Borinquenotrema

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Borinquenotrema
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Graphidales
Family: Graphidaceae
Genus: Borinquenotrema
Merc.-Díaz, Lücking & Parnmen (2014)
Species:
B. soredicarpum
Binomial name
Borinquenotrema soredicarpum
Mercado-Díaz, Lücking & Parnmen (2014)

Borinquenotrema is a single-species fungal genus in the family Graphidaceae. [1] It contains the species Borinquenotrema soredicarpum, a corticolous (bark-dweling) lichen. Found in Puerto Rico, this lichen is characterized by its carbonized (blackened and brittle) ascomata , which develop from within soralia, and its distinctive distoseptate , violet-blue ascospores . Borinquenotrema soredicarpum grows on tree trunks in shaded understory environments of Tabonuco forests in El Yunque National Forest.

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus Borinquenotrema, along with its type species, Borinquenotrema soredicarpum, was described by lichenologists Joel Mercado-Díaz, Robert Lücking, and Sittiporn Parnmen. The type specimen was found by the first author in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, on the trunk of a Dacryodes excelsa tree. The genus name is derived from Borinquen, the indigenous name for Puerto Rico, and the species epithet soredicarpum refers to the unusual development of ascomata beneath soralia. [2]

Initially mistaken for a species of Carbacanthographis , Borinquenotrema soredicarpum was later found to be closely related to the tribe Ocellularieae based on molecular sequence data. The development of ascomata beneath soralia is a strategy that may aid in the dispersal of soredia along with ascospores, ensuring the availability of photobiont cells upon resymbiosis. This lichen contains stictic acid and closely related substances, which is unusual for members of the tribe Ocellularieae. [2]

Description

Borinquenotrema soredicarpum is a corticolous lichen with a smooth to uneven, light greyish-green thallus that grows up to 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter. Its soralia are white, granular , and maculiform to capitate , with diameters between 0.2 and 0.6 mm. The lichen's photobiont is Trentepohlia (a green algal genus), with densely packed, olive-green cells measuring 7–12 by 6–10  μm. [2]

A remarkable feature of Borinquenotrema soredicarpum is the development of its ascomata beneath soralia, which remain covered by a layer of granular soredia even in mature condition, completely hiding the ascoma. The lichen's ascospores are hyaline, oblong-oval, muriform , and measure 40–50 by 12–15 μm. They are distoseptate with lens-shaped to rounded lumina and turn violet-blue when treated with iodine (I+). [2]

Habitat and distribution

Borinquenotrema soredicarpum is found exclusively in Puerto Rico, growing on the trunks of unidentified trees in the shaded understory of Tabonuco forests within El Yunque National Forest. [2]

Related Research Articles

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Clandestinotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has 17 species. They typically inhabit montane and cloud forest at higher elevations in the tropics.

Gintarasia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has seven species, all of which are found in Australia. Gintarasia species are corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens with a thelotremoid form.

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Fissurina amyloidea is a little-known species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in the primary rainforests of Rondônia, Brazil. It is characterized by its weakly carbonizedlirellae and thick-walled, strongly amyloid ascospores. Despite its superficial similarity to Fissurina subfurfuracea, F. amyloidea exhibits unique anatomical features that set it apart from other species within the genus.

<i>Acanthotrema alboisidiatum</i> Species of lichen

Acanthotrema alboisidiatum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Described as a new species in 2014, it is primarily distinguished by its striking white isidia that contrast with its light olive-green thallus. The lichen was recognized as a new species despite the absence of ascomata and ascospores, usually crucial for taxonomic identification. Its DNA sequence data confirms its place in the Acanthotrema genus but distinguishes it from other known members of this genus. The species grows up to a diameter of 5 cm (2 in) and bears short, white isidiate outgrowths that resemble insect eggs. The lichen appears to favour the shaded understory of Tabonuco forests in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico, particularly towards the base of Dacryodes excelsa trees.

Acanthotrema kalbii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. First classified as a new species in 2012, the lichen is found in Costa Rica, where it grows in partially shaded areas of disturbed primary forest within the montane rainforest zone. This lichen stands out from its close relative, A. brasilianum, primarily due to the internal structure of its larger ascospores. The inaugural specimen of A. kalbii used for the species' formal description, was located on tree bark in a montane rainforest in the Las Tablas Protected Zone. The lichen is recognisable by its grey-green thallus, which varies from smooth to uneven and produces slender isidia, tiny outgrowths, up to 2 mm in length.

Clandestinotrema portoricense is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Puerto Rico, it was described as a new species in 2014. It is characterised by its white, slightly shiny thallus that can span several centimetres in diameter, and its rounded ascomata that are immersed in the thallus. Unlike most of its genus counterparts, C. portoricense possesses septated (partitioned) spores and a carbonised (blackened) excipulum and columella, effectively distinguishing it from similar species.

Compositrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has four species. The genus was circumscribed in 2012 by lichenologists Eimy Rivas Plata, Robert Lücking, and Helge Thorsten Lumbsch, with C. cerebriforme assigned as the type species. The genus is distinguished by its unique, composite pseudostromatic ascomata, which sets it apart from the otherwise similar genus Stegobolus.

Compositrema borinquense is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in northeastern Puerto Rico, where it grows on the trunks of trees in the palo Colorado forest of El Yunque National Forest. This lichen differs from others in the genus Compositrema, most notably from its closest relative, C. thailandicum, due to its distinctive, irregularly radiating columella–a central shaft of fungal hyphae in the ascoma.

Compositrema isidiofarinosum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. This lichen was discovered in Puerto Rico. It flourishes in the shaded understory of the palo Colorado forest in El Yunque National Forest, clinging to the trunks of unidentified trees.

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Ocellularia portoricensis is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It was discovered in Puerto Rico, where it grows on tree trunks within shadowy understories of specific forests. This organism is distinct from other related lichens by its unique characteristics such as a white medulla and relatively larger, brown-tinted ascospores.

Ocellularia vulcanisorediata is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Described as a new species in 2014, it is only known to occur in Puerto Rico.

Paratopeliopsis is a single-species fungal genus in the family Graphidaceae. It contains the species Paratopeliopsis caraibica, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), leprose lichen found in Puerto Rico's forests, where it cohabits with mosses on tree trunks. This lichen sets itself apart from other species in the tribe Thelotremateae, particularly those within the genus Topeliopsis, primarily due to its flour-like thallus and its comparatively small, brown spores.

Thalloloma rubromarginatum is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. This lichen stands out from its counterparts within its genus, most notably Thalloloma haemographum, due to its corticate thallus and the presence of norstictic acid. Thalloloma rubromarginatum is found in the Sierra palm forests of Puerto Rico.

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Corticorygma is a monotypic fungal genus in the subfamily Graphidoideae of the family Graphidaceae. It contains a single species, the corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen Corticorygma stellatum. This script lichen is found in the shaded understory of rainforests in the Brazilian states of Rondônia and Paraná.

References

  1. "Borinquenotrema". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Mercado-Díaz, Joel A.; Lücking, Robert; Parnmen, Sittiporn (2014). "Two new genera and twelve new species of Graphidaceae from Puerto Rico: a case for higher endemism of lichenized fungi in islands of the Caribbean?". Phytotaxa. 189 (1): 186–203. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.189.1.14.