''Uncinocarpus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

within the

Onygenaceae The Onygenaceae are a family (biology), family of fungi in the Ascomycota, class Eurotiomycetes. Genera These are the genera that are in the Onygenaceae, according to a 2021 review of fungal classification. Following the genus name is the Author ...

family. The name is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''uncinus'', meaning "hook" and the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ''karpos'' (καρπός), meaning "fruit". It was distinguished from the genus ''

Gymnoascus ''Gymnoascus'' is a genus of fungi within the Gymnoascaceae family. The genus, widely distributed in northern temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), whic ...

'' based on keratinolytic capacity,

ascospore An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or ...

morphology and the development of hooked, occasionally spiraling appendages. Alternatively, ''Uncinocarpus'' species may possess helically coiled or smooth, wavy appendages, or lack appendages altogether, an example of such species being '' U. orissi''. Being a close non-pathogenic relative of the pathogenic dimorphic fungi

Coccidioides immitis ''Coccidioides immitis'' is a pathogenic fungus that resides in the soil in certain parts of the southwestern United States, northern Mexico, and a few other areas in the Western Hemisphere. Epidemiology ''C. immitis'', along with its relati ...

and

Coccidioides posadasii ''Coccidioides posadasii'' is a pathogenic fungus that, along with ''Coccidioides immitis'', is the causative agent of coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever in humans. It resides in the soil in certain parts of the Southwestern United States, no ...

, which cause

Coccidioidomycosis Coccidioidomycosis (, ), commonly known as cocci, Valley fever, as well as California fever, desert rheumatism, or San Joaquin Valley fever, is a mammalian fungal disease caused by '' Coccidioides immitis'' or ''Coccidioides posadasii''. Coccid ...

, it is used in genomic research to help develop human vaccination, which might alleviate the

Valley fever A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

''silent epidemic''.

References

External links

* Onygenales Eurotiomycetes genera Taxa described in 1976 {{Eurotiomycetes-stub