Myxobiota (Protista, Amoebozoa) from Central Brazil: New records of Trichia affinis Bary from the cerrado

Abstract

This work records the first occurrences of Trichia affinis in the Brazilian Cerrado biome, expanding the geographic distribution of the species in the national territory. These records occurred in the Ecological Reserve of the State University of Goiás and in the Silvânia National Forest-areas of environmental preservation and scientific research, where sporocarps and plasmodium of the species were collected. To carry out a reliable identification, comparisons macro and microscopic were made between species belonging to the cryptic complex Trichia favoginea, which in turn includes the species Trichia favoginea, Trichia persimilis and Trichia affinis. These records provide an addition of species to the Cerrado biome, denoting its great biodiverse potential, furthermore, it brings important taxonomic factors to the identification process. Resumo Este trabalho registra as primeiras ocorrências de Trichia affinis no bioma Cerrado brasileiro, ampliando a distribuição geográfica da espécie no território nacional. Esses registros ocorreram na Reserva Ecológica da Universidade Estadual de Goiás e na Floresta Nacional da Silvânia-áreas de preservação ambiental e pesquisas científicas, onde foram coletados esporocarpos e plasmódios da espécie. Para realizar uma identificação confiável, foram feitas comparações macro e microscópicas entre espécies pertencentes ao complexo críptico Trichia favoginea, que por sua vez inclui as espécies Trichia favoginea, Trichia persimilis e Trichia affinis. Esses registros proporcionam um acréscimo de espécies ao bioma Cerrado, denotando seu grande potencial biodiverso, além de trazer fatores taxonômicos importantes para o processo de identificação.

Full text

Revista AgroTecnologia, Anápolis v.14, n.1, p.53-59, 2023
ISSN eletrônico: 2179-5959 / ISSN impresso: 2179-5940
Universidade Estadual de Goiás
Short Communication
MYXOBIOTA (PROTISTA, AMOEBOZOA) FROM CENTRAL BRAZIL: NEW RECORDS OF
Trichia affinis BARY FROM THE CERRADO
MIXOBIOTA (PROTISTA, AMOEBOZOA) DO BRASIL CENTRAL: NOVO REGISTRO DE
Trichia affinis BARY PARA O CERRADO
Lucca Araujo TOSCHI*1  Izabel Cristina MOREIRA2  Solange XAVIER-SANTOS3
Abstract
This work records the first occurrences of Trichia affinis in the Brazilian Cerrado biome, expanding the geographic
distribution of the species in the national territory. These records occurred in the Ecological Reserve of the State University of
Goiás and in the Silvânia National Forest - areas of environmental preservation and scientific research, where sporocarps and
plasmodium of the species were collected. To carry out a reliable identification, comparisons macro and microscopic were
made between species belonging to the cryptic complex Trichia favoginea, which in turn includes the species Trichia
favoginea, Trichia persimilis and Trichia affinis. These records provide an addition of species to the Cerrado biome, denoting
its great biodiverse potential, furthermore, it brings important taxonomic factors to the identification process.
Keywords: Brazilian Savanna, Myxomycetes, New record, Trichia affinis.
Resumo
Este trabalho registra as primeiras ocorrências de Trichia affinis no bioma Cerrado brasileiro, ampliando a distribuição
geográfica da espécie no território nacional. Esses registros ocorreram na Reserva Ecológica da Universidade Estadual de
Goiás e na Floresta Nacional da Silvânia - áreas de preservação ambiental e pesquisas científicas, onde foram coletados
esporocarpos e plasmódios da espécie. Para realizar uma identificação confiável, foram feitas comparações macro e
microscópicas entre espécies pertencentes ao complexo críptico Trichia favoginea, que por sua vez inclui as espécies Trichia
favoginea, Trichia persimilis e Trichia affinis. Esses registros proporcionam um acréscimo de espécies ao bioma Cerrado,
denotando seu grande potencial biodiverso, além de trazer fatores taxonômicos importantes para o processo de identificação.
Palavras chaves: Cerrado brasileiro, Mixomicetos, Novo registro, Trichia affinis
Introduction
The Trichiaceae (Trichiales) family
comprises 12 genera and 170 species. Among
these genera, Trichia stands out because of its
wide global geographic distribution and large
number of species (33 spp) (Bezerra 2010). The
genus was established by Haller in 1768, being
characterized by having capillitium elaters and
well developed, sharing sessile or pedicellate
sporophores (Liu et al. 2007).
Trichia affinis Bary has sessile,
subglobose, yellow sporophores, with great
resemblance to T. persimilis Kanst. and T.
favoginea (Batsch) Pers., with T. favoginea being
the first to be described in 1794. Therefore, Farr
(1958) made these two more recent variations of
T. favoginea, claiming to have many
morphological similarities. However, more recent
molecular data (Garcia-Cunchillos 2022) indicate
that these three species are in fact distinct.
 Lucca Tos chi ; lucca.t oschi .bio@g mail. com
Curso Ciências Biológicas. Universidade Estadual de Goiás,
Anápolis/GO.
1 ORCID 0000-0002-6106-5081
2 ORCID 0000-0001-5302-7264
3 ORCID 0000-0002-3397-0885
Manuscrito recebido: 30/06/2023
Aceito para publicação: 06/10/2023

