Electron microscopy of two trichomycetous fungi attached to the hindgut lining of pill bugs

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Abstract
Two species of trichomycetous fungi, Asellaria armadillidii (Asellariales) and Parataeniella armadillidii (Eccrinales), were found attached to the hindgut lining of the pill bug, Armadillidium vulgare. In the former fungus, the thallus was composed of a basal cell bearing an apical whorl of many lateral branches. Electron micrographs in ultrathin sections showed that an electron-opaque holdfast substance surrounded the rhizoidal projections of the basal cell. The cross wall of the thallus was the typical bifurcate type of septum, i.e., the wall flared at the central perforation which was occluded by an electron-opaque plug. This is the third report of this type of septum in the order Asellariales. The bifurcated structure of the septal wall was found to remain at the distal portion of the mature arthrospore cell wall. In P. armadillidii, both primary and secondary infestation sporangiospores were examined in ultrathin sections. A number of electron-transparent pits, 40–50 nm in diameter, were found in the basal portion of the cell wall of secondary infestation sporangiospores which were still contained inside the sporangium. Key words: Asellaria, bifurcate septum, Parataeniella, Trichomycetes.