{{Short description|Species of fungus}} {{Speciesbox | image = Uncinocarpus reesii microscopic.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = | genus = Uncinocarpus | species = reesii | authority = Sigler & Orr (1976)<ref name = Sigler1976/> | synonyms = *''Gymnoascus uncinatus'' <small>von Arx (1977)</small><ref name = Sigler1976/><ref name = vonArx1977/> *''Gymnoascus siglerae'' <small>von Arx (1974)</small><ref name = vonArx1974/> *''Tripedotrichum herbariensis'' <small>von Arx (1977)</small><ref name = vonArx1977/> }}
'''''Uncinocarpus reesii''''' is a species of saprotrophic microfungi that grows in soil and on keratinous materials such as hair, feathers and skin. It was the first species to be designated as part of the genus ''Uncinocarpus'', owing in part to its characteristic development of hooked (uncinate) appendages. As the closest non-pathogenic relative of ''Coccidioides immitis'' and ''C. posadasii'', it has become a subject of research interest.
==History and taxonomy== ''Uncinocarpus reesii'' was first recognized under the name ''Gymnoascus uncinatus'' by German taxonomist Michael Emil Eduard Eidam in 1893.<ref name = Orr1963/> The species is named after Robert Rees, an Australian mycologist who provided isolates of ''G. uncinatus'' to Lynne Sigler and G.F. Orr, who in 1976 proposed the re-designation of this species as the first a new genus: ''Uncinocarpus''.<ref name=Sigler1976/> This redesignation was based largely in part due to the species' characteristic development of hooked and spiralling appendages, which were not present in any other species of ''Gymnoascus''.<ref name = Sigler1976/><ref name = Currah1985/> Since becoming the first species of the genus ''Uncinocarpus'', others have joined it, including ''U. uncinatus'' and ''U. orissi''. After the advent of high-throughput gene sequencing in the 1990s, genomic studies provided evidence demonstrating that ''U. reesii'' was the closest known non-pathogenic relative of ''Coccidioides immitis'' and ''C. posadasii'', marking the point of divergence from which the pathogenic highly pathogenic Onygenaceae evolved.<ref name =Bowman1996/><ref name =Sharpton2009/>thumb|Strain UAMH 160 grown on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) at 40 C for 16 days
==Growth and morphology== In culture, colonies of ''U. reesii'' grow moderately fast and are yellowish-white to buff in colour,<ref name = Howard2002/><ref name = Sigler1976/> are flat and dense in shape, and range from velvety to powdery in texture.<ref name="Howard2002"/> Arthroconidia of ''U. reesii'' tend to be broad compared to most ''Malbranchea'', ranging from approximately 2.5-3.5 μm x 3.5-6 μm in size.<ref name = Sigler1976/> As a heterothallic species, two compatible "sexes" are required for sexual reproduction to occur.<ref name = Howard2002/>
As with other members of the genus ''Uncinocarpus'', ''U. reesii'' can develop hooked (uncinate) appendages on vegetative hyphae.<ref name = Howard2002/><ref name = Currah1985/><ref name = Sigler1976/> These appendages are short and rigid, with thick walls approximately 8.8μm in diameter. Appendage length rarely exceeds the diameter of the fruiting body (ascocarp).<ref name = Orr1963/> These appendages are found in the asexual stage as extensions of vegetative hyphae, but only develop fertile spore-bearing structures (gymnothecia) in the sexual morph when compatible strains are mated.<ref name = Sigler1976/> The gymnothecia are reddish-brown, initially formed on short, bulbous stalks before becoming more or less spherical. The ascospores are smooth, oblate and hole-filled (punctate). When the asexual morph of ''U. reesii'' develops these hooked appendages, they are referred to as "pseudogymnothecia", due to their similar appearance but lack of a spore-bearing structure. In lieu of spores, the asexual form produces arthroconidia that are cylindrical shaped with flattened ends.<ref name = Howard2002/><ref name = Sigler1976/><ref name = Currah1985/>