Toschi et a l., 20 23 Brazilian Savanna, Myxomycetes, New record, Trichia affinis
Rev. AgroTec v.14, n.1, 2023 53 |59
Trichia affinis has a wide global
distribution, occurring on all continents, except
Antarctica. However, there are few records of this
species in Brazil, which are confined to areas of
the Atlantic Forest, in the South, Southeast and
Northeast regions (Maia 2010, CRIA 2023).
However, during sampled randomly (active
search) carried out in the Ecological Reserve of
the State University of Goiás (REC-UEG) and in
the National Forest (FLONA) of Silvânia,
fructification of T. affinis was found in
decomposing fallen trunks. This work reports the
first records of T. affinis in the Cerrado biome
and in the Midwest region.
Material and Methods
Samples of T. affinis were collected in the
REC/UEG, in the phytophysiognomy of gallery
forest, and in the National Forest of Silvânia
(FLONA) in mesophilic forest.
The REC/UEG, also known as “Trilha do
Tatu”, is located within the facilities of the State
University of Goiás Campus Central-Sede:
Anápolis-CET, on the banks of Km 98 of BR 153,
between parallels 16°23'40 "S and 48°57'32"W, in
the municipality of Anápolis, Goiás (Figure 1). It
has approximately 15 ha, cut across by the
Barreiro stream, and is covered by native
vegetation from the Cerrado biome. In its interior
we find phytophysionic fragments characteristic
of gallery forest, mesophilic forest, restricted
cerrado.
FLONA, in turn, is located in the Rural
Area of the municipality of Silvânia, Goiás,
between parallels 16°38'29"S and 48°39'02"W
(Figure 1), having an average of 486 ha, covered
by Cerrado biome (ICMBio 2023), mostly
covered by cerrado sensu stricto, sheltering a
large mosaic of phytophysiognomies (cerrado
stricto sensu, gallery forest, dry forest, vereda and
campo limpo) configuring characteristics of
heterogeneity, denoting a great biodiverse
potential. This area has the purpose of conserving
native ecosystems, including environmental
education and research.
The samples were herbalized and
identified based on their macro and microscopic
characteristics, comparing them with the relevant
literature (Poulain 2011a, 2011b, Bezerra 2010
and Cavalcante 2006), in addition to comparison
with a sample of Trichia favoginea and Trichia
persimilis for the purpose of confirm taxonomic
experience and distinguishing it from such similar
species. In this sense, as distinction criteria,
mainly the height of the sporocarp, diameter of
the capillitium and ornamentation of the spores
(bands and striations) were considered. The
colors were defined using the Kornerup &
Wanscher (1978) color chart. The averages of
spore diameter and bands were passed through
the measurement of 50 spores.
Data regarding the geographic distribution
of the species were obtained from the literature,
including the CRIA (2023), Flora e Funga (2023)
and GBIF (2023) digital databases.

Toschi et a l., 20 23 Brazilian Savanna, Myxomycetes, New record, Trichia affinis
Rev. AgroTec v.14, n.1, 2023 53 |59
Figure 1: Location of REC-UEG and FLONA of Silvânia. Distribution of Trichia affinis in Brazil
Atlantic Forest: Northeast: Piauí (Cavalcanti 2006), Paraíba (Costa 2009), Pernambuco (Rufino 2007),
Sergipe (Bezerra 2010); South: Rio Grande do Sul (CRIA 2023); Southeast: São Paulo (CRIA 2023).
Cerrado: Midwest: Goiás (present work).
Results and Discussion
Material analyzed
Trichia affinis de Bary, in Fuckel,
Jahrb. Nassauischen Vereins Naturk. 23-
24:336 (1870).
Brazil, Goiás: Anápolis, REC-UEG, Lat.
016°23'14"S Lon. 48°56'34"W, 17/VII/2022,
found fruited on moss, Toschi LA, 03 (HUEG
15308).
Brazil, Goiás: Silvânia, FLONA, Lat.
016°23'14"S Lon. 48°56'34"W, 26/IV/2023,
found fruited on decaying leaf, Toschi LA, 67
(HUEG 16303).
Characterization
White phaneroplasmodium (1A1);
subglobose, sessile, densely grouped, mutual-
pressure deformed, greyish-yellow (4B5) to
yellow-orange (4B8), 0.2─0.7 mm diam. and
0.3─0.9 of total height; hyaline hypothalum;
membranous and delicate peridium, tends to
rupture at the apex after mature, pale yellow
(3A3); capillitium elaters, dark yellow (4A8),
apex with sharp tips, 5.2─7.1 μm diam.,
ornamented with few spines; yellow spore
(3A7); globose spores, 10─12 μm diam., cross-
linked by shifting bands, delicate edges, 1,1─2.4
μm, pale yellow (4A3) under transmitted
light (Figure 2).

