ITS1 region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA of the mycoparasite Pythium periplocum, its taxonomy, and its comparison with related species

Pythium periplocum Drechsler was isolated from some soil samples taken in the botanical garden of Tenerife, Canary Islands. This fungus has been found to be an aggressive mycoparasite of Botrytis cinerea. It is unique amongst the members of the genus Pythium because of the character combination of inflated filamentous type of sporangia and ornamented oogonia. The taxonomic description of this fungus and its comparison with related species, together with the polymerase chain reaction of the internal transcribed spacer of its nuclear ribosomal DNA, are discussed in this article. (C) 2000 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.