Gigasporaceae - Morton & Benny


Species in this family form large (usually >200 um) asexual spores with the following morphological properties:

  1. The spore wall consists of a permanent outer layer enclosing a laminate layer, each with different properties that distinguish species (e.g. color, thickness, reaction in Melzerā€™s reagent, etc.) and
  2. The spore contents are partitioned from that of the bulbous sporogenous cell by a plug or, more rarely, by a septum.


Literature Cited

  • Morton, J.B. and Benny, G.L. 1990. Revised classification of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Zygomycetes): a new order, Glomales, two new suborders, Glomineae and Gigasporineae, and two new families, Acaulosporaceae and Gigasporaceae, with an emendation of Glomaceae. Mycotaxon37:471-491.