First Report of Plasmodiophorid Slime Molds and Olpidium Species in a Member of the Cucurbitaceae

Jonathan D Hulse*

Clemson University, Poole Agricultural Center, Jersey Ln, Clemson, Miami University, Center for Advanced Microscopy and Imaging, Oxford, USA

*Corresponding Author: Jonathan D, Clemson University, Poole Agricultural Center, Jersey Ln, Clemson, Miami University, Center for Advanced Microscopy and Imaging, Oxford, USA. E-mail: ectorhizo@gmail.com

Received: April 26, 2018; Published: May 21, 2018

Citation: Jonathan D Hulse. “First Report of Plasmodiophorid Slime Molds and Olpidium Species in a Member of the Cucurbitaceae". Acta Scientific Agriculture 2.6 (2018).

Abstract

  Cucurbita maxima is an incredibly diverse species, and it is suggested to have more cultivated forms than any other crop. It has many medicinal uses including anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. It is also a major food source for wide variety of world cultures, due to its fiber content, carbohydrates, β-carotene, vitamins, alkaloids, minerals, fatty acids, flavonoids, and polysaccharides. Detection of root-associated microbes in C. maxima has not been well documented in the scientific literature. A multi-phase approach was implemented to first verify fungal associations in C. maxima, and then second, to document the colonization of fungi in C. maxima grown in a conventional agricultural system. Cucurbita maxima grown in southwest Ohio showed relationships with members of the Zygomycota and Plasmodiophorid Slime Molds. This study provides a first report of a relationship between Olpidium spp. and Plasmodiophorid Slime Molds in C. maxima in the United States. The images provided in this manuscript are the first photographic documentation of these organisms in C. maxima to date. This is also a first report of Plasmodiophorid Slime Molds in any member of the family Cucurbitaceae.

Keywords: Mycorrhizae; Fungi; Cucurbita Maxima; Cucurbitaceae ; Plasmodiophorid Slime Mold; Zygomycota; Olpidium; Slime Mold; Microbiology; Microbe; Microscopy; Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy

Copyright: © 2018 Jonathan D Hulse. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.