==Physiology== ''Uncinocarpus reesii'' is capable of growing on many different amino acids, but comparatively fewer carbohydrates. In general, growth substrates with a high protein content are most conducive to its growth. ''U. reesii'' is capable of digesting keratin, and grows well in soil rich in animal matter, such as skin and hair.<ref name = Rees1967a/><ref name = Currah1985/><ref name = Deshmukh2004/><ref name = Desjardins2011/> Though less commonly observed, ''U. reesii'' can survive, at least transiently, in human and animal tissue.<ref name = Pan1994/> Its growth is strongly to moderately inhibited at 37 °C.<ref name = Howard2002/><ref name = Pan1994/>
''Uncinocarpus reesii'' is also capable of digesting cellulose, basic plant sugars and cell wall components, allowing it to degrade plant materials in the surrounding soil.<ref name = Desjardins2011/> Though ''U. reesii'' can digest both protein and animal matter, its superior growth on high protein substances has led researchers to suggest that this ability to transfer from soil to living host gave rise to the ability of its descendants in the family Onygenales to colonize animals and cause disease.<ref name = Sharpton2009/><ref name = Desjardins2011/>
==Habitat and pathogenicity== In the natural environment, ''U. reesii'' is commonly found growing in soil and on keratinous materials, and is found over a wide geographic range.<ref name = Currah1985/><ref name = Rees1967a/><ref name = Deshmukh2004/><ref name = Zaki2005/> Though there are no recorded cases of disease caused by ''U. reesii'',<ref name = Howard2002/><ref name=Pan1994/><ref name = Bowman1996/> there is evidence to support the hypothesis that the species is the root of the evolutionary branch from which pathogenic species in the Onygenales arose. The ability of ''U. reesii'' to shift from plant to animal substrates are theorized to have led to development of pathogenicity in several ''Coccidioides'' and ''Paracoccidioides'' species, both of which are highly genetically similar to ''U. reesii''.<ref name = Pan1994/><ref name = Bowman1996/><ref name=Sharpton2009/><ref name = Desjardins2011/><ref name = Koufopanou2001/> Another related ''Uncinocarpus'' species, ''U. orissi'', has been implicated in one deep skin infection and two pulmonary infections of humans.<ref name = Howard2002/>
==References== {{Reflist | 30em | refs =
<ref name = Bowman1996>{{cite journal |last1= Bowman|first1= B.H.|last2= White|first2= T.J|last3= Taylor|first3 = J.W.|date= 1985|title= Human pathogeneic fungi and their close nonpathogenic relatives|journal= Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume= 6|issue= 1|pages=89–96|doi= 10.1006/mpev.1996.0061|pmid=8812309}}</ref>
<ref name = Currah1985>{{cite journal |last1= Currah|first1= R.S.|date= 1985|title= Taxonomy of the Onygenales: Arthrodermataceae, Gymnoascaceae, Myxotrichaceae and Onygenaceae|url= https://www.mykoweb.com/systematics/journals/Mycotaxon/Mycotaxon%20v024.pdf|journal= Mycotaxon|volume= 24|pages= 1–216}}</ref>
<ref name = Desjardins2011>{{cite journal |last1= Desjardins|first1=C.A.|collaboration= Mia D. Champion, Jason W. Holder, Anna Muszewska3, Jonathan Goldberg, Alexandre M. Baila˜, Marcelo Macedo Brigido, Marcia Eliana da Silva Ferreira, Ana Maria Garcia, Marcin Grynberg, Sharvari Gujja1, David I. Heiman, Matthew R. Henn, Chinnappa D. Kodira, Henry León-Narváez, Larissa V. G. Longo, Li-Jun Ma, Iran Malavazi, Alisson L. Matsuo, Flavia V. Morais, Maristela Pereira, Sabrina Rodrıguez-Brito, Sharadha Sakthikumar1, Silvia M. Salem-Izacc, Sean M. Sykes, Marcus Melo Teixeira, Milene C. Vallejo, Maria Emília Machado Telles Walter, Chandri Yandava, Sarah Young, Qiandong Zeng, Jeremy Zucker, Maria Sueli Felipe, Gustavo H. Goldman, Brian J. Haas, Juan G. McEwen, Gustavo Nino-Vega, Rosana Puccia, Gioconda San-Blas, Celia Maria de Almeida Soares, Bruce W. Birren, Christina A. Cuomo|date=198|title= Comparative Genomic Analysis of Human Fungal Pathogens Causing Paracoccidioidomycosis|journal= PLOS Genetics|volume=7|issue=10|article-number=e1002345|doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1002345|pmid=22046142|pmc=3203195 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name = Deshmukh2004>{{cite journal |last1= Deshmukh|first1= S.K.|date= 2004|title= solation of Dermatophytes and other Keratinophilic Fungi from the Vicinity of Salt Pan Soils of Mumbai, India|journal= Mycopathologia|volume= 157|issue= 3|pages=265–267|doi= 10.1023/B:MYCO.0000024174.69248.8d|pmid= 15180153|s2cid= 11026922}}</ref>
