identifier: traitmech:000657 label: fungal conidiation definition: A reproductive phenotype in which a fungus produces nonmotile asexual propagules called conidia through outgrowth from conidiogenous cells or conversion of pre-existing hyphal cells. definition_source: DOI:10.2336/nishinihonhifu.40.1083 trait_category: MORPHOLOGY term_kind: CLASS mapping_status: PROPOSED parent_traits: - METPO:1000059 evidence: - reference: DOI:10.2336/nishinihonhifu.40.1083 snippet: produce asexual, nonmotile and usually deciduous propagules (conidia) by de novo growth from, or conversion of a fertile hypha (conidiogenous cell). notes: Cole (1978), publisher abstract directly retrieved at https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/nishinihonhifu/40/6/40_6_1083/_article/-char/en. The article is labeled Mini Review and supports terminology, not independent experimental replication. Its historical Deuteromycetes classification is not imposed on the trait. Both new outgrowth and conversion of existing cells are retained; detached spores, an aerial stalk and one spore shape are not universal requirements. The exact DOI query returned no Europe PMC records. Full text and figures were not inspected. - reference: DOI:10.1101/gad.3.4.559 snippet: The filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa responds to nutrient deprivation and dessication by producing asexual spores, or conidia. notes: 'Springer and Yanofsky (1989), PMID:2524423, scientific abstract retrieved directly from Europe PMC. The source spelling dessication is preserved. Primary scanning-electron microscopy and fluorescent-probe study of wild-type and morphological mutants: the abstract describes apical proconidial budding, septation and disarticulation. Early chains can return to hyphal growth; later chains are committed. These are source-reported observations, not personally inspected figures. Full Methods, figures and independent strain provenance were not read, so no canonical Neurospora strain or universal nutrient/stress requirement is asserted.' - reference: DOI:10.1016/j.simyco.2017.09.001 snippet: H–I. Conidiophores, conidiogenous cells and conidia. notes: Woudenberg et al. (2017), PMID:29158610, PMC5679026, Figure 7 caption, Cephalotrichum lignatile CBS 209.63. The actual panels were inspected together with Taxonomy and Methods. H-I show the named structures; J shows conidia. The description reports conidia in basipetal chains. Microscopic descriptions use SNA cultures after 14 days at 25 C in darkness; A-C instead show OA, MEA and DG18 colonies. These are descriptive morphology observations, not time-lapse proof of each developmental transition. - reference: PMID:9199700 snippet: The developmental cycle of S. griseus starts and ends as a conidium. notes: 'Szabo et al. (1997), Phenotypic heterogeneity of the progeny of Streptomyces griseus conidia; scientific abstract retrieved directly from Europe PMC by PMID. This is terminology boundary evidence, not a fungal observation: the paper uses conidium for a bacterial reproductive cell. It motivates the fungal label qualifier without equating bacterial and fungal developmental mechanisms. No taxon mapping, full-text inspection or bacterial canonical example is asserted.' canonical_examples: - taxon_id: NCBITaxon:2041050 taxon_label: Cephalotrichum lignatile reference: DOI:10.1016/j.simyco.2017.09.001 note: Ex-type culture CBS 209.63. Figure 7H-J and the primary taxonomic description document conidiogenous structures and conidia in basipetal chains. Microscopic descriptions use SNA after 14 days at 25 C in darkness. Specimen examined and Table 1 at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5679026/ identify Hennebert's 1959 isolate from timber in a cave at Han-sur-Lesse, Belgium. This is primary isolate provenance, not an inferred wild-type or GMO status. The observation does not imply production at every life stage or condition. discussions: - discussion_id: fungal-conidiation-scope-and-hierarchy prompt: Review a reproductive phenotype parent and qualified mappings. kind: CURATION_TODO status: OPEN rationale: Retain phenotype METPO:1000059. Sporulation METPO:1000870 and spore forming METPO:1000871 concern endospores, whereas mycelial growth traitmech:000074 concerns bacterial hyphae. The four obsolete METPO conidium/conidia classes denote material entities, not an active organismal phenotype. PMID:9199700 documents bacterial conidium usage, so the fungal qualifier is intentional. Synnema formation traitmech:000656 is stalk aggregation and includes sporeless forms; neither trait is imposed as the other's is-a parent. Pseudohyphal growth traitmech:000653 is a cell arrangement, not equivalent to conidial production. Leave exact synonyms and xrefs unset pending authority and scope review; process ontology classes need not be exact organismal phenotypes. posed_by: codex posed_date: '2026-10-07' - discussion_id: fungal-conidiation-development-and-mechanism prompt: Separate developmental routes and organism-specific mechanisms. kind: KNOWLEDGE_GAP status: OPEN rationale: The class covers outgrowth and conversion of existing hyphal cells, rather than only one Aspergillus-like conidiophore architecture. Do not require an aerial stalk, a synnema, one cell or nucleus per conidium, a particular pigment, immediate detachment, dormancy or a universal nutritional trigger. Early proconidial chains alone need not establish committed development. Distinguish production from conidial germination, sexual spore formation and spores formed by cleavage within a sporangium. Do not infer the trait from a gene inventory or ordinary yeast budding without source identification of conidial production. A causal graph is deferred pending direct perturbation details, natural-strain provenance and taxon-paired protein accessions; no universal BrlA, WetA or autophagy dependence is asserted. posed_by: codex posed_date: '2026-10-07' curation_history: - timestamp: '2026-10-07T03:28:58Z' curator: codex action: MINTED_TRAITMECH_ID changes: Added fungal conidiation with four source-backed snippets, a qualified Cephalotrichum lignatile example and explicit bacterial terminology and developmental boundaries. Ignored-and-hidden searches and structured METPO review found no exact live record. Reserved METPO:1061000 in v533; existing records unchanged. llm_assisted: true