Myrmicinosporidium durum
| Myrmicinosporidium durum | |
|---|---|
| Temnothorax albipennis infected with Myrmicinosporidium durum, Dinant, BE, 14 April 2025 (Gilles San Martin) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Blastocladiomycota |
| Class: | Blastocladiomycetes |
| Order: | Blastocladiales |
| Genus: | Myrmicinosporidium |
| Species: | M. durum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Myrmicinosporidium durum Hölldobler, 1933
| |
Myrmicinosporidium durum is an entomopathogenic fungus in the phylum Blastocladiomycota. It infects many ant species and is distributed almost globally[1].
Taxonomic history
Karl Hölldobler described Myrmicinosporidium durum from infected ants of the species Leptothorax tuberum in Wurzburg, Germany[2].
Subsequent research confirmed the fungal nature of the infection and suggested a relationship with Coelomomyces in the Chytridiomycetes[3].
In 2021, Gorczak and Trigos-Peral demonstrated using rDNA markers from infected Solenopsis fugax workers that M. durum belongs to Blastocladiomycota[1].
Morphology
Myrmicinosporidium durum is normally detected because of its dark thick-walled spores that develop in large numbers inside the insect's hemocoel and that can be seen through the cuticle[1]. Hyphae and mycelium were not seen before 1993[3].
Distribution
Myrmicinosporidium durum has been recorded from many European countries[3][4], North America[3] and Australia[1][4].
References
- ^ a b c d Gorczak, Michał; Trigos-Peral, Gema (22 June 2021). "Solving a long-standing enigma: Myrmicinosporidium durum belongs to Blastocladiomycota, a phylum of primarily aquatic fungi". Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 184 (107640): 1–6. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ Hölldobler, Karl (September 1933). "Weitere Mitteilungen Über Haplosporidien in Ameisen". Zeitschrift für Parasitenkunde (in German). 6: 91–100. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d Sanchez-Peña, Sergio; Buschiner, Alfred; Humber, Richard (January 1993). "Myrmicinosporidium durum, an Enigmatic Fungal Parasite of Ants". Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 61 (1): 90–96. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Myrmicinosporidium durum". iNaturalist. Retrieved 24 November 2025.