<ref name = Howard2002>{{cite book | last1 = Howard | first1 = Dexter H. | title = Pathogenic fungi in humans and animals | year = 2002 | publisher = CRC Press | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-0-8247-0683-8 | edition = 2}}</ref>
<ref name = Koufopanou2001>{{cite journal |last1= Koufopanou|first1= V.|last2= Burt|first2= A|last3= Szaro|first3=T|last4= Taylor|first4= J.W.|date=2001|title= Gene genealogies, cryptic species, and molecular evolution in the human pathogen ''Coccidioides immitis'' and relatives (Ascomycota, Onygenales)|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution|volume= 18|issue= 7|pages= 1246–1258|doi= 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003910|pmid= 11420364|doi-access= free}}</ref>
<ref name = Orr1963>{{cite journal |last1= Orr|first1= G.F.|date= 1963|title= The Genus ''Gymnoascus'' Baranetzky|journal= Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata|volume= 21|issue= 1|pages=1–18|doi= 10.1007/BF02053249|pmid= 14090933|s2cid= 1596904}}</ref>
<ref name = Pan1994>{{cite journal |last1= Pan|first1= Shuchong|last2= Sigler|first2= Lynne|last3= Cole|first3= Garry T.|date= 1994|title= Evidence for a phylogenetic connection between ''Coccidioides immitis'' and ''Uncinocarpus reesii'' (Onygenaceae)|journal= Microbiology|volume= 140|issue= 6|pages=1481–1494|doi= 10.1099/00221287-140-6-1481|doi-access= free|pmid= 7915941}}</ref>
<ref name = Rees1967a>{{cite journal |last1= Rees|first1= R.G.|date= 1967|title= Keratinophilic fungi from Queensland I. Isolations from animal hair and scales|journal= Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata|volume= 5|issue= 3|pages=165–172|pmid= 6068238|doi= 10.1080/00362176785190351}}</ref>
<ref name = Sharpton2009>{{cite journal|last1=Sharpton|first1=T.J.|collaboration=Jason E. Stajich, Steven D. Rounsley, Malcolm J. Gardner, Jennifer R. Wortman, Vinita S. Jordar, Rama Maiti, Chinnappa D. Kodira, Daniel E. Neafsey, Qiandong Zeng, Chiung-Yu Hung, Cody McMahan, Anna Muszewska, Marcin Grynberg, M. Alejandra Mandel, Ellen M. Kellner, Bridget M. Barker, John N. Galgiani, Marc J. Orbach, Theo N. Kirkland, Garry T. Cole, Matthew R. Henn, Bruce W. Birren, and John W. Taylor|date=2009|title=Comparative genomic analyses of the human fungal pathogens ''Coccidioides'' and their relatives|journal= Genome Research|volume=19|issue=10|pages=1722–1731|doi=10.1101/gr.087551.108|pmid=19717792|pmc=2765278}}</ref>
<ref name = Sigler1976>{{cite journal |last1= Sigler|first1= Lynne|last2= Carmichael | first2= J.W.|date= 1976|title= Taxonomy of ''Malbranchea'' and some other hyphomycetes with arthroconidia|url=https://www.mykoweb.com/systematics/journals/Mycotaxon/Mycotaxon%20v004n2.pdf|journal= Mycotaxon|volume= 4|issue= 2|pages= 349–488}}</ref>
<ref name = vonArx1977>{{cite journal |last1= von Arx|first1= J.A.|date= 1977|title= Notes on Gymnoascaceae|url= https://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/570306|journal= Persoonia|volume= 9|issue=3|pages= 393–400}}</ref>
<ref name = vonArx1974>{{cite book | last1 = von Arx| first1 = J.A.| title = The Genera of Fungi Sporulating in Pure Culture| year = 1981| publisher = J. Cramer| location = Lehre, Germany | isbn = 978-3-7682-0693-8 | edition = 3}}</ref>
<ref name = Zaki2005>{{cite journal |last1 = Zaki|first1=S.M.|last2=Mikami|first2=Y.|last3= Karam El-Din|first3=A.A.|last4=Youssef|first4=Y.A.|date=2005|title=Keratinophilic fungi recovered from muddy soil in Cairo vicinities, Egypt|journal=Mycopathologia|volume=160|issue=3|pages=245–251|doi=10.1007/s11046-005-0143-x|pmid=16205974|s2cid=2576640 }}</ref>
}}
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Category:Onygenales Category:Fungi described in 1976 Category:Fungus species