acrospore

English

Etymology

From acro- +‎ spore.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈækrəˌspɔːr/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈækrəˌspɔː/

Noun

acrospore (plural acrospores)

1. (mycology, obsolete) A fungal spore produced at the tip of a specialized hypha.
   • 1867, Johann Nave, A Handy-Book to the Collection and Preparation of Freshwater and Marine Algae, Diatoms, Desmids, Fungi, Lichens, Mosses and Other of the Lower Cryptogamia with Instructions for the Formation of an Herbarium‎, page 130:

     In all these (which to the naked eye appear as patches of a white woolly substance) the fruit, or acrospores, as they are called in technical language, are situated on the tips of certain upright threads, sometimes solitary, but more generally branched, so as to have the appearance of miniature forest trees, only that there are no leaves, and that each branchlet supports at its apex a single round or oval acrospore.

   • 1872, Mordecai Cubitt Cooke, Rust, Smut, Mildew, & Mould. An Introduction to the Study of Microscopic Fungi.‎, third edition, page 142:

     In most cases the apex of the acrospore is obtuse, and the entire body has a violet tint, more or less deep; in some it is completely colourless. These acrospores, when placed in favourable conditions, will germinate, and, in fact, comport themselves in the manner of true spores.

   • 1889, Alfred W. Bennett, George Murray, A Handbook of Cryptogamic Botany‎, page 343:

     In the case of Empusa—for example, E. Muscee (Cohn), which attacks the common house-fly in large numbers in autumn—the yeast-like mycelial cells, at the time of the death of the insect, send forth each a tube, which bursts through the skin, and outside becomes a short club-shaped sporophore bearing a single acrospore. Each sporophore bears but one spore, and then perishes.

Usage notes

• Modern (post-Hughes) mycology has largely moved away from purely descriptive terms such as "acrospore" in favor of terms specifically indicating the fungal spore's mode of development, such as conidium, sporangiospore, and basidiospore.

Derived terms

• acrosporous

See also

• Not to be confused with macrospore.

References

• “acrospore”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC: “A spore borne at the extremity of the cells of fructification in fungi.”

Anagrams

• Pecoraros, acropores