Gomphillaceae

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Gomphillaceae
Gomphillus americanus 122758.jpg
Gomphillus americanus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Graphidales
Family: Gomphillaceae
Walt.Watson (1929)
Type genus
Gomphillus
Nyl. (1855)
Synonyms

The Gomphillaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. Species in this family are found mostly in tropical regions. [1] The family underwent a major molecular phylogenetics-led reorganisation in 2023, in which 17 genera were recognised and formally established as new or reinstated.

Contents

Taxonomy

The Gomphillaceae has undergone significant taxonomic revision as molecular analysis techniques have improved scientists' understanding of relationships between species. As of 2024, the family includes approximately 440 accepted species, of which 422 are lichenised (form a symbiotic relationship with algae) and 18 are lichenicolous or fungicolous (grow on other lichens or fungi). [2]

The family is particularly diverse in tropical regions, where many species grow on leaves in wet forests. However, some members, particularly in the genus Gyalideopsis , can also be found growing on other surfaces and extend into temperate regions. Recent molecular phylogenetics studies (analysis of DNA sequences to determine evolutionary relationships) have led to a major reorganisation of the family's classification. The research identified 46 distinct genera, including 19 newly recognised lineages. This represents a significant expansion from the previous understanding of the family's diversity. A challenge in classifying members of this family is that only about 27% of known species have had their DNA sequenced. To address this, researchers have used a technique called "phylogenetic binning", which uses physical characteristics to predict where unsequenced species fit within the phylogenetic tree based on their similarities to sequenced relatives. The actual number of species in the family may be significantly higher than currently recognised, possibly exceeding 800 species. This is because detailed examination often reveals that what appears to be a single species may actually be several distinct but closely related species (known as cryptic species). [2]

Description

The family Gomphillaceae is characterized by its crust-like thallus, which is the outer layer of the lichen body. These lichens contain chlorococcoid photobionts, which are symbiotic algae that help the lichen to produce food through photosynthesis. The reproductive structures of Gomphillaceae lichens, known as ascomata, can be apothecioid or lirellate in form. Apothecia occur in a few forms, including biatorine or zeorine to sometimes lecideine . [3]

The internal structure of hymenium (the fertile, spore-producing part of the lichen), called the hamathecium , consists primarily of branched and interwoven paraphyses . The asci, or spore-producing sacs, are annelasceous and feature a distinctive apical tholus and ring structure. They can be clavate , oblong, or fusiform in shape and do not exhibit any amyloid properties. These asci typically produce eight ascospores , although some may produce fewer, ranging from one to four spores. The ascospores are hyaline (transparent), and have thin walls and distinct eusepta . They can be ellipsoid or oblong in shape, and their internal divisions (septa) can be transverse or muriform . [3]

Gomphillaceae lichens also produce conidiomata , which are asexual reproductive structures. These are mostly hyphophores , and the conidia are formed as branched hyphae, called diahyphae, within gelatinous masses. The conidia are typically septate, often taking on a moniliform or bead-like appearance, and are also hyaline. In terms of secondary chemistry, Gomphillaceae lichens generally lack any notable substances. [3]

Genera

According to a recent (2024) compilation of fungal classification, the Gomphillaceae comprise 44 genera and about 340 species. The following list indicates the genus name, the taxonomic authority, year of publication, and the number of species: [4]

Related Research Articles

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The Pilocarpaceae are a family of crustose lichens in the order Lecanorales. The species of this family have a cosmopolitan distribution and have been found in a variety of climatic regions. Pilocarpaceae was circumscribed by Alexander Zahlbruckner in Adolf Engler's influential 1905 work Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphidaceae</span> Family of fungi

The Graphidaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. The family contains nearly a hundred genera and more than 2000 species. Although the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most Graphidaceae species occur in tropical regions, and typically grow on bark.

<i>Byssoloma</i> Genus of lichen

Byssoloma is a genus of leaf-dwelling lichens in the family Pilocarpaceae.

<i>Mazosia</i> Genus of lichens

Mazosia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Roccellaceae.

Actinoplaca is a genus of fungi within the Gomphillaceae family.

Echinoplaca is a genus of lichens in the family Gomphillaceae.

