A conidium (/kəˈnɪdiəm, koʊ-/ kə-NID-ee-əm, koh-; pl.: conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (pl.: chlamydoconidia),[1] is an asexual,[2] non-motile spore of a fungus. The word conidium comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, κόνις (kónis).[3] They are also called mitospores due to the way they are generated through the cellular process of mitosis.[citation needed] They are produced exogenously. The two new haploid cells are genetically identical to the haploid parent, and can develop into new organisms if conditions are favorable, and serve in biological dispersal.
Asexual reproduction in ascomycetes (the phylum Ascomycota) is by the formation of conidia, which are borne on specialized stalks called conidiophores. The morphology of these specialized conidiophores is often distinctive between species and, before the development of molecular techniques at the end of the 20th century, was widely used for identification of (e.g. Metarhizium) species.
The terms microconidia and macroconidia are sometimes used.[4]
- ^ Jansonius, D.C., Gregor, Me., 1996. Palynology: principles and applications. American association of stratigraphic palynologists foundation.[page needed]
- ^ Osherov, Nir; May, Gregory S (2001). "The molecular mechanisms of conidial germination". FEMS Microbiology Letters. 199 (2): 153–60. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2001.tb10667.x. PMID 11377860.
- ^ "conidium". CollinsDictionary.com. HarperCollins.
- ^ Ohara, T.; Inoue, I; Namiki, F; Kunoh, H; Tsuge, T (2004). "REN1 is Required for Development of Microconidia and Macroconidia, but Not of Chlamydospores, in the Plant Pathogenic Fungus Fusarium oxysporum". Genetics. 166 (1): 113–24. doi:10.1534/genetics.166.1.113. PMC 1470687. PMID 15020411.