# Polytolypa > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Polytolypa > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Polytolypa.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytolypa > Source revision: 1354850310 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Genus of fungi}} {{automatic taxobox | image = | image_caption = | taxon = Polytolypa | authority = J.A.Scott & Malloch (1993) | type_species = '''''Polytolypa hystricis''''' | type_species_authority = J.A.Scott & Malloch (1993) }} '''''Polytolypa''''' is a [monotypic](/source/monotypic) [genus](/source/genus) of [fungus](/source/fungus) containing the single species '''''Polytolypa hystricis'''''. First classified in the [Onygenaceae](/source/Onygenaceae) family, as of 2008 it is considered to be in the [Ajellomycetaceae](/source/Ajellomycetaceae), although there is still uncertainty as to its [phylogenetic](/source/phylogenetic) relationships with other similar genera. This species is only known from a single specimen derived in the laboratory from a specimen of dung of the [North American porcupine](/source/North_American_porcupine), ''Erethizon dorsatum'', collected in Ontario, Canada. ''Polytolypa hystricis'' contains [bioactive](/source/biological_activity) compounds that have [antifungal](/source/Antifungal_medication) activity. ==Taxonomy, phylogeny, and naming== thumb|160px|left|''Polytolypa hystricis'' was initially grown from the dung of the North American porcupine, ''Erethizon dorsatum'' (pictured).The genus was first described in 1993 by [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto) mycologists J.A. Scott and D.W. Malloch, who grew the fungus in moist chamber cultures of porcupine [dung](/source/feces) collected in Stoneleigh, [Ontario](/source/Ontario), Canada. The [generic](/source/genus) name ''Polytolypa'' is from the [Greek](/source/Greek_language) word ''poly'' (πολυ) meaning "many", and ''tolype'' (τολυπη), meaning "skein of yarn". The [specific epithet](/source/specific_name_(botany)) ''hystricis'' comes from the Greek ''hystrix'' (υστριξ), or "porcupine". The genus has been [classified](/source/classification_(biology)) in the [Onygenaceae](/source/Onygenaceae), a fungal [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) characterized by species capable of digesting human hair ''in vitro'', and with spores that are punctate (with minute surface punctures) when viewed with [scanning electron microscopy](/source/scanning_electron_microscopy). However, as Scott and colleagues demonstrated using traditional laboratory tests to determine keratinolytic activity, ''P. hystricus'' is not able to digest hair. There is still uncertainty as to its [phylogenetic](/source/phylogenetic) relationships with other similar genera. ''Polytolypa'' is thought to be evolutionarily most closely related to the genera ''[Malbranchea](/source/Malbranchea)'' and ''[Spiromastix](/source/Spiromastix)''. The grouping of ''Polytolypa'' and ''Spiromastix'' represent a [sister clade](/source/cladistics) to the Ajellomyces clade, based on analysis of partial nuclear LSU sequence data. However, the [phylogenetic](/source/phylogenetic)s of ''Polytolypa'' are still unclear and await further study. The 10th edition of the ''[Dictionary of the Fungi](/source/Dictionary_of_the_Fungi)'' (2008) considers the genus to be in the [Ajellomycetaceae](/source/Ajellomycetaceae) family, although uncertainty with this classification is indicated in the entry; in contrast, the online mycological database [MycoBank](/source/MycoBank) classifies the genus in the Onygenaceae. ==Description== The ascus-containing reproductive structures, or ''[ascomata](/source/ascocarp)'', are minute, spherical bodies, typically 200–400 [μm](/source/micrometre) in diameter. They start out white, but gradually become rusty brown in maturity. The ascomata, which may be clustered together in groups or scattered about, grow in a shallow layer of "hairs" (actually fungal [mycelia](/source/mycelia)) called a tomentum. The ascomata have "appendages" composed of numerous coiled, sometimes branched helices of [hypha](/source/hypha)e that are coiled 3–15 times. The [ascospore](/source/ascospore)s produced by ''Polytolypa'' are [ellipsoidal](/source/wiktionary%3Aellipsoidal), yellow to yellow-orange in color, with dimensions of 2.5–5 by 3–4 μm. Viewed with a [light microscope](/source/light_microscope) their surfaces appear to be smooth, but under [scanning electron microscopy](/source/scanning_electron_microscopy), they are revealed to be densely marked with punctures and