Database: Genera of Hyphomycetes

What a user says about the Genera of Hyphomycetes database, ANAMORPH.ASK:

"It is a fantastic program! I started out with a few genera I know fairly well, and always got the right answer. I then tried it using published descriptions of some genera that are unknown to me, and again I got the right answers very quickly. It's a very enjoyable way to learn more about the taxonomy of these fungi."
Dr. Felix Baerlocher, Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, Canada

How to use the database

This explains how to use the current release of the database. It is being continuously updated. This database, if properly approached, will give you rapid and accurate identification of hyphomycetes to the generic level. It contains data on over 1200 accepted genera.

The database comes as four files on one 1.44 Mb diskette, or can be sent to you as an E-mail attachment. Simply copy all files into an appropriate DOS directory, preferably a new one, on your hard drive. To run the program, get into that directory, and type AS. You will be presented with a menu screen. The program allows you to have two files active at the same time, so hit F, and first type in the word "anamorph." This will put the file "anamorph.ask" in memory. Now choose F again, and type "charlist" Both filenames will be displayed. You can toggle between the two files by hitting the letter O.

You need to know just a few special wrinkles in order to use the database. The parts of a hyphomycete have been given 3-letter codes, which MUST be typed directly in front of each piece of information you enter about your fungus. Fortunately there aren't many of these codes:

CDA = conidia (e.g. CDAfalcate or CDAconstricted/at/septa)

CDG = conidiogenous cells (e.g. CDGsympodial or CDGmonophialides)

CPH = conidiophores (e.g. CPHbranched or CPHsetose/extension)

CDM = conidioma (e.g. CDMnone or CDMsynnema)

STA = setae (e.g. STAnone or STApointed)

APP = appendages (e.g. APPfiliform or APPtapered)

HOL = holomorph (e.g. HOLNectria or HOLAscomycetes)

SYN = synanamorph (e.g. SYNAcremonium or SYNSelenosporella)

CHL = chlamydospores

BUL = bulbils

SCL = sclerotia

TRP = trapping organ

SUB = subiculum

HPD = hyphopodia

HPH = hyphae

CYS = cystidia

MCC = microconidia

A complete listing of all the characters (descriptors) used in the database is given in the file "charlist.ask." The number alongside each is the approx. number of times it is used in the database - if the number 64 appears on the left side, then the character is found in 64 genera. Sorry there are so many descriptors, but the moulds are a diverse lot! You can also use substrates as characters, especially if the mould grows on something unusual such as another fungus. Just type in the name of the substrate, e.g., fungi. This can be helpful, but remember that the database does not contain an exhaustive list of substrates for the 1200 genera.

Before you enter any data, scan the lists given in "charlist" for the features you want to describe. For example, if you want to look at the characters that describe conidia, hit O if necessary to make the file "charlist.ask" the active file, hit Q to get the query line, then type in CDA* <enter>. (* stands for anything that follows CDA). This will give you access to the entire list of characters that describe conidia: you get from one screen to the next by hitting <enter>. Remember: if you enter anything in an "anamorph.ask" search that is NOT in the list, the computer will naturally be unable to find it, and your search will fail. So stick to the descriptors given! If you feel any should be added, write and let us know what they are. The database is constantly being updated.

Once you have decided what characters you want to use, get back into "anamorph.ask" and start entering characters along the query line. They may all be about conidia, but they can equally be about a mix of various other parts: in other words, searches are synoptic — you can enter whatever characters you like in any order you like. Hitting <enter> will send the program away to do a search through the entire database for the combination of characters you have chosen (my 133MHz machine takes less than a second to do this). The search may produce many matches (they come up one at a time as you keep hitting <enter>). If your search nets too many genera, you can hit <esc> once to abort it and get back to the query line, then hit <enter> to bring up the characters you had already typed in. Now type {tal after the list of characters, and hit <enter>. This will tell you the number of hits. If it is more than a few, you need to add more characters to narrow the search down. Once the number has been reduced to 2, 3 or 4, delete the {tal from the end of the search line, hit <enter> again, and look at the actual names and descriptions (in which the characters you have entered will be highlighted). Usually, the number of characters that fit on the query line will give you an identification, but if space is tight, try abbreviating the descriptors and finishing each with an asterisk (e.g. cdapig* = CDApigmented). At the other extreme, the search may produce no matches, in which case you have either found a new genus, or (more likely) typed in some descriptor that is not in the database, or does not match your specimen, or made a typo. We often describe a single feature in more than one way in the database, in the hope that we can second-guess the user, but there will be occasions when this doesn't work: always check "charlist" until you become experienced!

Before you can use the database, you have to know a few things about the way we describe the features of hyphomycetes. For example, conidia are described, among other things, as CDAamero CDAdidymo CDAphragmo CDAdictyo CDAhelico CDAscoleco CDAstauro à la Saccardo. Many of the other descriptors are more intuitively obvious, for example, conidia can also be CDAglobose CDArough CDApigmented, etc. If you want to see how the descriptors of any particular genus look, just type the generic name on the query line and keep hitting <enter> until you get what you want.

Let's say you have an Alternaria, and that you do not recognize this genus. You can type in CDAdictyo {tal <enter>: this will get you well over 100 genera, so you'll have to hit <esc> to abort the search, then <enter> to get back to the query line. CDAdictyo CDApigmented CDAbeaked <enter> will get you down to 7 genera. But if you add a fourth character, CDAchains, to the query line and hit <enter> again, those four characters will bring you right down to a single choice. Surprise, surprise, it's Alternaria. It is amazing how few characters you need to pinpoint most genera, especially if you know the kind of thing to use. Experience helps a lot.

Several new genera have already been recognized as such through the use of this database! With some guidance, students in my courses have quickly learned to use the database quite effectively: but of course they must know something about the characters they enter, so it isn't an easy way out. The database dovetails well with the profusely illustrated book "Genera of Hyphomycetes" (now out of print, but available in most University Libraries). The database entry for most genera has a notation in the top right hand corner "G.H." followed by a number+letter, e.g., 27A, which refers to the illustration in the book. This should enable you to check most of your identifications.

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