Pleosporales » Phaeosphaeriaceae » Ophiobolus

Ophiobolus disseminans

Ophiobolus disseminans Riess, Hedwigia 1(6): 27 (1854).

Index Fungorum number: IF 165872; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00255, Fig. 1

Description: see Phookamsak et al. (2014c, 2017, 2019); Wanasinghe et al. (2018c); Gafforov et al. (2019).

Material considered: see Phookamsak et al. (2014c, 2017, 2019), Wanasinghe et al. (2018); Gafforov et al. (2019).

Fig. 1 Ophiobolus disseminans ((BPI 629021, isotype). a Herbarium label. b Appearance of ascomata on host substrate. c Section through ascomata. d Peridium. e Papilla. f–h Asci with ascospores. Scale bars: c = 100 μm, d–h = 20 μm.

Importance and distribution

Ophiobolus is useful for pharmaceutical and medical industry. Vermisporin is an antibiotic produced by Ophiobolus vermisporis and has Gram-negative and Gram-positive activity, as well as antitubercular activity (Chin & Neu 1992). Ophiobolin A has nanomolar toxicity toward a range of cancer cell lines (Taber 2017). Ophiobolins produced by Ophiobolus sp. are promising drug candidates because of the proliferative activities against several cancer cell lines, multidrug resistance (MDR) cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs) (Tian et al. 2017).

Biochemical importance of the genus, chemical diversity or applications

Ophiobolus produces Ophiobolins (Taber 2017, Tian et al. 2017) and Ophiobolides polyketides (Tayone et al. 2016). Ophiobolus herpotrichus can hydroxylate Dioxo-5α-androstanes (Chambers et al. 1975).

There are 248 Ophiobolus epithets in Index Fungorum (2022), but several species have been transferred to other genera such as Acanthophiobolus, Acanthotheciella, Bipolaris, Cochliobolus, Curvularia, Daruvedia, Diatractium, Entodesmium, Gaeumannomyces, Leptosphaeria, Linocarpon, Lulworthia, Neolamya, Nodulosphaeria, Ophiodothella, Ophiosphaerella, Oxydothis, Plagiosphaera, Plejobolus, Pseudoophiobolus and Sagediopsis. Ophiobolus comprises 166 species known on wide host range such as Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Asteraceae), Arctium sp. (Asteraceae), Artemisia vulgaris (Asteraceae), Astragalus lasiosemius (Leguminosae), Carduus (Asteraceae), Castilleja coccinea (Orobanchaceae), Cirsium (Asteraceae), Heracleum lanatum (Apiaceae), Holcus halepensis (Poaceae), Lappa major (Asteraceae), Onosmodium sp. (Boraginaceae), Panicum clandestinum (Poaceae), Rumex sp. (Polygonaceae), Scutellaria albida (Lamiaceae) and Setaria glauca (Poaceae). Ophiobolus is known from Asia (Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan), Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ukraine, United Kingdom) and North America (Canada, The United States).

References

Barr ME. 1979 – A classification of Loculoascomycetes. Mycologia 71, 935–995.

Barr ME. 1987 – Prodromus to class Loculoascomycetes. Amherst, Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts, USA.

Chambers VEM, Jones ERH, Meakins GD, Miners JO, Wilkins AL. 1975 – Microbiological hydroxylation. Part XIV. Hydroxylation in the terminal rings of dioxygenated 5α-androstanes with the fungi Wojnowicia graminis and Ophiobolus herpotrichus. Journal of the Chemical Society, Perkin Transactions 1, 55–58.

Chin NX, Neu HC. 1992 – In vitro antimicrobial activity of the new antibiotic vermisporin. European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases: official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology 11, 755–757.

Dong JW, Chen WD, Crane JL. 1998 – Phylogenetic studies of the Leptosphaeriaceae, Pleosporaceae and some other Loculoascomycetes based on nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences. Mycological Research 102, 151–156.

Gafforov Y, Phookamsak R, Jiang HB, Wanasinghe DN, Juliev M. 2019 – Ophiobolus hydei sp. nov. (Phaeosphaeriaceae, Ascomycota) from Cirsium and Phlomoides in Uzbekistan. Botany 97, 671–180.

Holm L. 1957 – Etudes taxonomiques sur les pléosporacées. Symb Bot Upsaliens 14, 1–188.

Holm L. 1968 – Taxonomical notes on ascomycetes VI. On the genus Gibberidea Fuck. and some alleged relatives. Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 62, 217–242.

Hyde KD, McKenzie EHC, KoKo TW. 2011 – Towards incorporating anamorphic fungi in a natural classification – checklist and notes for 2010. Mycosphere 2, 1–88.

Müller E. 1952 – Die schweizerischen Arten der Gattung Ophiobolus Riess. Bericht der Schweizerischen Botanischen Gesellschaft 62, 307–339.

Phookamsak R, Hyde KD, Jeewon R, Bhat DJ et al. 2019 – Fungal diversity notes 929–1035: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on genera and species of fungi. Fungal Diversity 95, 1–273.

Phookamsak R, Liu JK, McKenzie EH, Manamgoda DS et al. 2014 – Revision of Phaeosphaeriaceae. Fungal Diversity 68, 159–238.

Riess E. 1854 –Neue Kernpilze. Hedwigia 1, 25–28.

Shoemaker RA. 1976 – Canadian and some extralimital Ophiobolus species. Canadian Journal of Botany 54, 2365–2404.

Sivanesan A. 1984 – The bitunicate ascomycetes and their anamorphs. J. Cramer, Vaduz, p 701.

Taber D. 2017– The Nakada Synthesis of (+)-Ophiobolin A. In book: Organic Synthesis.

Tayone WC, Tanaka K, Takada N. 2016 – Ophiobolides, polyketides isolated from ophiobolus sp. KTC 2293. Chiang Mai Journal of science 43, 476–482.

Tian W, Deng Z, Hong K. 2017 – The Biological Activities of Sesterterpenoid-Type Ophiobolins. Marine drugs 15, 229.

Walker JM. 1980 – Gaeumannomyces, Linocarpon, Ophiobolus and several other genera of scolecospored ascomycetes and Phialophora conidial states, with a note on hyphopodia. Mycotaxon 11, 1–129.

Wanasinghe DN, Phukhamsakda C, Hyde KD, Jeewon R et al. 2018 – Fungal diversity notes 709–839: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions to fungal taxa with an emphasis on fungi on Rosaceae. Fungal Diversity 89, 1–236.