Choanephora

CHOANEPHORA Currey, 1873 (J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 13:578); 2 spp. (Kirk, 1984—monograph.).
= Cunninghamia Currey, 1873 (J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 13:334).
= Choanephorella Vuill., 1904 [Bull. Soc. Mycol. France 20:28; nomen nudum, Art. 41.1 of the ICBN (Greuter et al., 2000)].

Choanephora (Kirk 1984) produces sporangia and zygospores that are nearly identical to those formed by species of Blakeslea; the large and small sporangia are also formed on separate sporangiophores; small sporangia are formed in fertile heads. The small sporangia of both species of Choanephora are unispored and the sporangial wall lacks a suture and, as a result, the walls of the spore and unispored sporangium are not readily separable. The separation of these two walls has been reported in the literature (Thaxter 1903; Poitras 1955).

Type species: C. infundibulifera

Species of Choanephora:
C. cucurbitarum (Berkeley & Ravenel) Thaxter, 1903 (Rhodora 5:102).
C. infundibulifera (Currey) Saccardo, 1891 (Sylloge fungorum 9:339)

The two species of Choanephora ( C. cucurbitarum, C. infundibulifera ) are distinguished from one another based on characteristics of the spores and vesicles (Kirk 1984).

In the southeastern United States C. cucurbitarum can be a parasite (Wet Rot) of various crop plants, including summer squash (yellow crookneck) and green beans, but many other plants are infected as well (Kucharek and Simone, 1983). Choanephora has been monographed by Mil’ko and Beljakova (1970) and Kirk (1984).

Bibliography

Greuter, W., J. McNeill, F.M. Barrie, H.M. Burdet, V. Demoulin, T.S. Filgueiras, D.H. Nicolson, P.C. Silva, J.E. Skog, P. Trehane, N.J. Turland, and D.H. Hawksworth (Eds.). 2000. International code of botanical nomenclature ( St. Louis code ). Reg. veget. 138:1-474.

Kirk, P.M. 1984. A monograph of the Choanephoraceae. Mycol. Paper 152:1-61.

Kucharek, T., and G. Simone. 1983. Wet rot of vegetable crops. University of Florida, Gainesville. PP 11:1-2.

Mil’ko, A.A., and L.A. Beljakova. 1970. The genus Choanephora Currey (Mucorales). Mikrobiologiya 38:894-902 [English translation available in Mikrobiologiya 38:864-770])

Poitras, A.W. 1955. Observations on asexual and sexual reproductive structures of the Choanephoraceae. Mycologia 47:702-713.

Thaxter, R. 1903. Mycological notes, 1-2. Rhodora 5:97-108.

Updated Mar 14, 2005