Gyalectidium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. A 2020 estimates placed 52 species in the genus. The genus was circumscribed by Swiss lichenologist Johannes Müller Argoviensis in 1881. He included 3 species: G. xantholeucum, G. dispersum, and G. filicinum; the last of these is now the type species of the genus.

<i>Gyalideopsis</i> Genus of lichen-forming fungi

Gyalideopsis is a genus of lichens in the family Gomphillaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Czech lichenologist Antonín Vězda in 1972.

<i>Tricharia</i> Genus of lichens

Tricharia is a genus of lichens in the family Gomphillaceae. It has an estimated 30 species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Aptroot</span> Dutch mycologist and lichenologist

André Aptroot is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist. His primary research focus is on biodiversity, particularly tropical lichens, encompassing systematics, floristic surveys, and taxonomic reviews. A prolific researcher, he has published more than 500 scientific papers and described hundreds of new fungal and lichen species.

Antonín (Toni) Vězda was a Czech lichenologist. After completing a university education that was postponed by World War II, Vězda taught botany at the Czech University of Life Sciences. In 1958, he was dismissed from his university position as a result of the restrictions placed on academic freedoms by the communist regime in power. He eventually was hired as a lichen researcher by the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, who allowed him to work from his apartment, which served also as an office and herbarium.

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Strigulaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi, one of two families in the order Strigulales. Recent (2020) molecular analysis of the type genus, Strigula, has led to a reallocation of the foliicolous species into six genera that correspond to well-delimited clades with diagnostic phenotype features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphidales</span> Order of lichen-forming fungi

Graphidales is an order of lichen-forming fungi in the class Lecanoromycetes. It contains 6 families, about 81 genera and about 2,228 species. Family Graphidaceae are the largest crustose family within Graphidales order comprising more than 2000 species, which are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Gyalideopsis aptrootii is a species of corticolous lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. Found in southern Brazil, it was described as a new species in 2018. Defining features of this lichen include the unique crescent-shaped structure of its hyphophores, the single-spored asci, and the relatively small size of the ascospores.

Adelphomyces is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It comprises three species.

Aptrootidea is a genus of fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It has six species of leaf-dwelling (foliicolous) lichens.

Aulaxinella is a genus of fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It comprises three species that primarily grow on living leaves (foliicolous), though rarely some species can be found on tree bark (corticolous).

Batistomyces is a small genus of fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It has two species of leaf-dwelling (foliicolous) lichens. These microlichens form very thin layers on the surface of leaves, appearing to the naked eye as small, fuzzy dark patches due to their numerous short black bristles.

Bezerroplaca is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It has five species of tropical lichens that grow on living leaves.

Vezdamyces is a small genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It comprises two species of leaf-dwelling lichens that grow in tropical forests.

References

  1. ↑ Cannon PF; Kirk PM (2007). Fungal Families of the World. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. pp. 142–143. ISBN   978-0-85199-827-5.
  2. 1 2 Xavier-Leite, Amanda Barreto; Goto, Bruno Tomio; da Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia; Lücking, Robert (2024). "Reclassification of species in the lichenized family Gomphillaceae Walt. Watson ex Hafellner (Ascomycota: Graphidales) using morphology-based phylogenetic binning". Cryptogamie, Mycologie. 45 (8): 83–99. doi:10.5252/cryptogamie-mycologie2024v45a8.
  3. 1 2 3 Jaklitsch, Walter; Baral, Hans-Otto; Lücking, Robert; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten (2016). Frey, Wolfgang (ed.). Syllabus of Plant Families: Adolf Engler's Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien. Vol. 1/2 (13 ed.). Berlin Stuttgart: Gebr. Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Borntraeger Science Publishers. pp. 140–141. ISBN   978-3-443-01089-8. OCLC   429208213.
  4. ↑ Hyde, K.D.; Noorabadi, M.T.; Thiyagaraja, V.; He, M.Q.; Johnston, P.R.; Wijesinghe, S.N.; et al. (2024). "The 2024 Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa". Mycosphere. 15 (1): 5262–5263. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/15/1/25.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Xavier-Leite, Amanda Barreto; Goto, Bruno Tomio; Lücking, Robert; da Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia (2023). "New genera in the lichenized family Gomphillaceae (Ascomycota: Graphidales) focusing on neotropical taxa". Mycological Progress. 22 (12): e88. doi:10.1007/s11557-023-01933-1.
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