small, hard, sharp projections. The structures that produce the ascospores are called [asci](/source/ascus). In ''Polytolypa'' they are numerous, spherical, and measure 9–10 by 12–13 μm. Each ascus contains eight ascospores, which are released when the ascus dissolves away at maturity. The [anamorph](/source/teleomorph%2C_anamorph_and_holomorph) (asexual form of the fungus) resembles the genus ''[Chrysosporium](/source/Chrysosporium)''. ==Habitat and distribution== ''Polytolypa hystricis'' is known only from the dung of the North American porcupine, ''Erethizon dorsatum''. Porcupine dens accumulate thick layers of nutrient-rich dung, hair and urine that are degraded by a [succession](/source/ecological_succession) of fungi. These fungi are disseminated by [arthropod](/source/arthropod)s (such as insects) or by the porcupine themselves. ==Bioactive compounds== [Chemical analysis](/source/Chemical_analysis) has shown that ''Polytolypa hystricis'' contains a unique [triterpenoid](/source/triterpenoid) chemical named polytolypin, as well two compounds known previously as [metabolite](/source/metabolite)s from Scleroderris Canker (''[Gremmeniella abietina](/source/Gremmeniella_abietina)''). Both polytolypin and one of the previously identified compounds have "moderate" [antifungal](/source/Antifungal_medication) activity against the species ''[Ascobolus furfuraceous](/source/Ascobolus_furfuraceous)'', while polytopin alone can inhibit the growth of ''[Candida albicans](/source/Candida_albicans)''. ==See also== {{Portal|Fungi}} *[Coprophilous fungi](/source/Coprophilous_fungi) ==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs= {{cite journal |vauthors=Gamble WR, Gloer JB, Scott JA, Malloch D |year=1995 |title=Polytopin, a new antifungal triterpenoid from the coprophilous fungus ''Polytolypa hystricus'' |journal=Journal of Natural Products |volume=58 |issue=12 |pages=1984–6 |pmid=8691217 |doi=10.1021/np50126a034|bibcode=1995JNAtP..58.1983G }} {{cite book |vauthors=Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA |title=Dictionary of the Fungi |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryfungit00kirk |url-access=limited |edition=10th |publisher=CABI |location=Wallingford, UK |year=2008 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryfungit00kirk/page/n566 556] |isbn=978-0-85199-826-8}} {{cite journal|vauthors=Lumbsch TH, Huhndorf SM |date=December 2007 |title=Outline of Ascomycota – 2007 |journal=Myconet |volume=13 |pages=1–58 |url=http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/myconet/outline.asp |access-date=2010-10-08 |publisher=The Field Museum, Department of Botany |location=Chicago, USA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318003134/http://www.fieldmuseum.org/myconet/outline.asp |archive-date=March 18, 2009 }} {{cite journal |doi=10.2307/3760710 |vauthors=Scott JA, Malloch DW, Gloer JB |title=''Polytolypa'', an undescribed genus in the Onygenales |jstor=3760710 |year=1993 |journal=Mycologia |volume=85 |issue=3 |pages=503–8 |url=http://www.cybertruffle.org.uk/cyberliber/59350/0085/003/0503.htm|url-access=subscription }} {{cite journal |vauthors=Untereiner WA, Scott JA, Naveau FA, Currah RS, Bachewich J |year=2002 |title=Phylogeny of ''Ajellomyces'', ''Polytolypa'' and ''Spiromastix'' (Onygenaceae) inferred from rDNA sequence and non-molecular data |journal=Studies in Mycology |volume=47 |pages=25–35 |url=http://individual.utoronto.ca/jscott/publications/onygenaceae.pdf }} {{cite journal |doi=10.2307/3762114 |vauthors=Untereiner WA, Scott JA, Naveau FA, Sigler L, Bachewich J, Angus A |year=2004 |title=The Ajellomycetaceae, a new family of vertebrate-associated Onygenales |journal=Mycologia |volume=96 |issue=4 |pages=812–21 |url=http://www.mycologia.org/cgi/content/full/96/4/812 |jstor=3762114 |pmid=21148901|url-access=subscription }} {{cite web |url=http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Link=T&Rec=26479 |title=''Polytolypa'' J.A. Scott & Malloch 1993 |publisher=[MycoBank](/source/MycoBank). International Mycological Association |access-date=2010-10-06}} }} ==External links== *{{IndexFungorum|26479}} {{Good article}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q7227112}} Category:Onygenales Category:Fungi of North America Category:Taxa described in 1993 Category:Monotypic Eurotiomycetes genera Category:Feces --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Polytolypa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytolypa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytolypa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.