Introduction of some new species of genus Acaulospora from Iran

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) are a group of soil-borne obligate symbionts which develop a close mutualistic association with plant roots specially with important plant crops. The genus Acaulospora is one of the largest worldwide taxa in the phylum Glomeromycota. Fifty-nine species of this genus have been identified in the world so far of which 14 of them have been reported from Iran. In this research, five other species of this genus are reported for the first time from Iran viz. Acaulospora alpina, from the feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) in Isfahan; A. gedanensis, A. herrerae, and A. scrobiculata from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) in Khuzestan, and A. punctata from wheat (Triticum aestivum) in Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, respectively. These species had spores that randomly observed among other species that were recovered from soils of different regions. The most important morphological features of the spores of this genus are lack of subtending hyphae, formation of inner walls, and possible ornamentation on their walls.