''Curvularia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of hyphomycete (

mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...

)

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

which can be

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...

s but also act as beneficial partners of many plant species. They are common in soil. Most ''Curvularia'' species are found in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

regions, though a few are found in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

zones. ''Curvularia'' is defined by the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

''C. lunata'' (Wakker) Boedijn. ''Curvularia lunata'' appears as shiny velvety-black, fluffy growth (on the fungus colony surface). These fluffy 'hairs', which really are branching, fine filamentous structures called

hyphae A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

, are divided inside by cell walls named

septae In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatrial sep ...

(-> the hyphae are 'septate'). The walls of these hyphae contain dark pigments, which makes for their black appearance and which is called 'dematiaceous'. The hyphae produce brown spore bearing organs, 'conidiophores', which are distinguished by their 'geniculate'

shape, meaning they have bends of abrupt kneelike angles. The immobile, asexual fungal spores born on those conidiophores, the conidia, proconidia, have a slightly to distinctly curved shape; they are divided inside by horizontally spreading cell walls (= are 'transverse

septate'), and have one expanded cell (the third larification neededcell) at one end (the pore larification neededend of the

conidium A conidium ( ; : conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (: chlamydoconidia), is an Asexual reproduction, asexual, non-motility, motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word f ...

). ''Curvularia'' can be distinguished from the species ''

Bipolaris ''Bipolaris'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Pleosporaceae. It was circumscribed by mycologist Robert A. Shoemaker in 1959. It has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide. Species , the GBIF lists up to 71 species, while Species Fung ...

'' and '' Drechslera'' by the way (angle) walls (septae) divide the inner structure of their spores. The name of the teleomorphic state of the type species ''Curvularia lunata'' is ''Cochliobolus lunatus'' (Fam. Pleosporaceae, Ord. Pleosporales, Cla. Loculoascomycetes, Phy.

Ascomycota Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...

Heat-tolerance symbiote

One species of Curvularia, ''Curvularia protuberata'', is an endosymbiote of the panic grass '' Dichanthelium lanuginosum'' that can enable the grass to thrive near

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s in soil temperatures of up to 149 °F (65 °C). The fungus confers this protective effect only when itself infected by the ''Curvularia'' thermal tolerance virus (CThTV). Plants unrelated to panic grass also experience this protective effect when inoculated with the virus-infected fungus.

Species

, the

GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...

lists up to 164 species, while

Species Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (Binomial nomenclature, scientific names) in the fungus Kingdom (biology), kingdom. As of 2015, the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partn ...

lists about 196 species. Primary

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of ''Curvularia'' commonly found in soils and on plant tissues (including seeds) are shown here: * '' Curvularia affinis'' * ''

Curvularia brachyspora ''Curvularia'' is a genus of Hyphomycetes, hyphomycete (Mold (fungus), mold) fungus, fungi which can be pathogens but also act as beneficial partners of many plant species. They are common in soil. Most ''Curvularia'' species are found in tropica ...

'' * '' Curvularia caricae-papayae'' * '' Curvularia cymbopogonis'' (''Cochliobolus cymbopogonis'' (Teleomorph)) * '' Curvularia eragrostidis'' (''Cochliobolus eragrostidis'' (Teleomorph)) * '' Curvularia fallax'' * ''

Curvularia geniculata ''Curvularia geniculata'' is a fast-growing anamorphic fungus in the division Ascomycota, most commonly found in soil, especially in areas of warmer climates. The fungus is a pathogen, mainly causing plant and animal infections, and rarely causi ...

'' (''Cochliobolus geniculatus'' (Teleomorph)) * '' Curvularia harveyi'' * '' Curvularia inaequalis'' * '' Curvularia lunata'' (''

Cochliobolus lunatus ''Cochliobolus lunatus'' is a fungal plant pathogen that can cause disease in humans and other animals. The anamorph of this fungus is known as ''Curvularia lunata'', while ''C. lunatus'' denotes the teleomorph or sexual stage. They are, however ...

'' (Teleomorph)) * '' Curvularia ovoidea'' * '' Curvularia pallescens'' * '' Curvularia penniseti'' * '' Curvularia prasadii'' * '' Curvularia protuberata'' * '' Curvularia senegalensis'' * '' Curvularia trifolii'' * '' Cochliobolus tuberculatus'' (''Cochliobolus tuberculatus'' (Teleomorph))

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5196111 Pleosporaceae Taxa named by Karel Bernard Boedijn Taxa described in 1933 Dothideomycetes genera