ether extract and a second from the defatted chloroform extract, were new to science.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b MycoBank
  2. ^ Index Fungorum
  3. ^ Cui and Dai 2008, p. 343
  4. ^ a b c d Cui and Dai 2008, p. 344
  5. ^ Cui and Dai 2008, p. 343
  6. ^ Dai 2011, p. 1
  7. ^ a b c d e Walker 2011
  8. ^ Cui and Dai 2008, pp. 344, 346
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Cui and Dai 2008, p. 346
  10. ^ Cui and Dai 2008, pp. 346-7
  11. ^ a b Cui and Dai 2008, p. 347
  12. ^ a b c d Dai 2011, p. 10
  13. ^ a b c d Cui and Dai 2011, p. 1
  14. ^ Cui and Dai 2011, p. 1-2
  15. ^ Pulyaevsky 2011, Wahono 2011 and Walker 2011
  16. ^ Bao, Cui and Liu 2011, p. 159

Cited sources

  • "Fomitiporia ellipsoidea B.K. Cui & Y.C. Dai, Mycotaxon 105: 344 (2008)". Index Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  • "Fomitiporia ellipsoidea B.K. Cui & Y.C. Dai 2008". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  • Bao, Hai-Ying; Cui, Bao-Kai; Liu, Han-Bin (2011). "椭圆嗜蓝孢孔菌子实体的化学成分". Mycosystema (in Chinese). 30 (3): 159–63. doi:CNKI:SUN:JWXT.0.2011-03-015. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • Cui, Bao-Kai; Dai, Yu-Cheng (2008). "Wood rotting fungi in eastern China 2. A new species of Fomitiporia (Basidiomycota) from Wamulin Nature Reserve, Fujian Province". Mycotaxon. 105: 343–8.
  • Cui, Bao-Kai, Dai, Yu-Cheng (2011). "Fomitiporia ellipsoidea has the largest fruiting body among the fungi". Fungal Biology (in press). doi:10.1016/j.funbio.2011.06.008.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Dai, Yu-Cheng (2011). "Polypore diversity in China with an annotated checklist of Chinese polypores". Mycoscience. doi:10.1007/s10267-011-0134-3.
  • Pulyaevsky, George (2 August 2011). "Грибной сезон". Expert (in Russian). Retrieved 2 August 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • Wahono, Tri (2 August 2011). "Jamur Raksasa Ditemukan di China". Kompas (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2 August 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • Walker, Matt (1 August 2011). "Giant fungus discovered in China". BBC. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
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