| Geosiphon | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Glomeromycota |
| Class: | Glomeromycetes |
| Order: | Archaeosporales |
| Family: | Geosiphonaceae |
| Genus: | Geosiphon F.Wettst. (1915) |
| Type species | |
| Geosiphon pyriformis (Kütz.) F.Wettst. (1915)
| |
Geosiphon is a genus of fungus in the family Geosiphonaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single species Geosiphon pyriformis, first described by Kützing in 1849 as Botrydium pyriforme.[1] In 1915, Von Wettstein characterized Geosiphon pyriforme as a multinucleate alga containing endosymbiotic cyanobacteria, although he also noted the presence of chitin, a component of fungal cell walls.[2] In 1933, Knapp was the first to suggest the fungal origin of the species and described it as a lichen with endosymbiotic cyanobacteria.[3] It is the only member of the Glomeromycota known to not form a symbiosis with terrestrial plants in the form of arbuscular mycorrhiza.
- ^ Kützing FT. (1848). Species algarum. Lipsiae (FA Brockhaus): Leipzig.
- ^ Wettstein F von. (1915). Geosiphon Fr Wettst, eine neue, interessante Siphonee. Österr Bot Z 65: 145–56.
- ^ Knapp E. (1933). Über Geosiphon pyriforme Fr. Wettst., eine intrazelluläre Pilz-Algen-Symbiose. Ber Dtsch Bot Ges 51: 210–17.