Fungi Isolated in Culture from Soils of the Nevada Test Site

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Abstract
In culture on rose-bengal agar containing streptomycin, 41 fungal taxa were isolated from surface and 3- to 6-inch samples of arid soils of the Nevada Test Site. Four taxa developed in from 40 to over 80% of the samples cultured in different series: Stephylium ilicis, Fusarium sp., Phoma sp. and Penicillium oxalicum. Certain of the spp. which produced black spores tended to predominate in culture. Five of these spp. were also among the 14 taxa isolated from Death Valley soils. The black spores of Stemphylium ilicis were found to survive 60-minute exposures to ultraviolet light of the wave length 2,537A[degree]. The melanin pigment may serve a protective function in highly insolated desert regions although not all spp. producing dark spores are especially resistant to ultraviolet light.

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