Toschi et a l., 20 23 Brazilian Savanna, Myxomycetes, New record, Trichia affinis
Rev. AgroTec v.14, n.1, 2023 53 |59
Figure 2. Trichia affinis. a- Young sporophores (3mm bar). b- Dehiscence sporophores (3mm bar). c-
Intact mature sporophores (1mm bar). d- Spores showing the bands (bar 15μm). e- Spores showing the
stretch marks (bar 15 μm). f- Capillitium and spores (bar 60 μm).
Additional material analyzed
Trichia favoginea (Batsch) Pers., Neues Mag.
Bot. 1:90 (1794).
Brazil, Goiás: Silvânia, FLONA, Lat.
016°23'14"S Lon. 48°56'34"W, 26/IV/2023,
found fruiting on decaying wood of unidentified
species, Toschi LA, 56 (16304 HUEG).
Figure 3. Trichia favoginea. A-(3mm bar). b-(0.5mm bar). c-(1.5mm bar).
Trichia persimilis P. Karst., Not. Sällsk. Fauna
Fl. Fenn. Förh 9:353 (1868)
Brazil, Goiás: Anápolis, REC-UEG, Lat.
016°23'14"S Lon. 48°56'34"W, 17/VII/2022,
found fruiting on decaying wood of unidentified
species, Toschi LA, 04 (15368 HUEG).

Toschi et a l., 20 23 Brazilian Savanna, Myxomycetes, New record, Trichia affinis
Rev. AgroTec v.14, n.1, 2023 53 |59
Figure 4. Trichia persimilis. a-(1mm bar). b-(bar 1.5mm)
T. affinis has a great morphological similarity
with T. favoginea and T. persimilis, differing
from them by the characteristics explained in
Table 1. T. favoginea has higher honeycomb
(Figure 3) sporophores than the others and the
bands of its spores are slightly larger (Figure 5-
b1). However, T. affinis and T. persimilis differ
by the color of the spororophores, with
T. affinis being grayish-yellow (4B5) to yellow-
orange (4B8) (Figure 2-a, b, c), while T.
persimilis is yellowish brown (5D7) (Figure 4);
the number of spines along the capillitium , with
T. persimilis having a greater amount of spines
(Figure 5-c2); the band of the spores, being
slightly larger and more constant in T. affinis,
while in T. persimilis the bands are smaller and
present well-marked irregularities on their surface
(Figure 5 a1-c1).
Table 1: Different macro and microscopic characteristics compared between species
Features
Trichia affinis
(Figure 1)
Trichia favoginea
(Figure 2)
Trichia persimilis
(Figure 3)
Sporophores
Subglobose, sessile,
densely grouped,
deformed by mutual
pressure, grayish-yellow
to yellow-
orange; 0.2─0.7 mm
diam. and 0.3─0.9 total
height
Subglobose, sessile,
clustered, light brown
(5D6) to yellowish
brown (5D7); 0.4─0.7
mm diam. and 0.8─1.7
mm high
Globose, sessile,
clustered, yellowish
brown; 0.4─0.6 mm
diam. and 0.4─0.8
mm overall height
Capillitium
Elaters, dark yellow
(4A8), apex with sharp
tips, 5.2─7.1 μm diam.,
ornamented with few
spines;
Elaters, dark yellow
(4A8), apex with sharp
or small tips, 5.5─6.3
μm diam.
Elaters, dark yellow
(4A8), apex with
sharp tips, 4.8─6.4
μm diam., ornamented
with many spines
Ornamentation
and structure of
spores
10─12 μm diam.,
crosslinked by fickle
bands of 1,2─2 μm.
9.5─12 μm diam.,
crosslinked by fickle
bands of, 1.5─2.4 μm.
9.5─1 μm diam.,
crosslinked by very
fickle bands of
0.9─1.5 μm.

Toschi et a l., 20 23 Brazilian Savanna, Myxomycetes, New record, Trichia affinis
Rev. AgroTec v.14, n.1, 2023 53 |59
Figure 5: Illustration of the microscopy of the analyzed species a- Trichia affinis. 1- Spores; 2-
Capillitium. b- Trichia favoginea. 1- Spores; 2- Capillitium. b- Trichia persimilis. 1- Spores; 2-
Capillitium.
Conclusion
The present study contributes to the
expansion of the knowledge of the myxobiota of
the Brazilian Cerrado, with the addition of new
records of occurrence of T. affinis in conservation
units of this biome in the state of Goiás,
demonstrating the importance of maintaining
these areas for biodiversity.
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