Teliospore
Thick-walled resting spore of some fungi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Teliospore (sometimes called teleutospore) is the thick-walled resting spore of some fungi (rusts and smuts), from which the basidium arises.

Development
Morphology
Teliospores consist of one, two or more dikaryote cells.
Teliospores are often dark-coloured and thick-walled, especially in species where they overwinter (acting as chlamydospores).
Two-celled teliospores formerly defined the genus Puccinia. Here the wall is particularly thick at the tip of the terminal cell which extends into a beak in some species.
Teliospores consist of dikaryote cells. As the teliospore cells germinate, the nuclei undergo karyogamy and thereafter meiosis, giving rise to a four-celled basidium with haploid basidiospores.
See also
References
- C.J. Alexopolous, Charles W. Mims, M. Blackwell, Introductory Mycology, 4th ed. (John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken NJ, 2004) ISBN 0-471-52229-5