Distribution of phyllosphere fungi within the canopy of giant dogwood (Swida controversa) was examined. Canopies of two dogwood trees (about 8m height) were divided into five parts in relation to the order of shoots within the current-year shoot, the height of leaf layers, and the distance from the main trunk, and leaves were collected from the five positions. A total of 13 and 33 species were isolated from the interior and surface of leaves by surface sterilization and washing methods, respectively. Species composition of fungi was different markedly between interior and surface of an individual leaf, whereas it was similar among five canopy positions in the interior or on the surface. Of 13 frequent species regarded as phyllosphere fungi, 6 species showed no difference in frequencies among five positions within the canopy. The other 7 species showed significant preference within the current-year shoot, between the leaf layer, and/or at the distance from the trunk. The probable effect of leaf properties was detected on 2 of the 7 species, while the frequencies of the other 5 species were not related to the leaf properties but were affected by the order of shoots (leaf age), the height of leaf layer, and/or the distance from the trunk (sunlight intensity).

Suillus and Boletinus were studied using Ohta medium. In media with glucose or trehalose, all tested strains grew well. With mannose and cellobiose, strains generally grew well, except for one strain of Suillus. Utilization of dextrin and soluble starch differed with each strain, and that of sucrose and glycerol was low for all strains. Utilization of four amino acids, arginine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and alanine, was similar to that of ammonium tartrate for Suillus strains, but mycelial growth with amino acids was clearly lower than with ammonium tartrate for the Boletinus strain. The effect of glucose and ammonium tartrate concentrations for nine strains of the genera Suillus and Boletinus was studied with ranges for glucose of 1–100 and 200g/l, respectively, and for ammonium tartrate of 0.2–5 and 20 g/l, respectively. Six strains showed maximal growth at a glucose concentration greater than 25g/l, and one strain showed maximal growth at 70g/l. The results indicate that these fungi are adapted to relatively high concentrations of carbon sources. In general, glucose concentration at mycelial growth maximum decreased as ammonium tartrate concentration increased, and at higher concentrations of glucose, mycelial growth decreased more rapidly in higher concentrations of ammonium tartrate.

Three new species of Craspedodidymum, C. siamense, C. licualae, and C. microsporum, are described and illustrated based on specimens collected on decaying trunks and sheaths of the palm, Licuala longecalycata, in Sirindhorn Peat Swamp Forest, Narathiwat, Southern Thailand. They are compared with similar species, and a key to the genus is provided.

Eight type specimens of Pleurotus reported from Japan were examined. Four new combinations, Marasmius alopecius, Omphalotus guepiniformis, Marasmiellus leiophyllus, and Hohenbuehelia squamula, are proposed. Pleurotus cyatheae is accepted in the original genus. The following species are synonyms: Pleurotus harmandii, a synonym of Omphalotus guepiniformis; P. minutoniger, a synonym of Resupinatus striatulus; and P. pulchellus, a synonym of Hohenbuehelia tremula. Omphalotus japonicus (= Lampteromyces japonicus) is a synonum of O. guepiniformis.

A split-plate method with two media in different concentrations in each compartment was applied for the mycelial growth of four strains of Suillus luteus, S. grevillei, S. granulatus, and S. bovinus. As the glucose concentration in the A-side (the side containing higher concentrations of glucose) increased, the mycelial growth in both A- and B-sides (the side containing lower concentrations of glucose) increased. The mycelial density in both sides and B/A ratio (the ratio of the mycelial growth in the B-side to that in the A-side) also increased, and the colony morphology changed. In both A- and B-sides, the colony area reached maximum at 10g/l glucose in the A-side in most cases and at 33.3 g/l in several cases. The results indicated nutrients are translocated from mycelia in the A-side to those in the B-side. High concentration of phosphate or fructose + glucose in the A-side induced better mycelial growth in the B-side. Addition of high concentrations of phosphate to one side enhanced mycelial growth in the other side. Low-temperature incubation promoted the growth in the B-side. Our split-plate culture method will be useful for qualitative study of translocation in ectomycorrhizal fungi.

A rust species on Calystegia soldanella in Japan has been treated as Puccinia convolvuli to date. However, morphological characteristics of specimens on C. soldanella collected from Japan are significantly different from those of specimens on other Calystegia and Convolvulus species from different areas of the world. It is proved by inoculation experiment that the rust on C. soldanella is specific to C. soldanella. Based on these results, Puccinia rust on C. soldanella from Japan is described as a new species, Puccinia calystegiae-soldanellae.

Clethra barbinervis (Ericales), Cucumis sativus, and Lycopersicon esculentum were grown in soils collected from six different vegetation sites (cedar, cypress, larch, red pine, bamboo grass, and Italian ryegrass), and morphology and colonization preference of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi were investigated by microscopic observation and PCR detection. C. barbinervis consistently formed Paris-type AM throughout the sites. C. sativus formed both Arum- and Paris-type AM with high occurrence of Arum-type AM. L. esculentum also formed both Arum- and Paris-type AM but with high occurrence of Paris-type AM. AM diversity within the same plant species was different among the sites. Detected AM diversity from AM spores in different site soils did not consistently reflect AM fungal diversity seen in test plants. Detected families were different, depending on test plants grown even in the same soil. AM fungi belonging to Glomaceae were consistently detected from roots of all test plants throughout the sites. Almost all the families were detected from roots of C. barbinervis and L. esculentum. On the other hand, only two or three families of AM fungi (Archaeosporaceae and/or Paraglomaceae and Glomaceae) but not two other families (Acaulosporaceae and Gigasporaceae) were detected from roots of C. sativus, indicating strong colonization preference of AM fungi to C. sativus among test plants. This study demonstrated that host plant species strongly influenced the colonization preference of AM fungi in the roots.

Recent collections and the type specimen of Marasmiellus juniperinus, the type species of the genus, were examined. Phylogenetic placement, based on ribosomal large subunit (LSU) and internally transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, is within the lentinuloid clade, nested among Gymnopus taxa. This placement dictates genus name usage and phylogenetic position of other putative species of Marasmiellus. The mating system is tetrapolar.

Neotyphodium endophytes are vertically transmitted fungal symbionts of grasses. Being pest-repelling and growth-promoting agents for their hosts, and also potential mycotoxin producers, their detection in plants is important. Observation of chemically cleared flowers of infected grasses (Festuca arundinacea, F. pratensis, Lolium perenne, and L. multiflorum) using differential interference contrast microscopy revealed the existence of endophytes within immature ovaries of host plants. This observation method provides an accurate and easy way to detect and distinguish Neotyphodium endophytes in flowering host grasses and to investigate the seed transmission process, which is critical to their life cycle, and the practical use of infected plants.

The effects of air humidity and temperature on the ascospore discharge of Graphostroma platystoma were experimentally investigated. The ascospores were not discharged from the stromata in air at 100% relative humidity (RH). However, they were discharged from the wetted stromata at 3°, 10°, and 24°C under 100% RH or nearly so. The amount of the discharged ascospore was large at 24°C, medium at 10°C, and small at 3°C. The ascospores in the rainwater that washed down the stromata were counted after rainfall in the field. The discharge was observed from September to the following May.