GLIOCLADIUM, PAECILOMYCES, AND SCOPULARIOPSIS G85 



36: 343-350, 2 figs. 1944) shows it to almost duplicate the latter species. 

 Recently, White and Downing (Alycologia 30; 54G-55o, 2 figs. 1947) have 

 reported that Pope's species represented, in fact, not a Metarrhizium but 

 Myroiheciimi verrucaria (Alb. and Schw.) Ditmar ex Fr. Furthermore, re- 

 examination of Oilman and Abbott's description and figures confirms the 

 belief that the culture from Baarn probably represents the original isolate 

 in essentially unaltered form. Strains such as this, which would now be 

 assigned to Metarrhizium glutinosum, or some species of Myrothecium, 

 quickly and consistently produce conidia in shme balls and are dark green 

 in color, hence might easily be misinterpreted as representing a species of 

 Gliocladiurn. 



In view of the above, the validity of Gliocladiurn fimbriatimi Oilman and 

 Abbott is extremely questionable and the species is omitted from the 

 general key to the genus. 



Occurrence and Significance 



Gliocladiurn catenulatum appears to be fairly common in soil, hence is 

 believed to contribute to slow aerobic processes of decay. Strains approx- 

 imating those represented by this species were investigated by Dr. Shorey 

 in the Department of Agriculture several years ago and found to contain 

 substantial amounts of chitin or chitin-Hke substances. 



As early as 1932, Weindling showed that if you grew a mold, which he 

 identified as a species of Trichoderma, in the presence of certain plant patho- 

 genic fungi, e.g., Rhizocionia, the growth of the plant pathogen was inhibited. 

 At that time he did not attribute the inhibition to a particular substance. 

 But in 1936 he and Emerson pubHshed a paper in which this antagonistic 

 effect was attributed to a definite crystalHne substance. The mold was 

 identified as Gliocladiurn fimhriaium about this time and the name gliotoxin 

 was later given (1941) to the active substance. Ohotoxin is soluble in 

 chloroform and alcohol, and its structure and sj'nthesis as worked out by 

 Dutcher, Johnson, and Bruce has been reported in a series of papers (1943 

 and 1944). Oliotoxin is strongly fungistatic, and is moderately bacterio- 

 static. In England, Brian and associates (1944, 1945) have published 

 some recent papers regarding antibiotics produced by species of Tricho- 

 derma and related forms, and have gone into the antifungal properties of 

 these antibiotics much more thoroughly than has been done previously. 



An antibiotic termed viridin, which, like gliotoxin, is highly fungistatic, 

 has been reported from Trichoderma viride by Brian and co-workers (1945, 

 1946b). It inhibits species of Boirylis and Fusarium in comparatively high 

 dilutions. 



Olutinosin, an antibiotic produced by Metarrhizium glutinosum Pope, 

 was recently reported by Brian and McOowan (1946). The substance is 



