''Coelomomyces'' is the only genus of fungi in the family Coelomomycetaceae. Species in the genus can be used as agents for the biological control of mosquitoes.

Characteristics

''Coelomomyces'' are

obligate parasite An obligate parasite or holoparasite is a parasitic organism that cannot complete its life-cycle without exploiting a suitable host. If an obligate parasite cannot obtain a host it will fail to reproduce. This is opposed to a facultative parasite, ...

s of

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es and

chironomids The Chironomidae (informally known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many species s ...

, meaning that they require their hosts to complete their lifecycle. One species, ''

Coelomomyces psorophorae ''Coelomomyces'' is the only genus of fungi in the family Coelomomycetaceae. Species in the genus can be used as agents for the biological control of mosquitoes. Characteristics ''Coelomomyces'' are obligate parasites of mosquitoes and chirono ...

'', is even heteroecious; it requires two completely different hosts as part of its life cycle over the generations, larvae of both the mosquito ''

Culiseta inornata ''Culiseta inornata'', the winter marsh mosquito, or the Unadorned American Cool Weather Mosquito is a species of mosquito in the family Culicidae Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within ...

'' as well as the copepod '' Cyclops venalis''. Due to their lethal nature and host specificity, they have been used by humans for biological control of mosquitoes and other insects. The

mycelium Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrate (biology), substrates. A typical single ...

of Coelomomyces spreads among infected mosquito larva. As the larvae disintegrate, the

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...

break free and are released to spread the fungus, sometimes among

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

s who will die after nurturing the fungus for a time. The exact path differs from species to species and case to case; sometimes the + and - gametes are present in the same host and can grow there, although they can also fuse outside the host and form a motile zygote that must find susceptible mosquito larvae to complete its life cycle.

Species

''Coelomomyces'' contains the following species:/ *''Coelomomyces stegomyiae'' Keilin 1921 ( type) *''Coelomomyces africanus'' A.J. Walker 1985 *''Coelomomyces angolensis'' H. Ribeiro 1992 *''Coelomomyces anophelesicus'' A.V.V. Iyengar 1962 *''Coelomomyces arcellaneus'' Couch & Lum 1985 *''Coelomomyces arsenjevii'' Koval & E.S. Kuprian. 1981 *''Coelomomyces ascariformis'' Van Thiel 1962 *''Coelomomyces azerbaijanicus'' E.S. Kuprian. & Koval 1986 *''Coelomomyces beirnei'' Weiser & McCauley 1972 *''Coelomomyces bisymmetricus'' Couch & H.R. Dodge ex Couch 1962i hjにゅ7 *''Coelomomyces borealis''　Couch & Service　1985 *''Coelomomyces cairnsensis'' Laird 1962 *''Coelomomyces canadensis'' (Weiser & McCauley) Nolan 1978 *''Coelomomyces carolinianus'' Couch, Umphlett & H.A. Bond 1985 *''Coelomomyces celatus'' Couch & Hembree 1985 *''Coelomomyces chironomi'' Rasín 1929 *''Coelomomyces ciferrii Leão 1965 *''Coelomomyces couchii'' Nolan & B.Taylor 1979 *''Coelomomyces cribrosus'' Couch & H.R. Dodge ex Couch 1962 *''Coelomomyces dentialatus'' Couch & Rajap. 1985 *''Coelomomyces dodgei'' Couch 1962 *''Coelomomyces dubitskii'' Couch & Bland 1985 *''Coelomomyces elegans'' Couch & Rajap. 1985 *''Coelomomyces fasciatus'' Couch & A.V.V. Iyengar 1985 *''Coelomomyces finlayae'' Laird 1962 *''Coelomomyces grassei'' Rioux & Pech 1962 *''Coelomomyces iliensis'' Dubitskii, Dzerzh. & Daneb. 1973 *''Coelomomyces indicus'' A.V.V. Iyengar 1962 *''Coelomomyces iyengarii'' Couch 1985 *''Coelomomyces keilinii'' Couch & H.R. Dodge ex Couch 1962 *''Coelomomyces lacunosus'' Couch & O.E. Sousa 1985 *''Coelomomyces lairdii'' Maffi & Nolan 1977 *''Coelomomyces lativittatus'' Couch & H.R. Dodge ex Couch 1962 *''Coelomomyces macleayae'' Laird 1962 *''Coelomomyces madagascaricus'' Couch & Grjebine 1985 *''Coelomomyces milkoi'' Dudka & Koval 1973 *''Coelomomyces musprattii'' Couch 1985 *''Coelomomyces neotropicus'' Lichtw. & L.D. Gómez 1993 *''Coelomomyces notonectae'' (Bogoyavl.) Keilin 1927 *''Coelomomyces omorii'' Laird, Nolan & Mogi 1975 *''Coelomomyces opifexi'' Pillai & J.M.B. Sm. 1968 *''Coelomomyces orbicularis'' Couch & Muspratt 1985 *''Coelomomyces orbiculostriatus'' Couch & Pras. 1985 *''Coelomomyces pentangulatus'' Couch 1962 *''Coelomomyces ponticulus'' Nolan & Mogi 1980 *''Coelomomyces psorophorae'' Couch 1962 *''Coelomomyces punctatus'' Couch & H.R. Dodge ex Couch 1962 *''Coelomomyces quadrangulatus'' Couch 1962 *''Coelomomyces raffaelei'' Coluzzi & Rioux 1962 *''Coelomomyces reticulatus'' Couch & A.J. Walker 1985 *''Coelomomyces rugosus'' Couch & Service 1985 *''Coelomomyces sculptosporus'' Couch & H.R. Dodge ex Couch 1962 *''Coelomomyces seriostriatus'' Couch & J.B. Davies 1985 *''Coelomomyces solomonis'' Laird 1962 *''Coelomomyces stegomyiae'' Keilin 1921 type specie *''Coelomomyces sulcatus'' Couch & A.V.V. Iyengar 1985 *''Coelomomyces tasmaniensis'' Laird 1962 *''Coelomomyces thailandensis'' Couch, D. Gould & Hembree 1985 *''Coelomomyces triangulatus'' Couch & W.W. Martin 1985 *''Coelomomyces tuberculatus'' Bland & Rodhain 1985 *''Coelomomyces tuzetiae'' Manier, Rioux, F. Coste & Maurand 1970 *''Coelomomyces uranotaeniae'' Couch 1945 *''Coelomomyces utahensis'' Romney, Couch & L.T. Nielsen 1985 *''Coelomomyces walkeri'' Van Thiel 1962

References

External links

* * Blastocladiomycota Fungus genera {{Blastocladiomycota-stub