28 - Dipodascopsis Batra & P. Millner

Abstract

This chapter focuses on Dipodascopsis and its constituent species. The colonies of this genus are whitish, moist, and somewhat slimy and true hyphae are present, arthroconidia are absent, and multilateral budding cells are sometimes present. The asci are acicular or cylindrical, and are formed laterally on hyphae after fusion of gametangia. They have persistent walls, and open by rupture at the apex. Its ascospores are 32–128 per ascus, hyaline, ellipsoidal to reniform, and with a smooth wall and without a slime sheath. Fermentation is absent and extracellular starch is produced. The constituent species of this genus include Dipodascopsis tothii, Dipodascopsis uninucleata, and a variant Dipodascopsis uninucleata var. wickerhamii. Gametangia in Dipodascopsis tothii are formed laterally on hyphae as curved branches and asci arise after fusion of a terminal cell with its penultimate cell. In Dipodascopsis uninucleata, gametangia are undifferentiated adjacent cells or hyphal tips which fuse. Asci are produced laterally on the hyphae and contain 30-120 ascospores.