Feramyces was the tenth anaerobic fungal genus to be described. Like Neocallimastix, it has a monocentric thallus and polyflagellated zoospores. The type species is called F. austinii to honor Mr. Jim Austin who sampled wild animals. Read more about Fermayces here.
Paucimyces – 20th anaerobic fungal genus!
Another anaerobic fungal genus has been described, bringing the total number now up to 20. Paucimyces has monoflagellated zoospores and polycentric thalli with highly branched nucleated filamentous rhizomycelium, a growth pattern encountered in a minority of described anaerobic fungal genera so far. The type species of the genus is Paucimyces polynucleatus. Read more about this … Continue reading Paucimyces – 20th anaerobic fungal genus!
19th genus now published
We are very happy to share with you details of a paper that was recently published: "Aestipascuomyces dupliciliberans gen. nov, sp. nov., the First Cultured Representative of the Uncultured SK4 Clade from Aoudad Sheep and Alpaca". This paper describes the characterization of the 19th anaerobic fungal genus, which was independently isolated by two different research … Continue reading 19th genus now published
Seven new genera!!!
We are delighted to share with you details of a paper that was published at the end of last week entitled "Seven new Neocallimastigomycota genera from wild, zoo-housed, and domesticated herbivores greatly expand the taxonomic diversity of the phylum". This substantial collaborative piece of work brings the number of described genera from 11 up to … Continue reading Seven new genera!!!
Liebetanzomyces – 11th genus described
The new genus, Liebetanzomyces, was isolated using an extended cultivation approach. It's type strain is called L. polymorphus due to the pleomorphism it displays in terms of its sporangial and rhizoidal structures. The genus is named after Erwin Liebetanz, as he was the first to document the flagellated zoospores of anaerobic fungi in 1910. The paper … Continue reading Liebetanzomyces – 11th genus described
Feramyces austinii – new genus!
The previously uncultured AL6 clade has now been isolated and named Feramyces. More details can be found in the associated published article, which you can find here.
And then there was nine…..
A new anaerobic fungal genus - Pecoramyces - has just been described, and the corresponding paper can be found here. The type strain, Pecoramyces ruminantium C1A (formerly known as Orpinomyces sp. C1A), has already had its genome and transcriptome sequenced.
What they do best…
Anaerobic fungi are very effective at breaking down complex lignocellulosic substrates, using both physical penetration and enzymatic degradation. Their enzymes are some of the most potent in the known biological world!
How many genera?
Six genera of anaerobic fungi are currently recognised, but recent studies have shown there is at least ten more that are likely to exist! One of the latest papers on this topic is: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0091928
A case of mistaken identity…..
Did you know that despite the discovery of anaerobic fungal zoospores in the rumen being first reported back in 1910, it wasn't until the ground breaking work of Colin Orpin in the 1970's that they were recognised as fungi. They had been mistakenly identified as flagellated protozoa for over 60 years!
ANAEROBIC FUNGI NETWORK 