A new species of Pythium with inflated sporangia and coiled antheridia, isolated from India

Pythium kashmirense sp. nov. was isolated from soil samples taken on the Himalayas at the height of 5300 feet in the Shivalik Hill Range of the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The oomycete has filamentous-inflated type sporangia and its antheridial filaments form loose loops around the female gametangia, and coil around the oogonial stalks. The new species is closely related to Pythium plurisporium, Pythium periilum, Pythium inflatum, and Pythium folliculosum. All of these oomycetes have filamentous-inflated type sporangia. However, P. kashmirense has its own distinguishing characteristics which can easily differentiate it among these related species. The sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of its rRNA and its morphological characters are unique for the genus Pythium. Taxonomic description of this new species, its comparison with related oomycetes and the sequence of the ITS region of its rRNA, are discussed here.