rDNA diversity and physiology of Ochroconis and Scolecobasidium species reported from humans and other vertebrates

Ochroconis and Scolecobasidium are closely related genera of melanized hyph omycetes. Ochroconis gallopava is thermotolerant and known from the brain o f birds; in humans it is a systemic opportunist. The species was studied us ing nutritional physiology and rDNA small subunit (SSU) and internal transc ribed spacer (ITS) restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). O. gall opava was compared to primarily non-human species of both genera, especiall y these occurring on vertebrates. O. gallopava proved to be a taxonomically invariable species, whereas the remaining, hitherto morphologically define d species proved to contain a large number of clearly different genetic ent ities. Physiological parameters were evaluated to recognize some of the gen etic taxa.