Graphis (lichen)

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Graphis
Graphis scripta (EU).jpg
Graphis scripta (lirellae)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Graphidales
Family: Graphidaceae
Genus: Graphis
Adans. (1763)
Type species
Graphis scripta
(L.) Ach. (1809)
Synonyms [1]

Graphis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. [2] Historically, Graphis was used as a broad category for species with colourless, transversely septate ascospores within the Graphidaceae. However, with advances in genetic research, this classification has become more refined. As a result, species previously classified under Graphina have been re-assigned to Allographa or Graphis. The species complex around Graphis scripta has also been recognised, leading to the identification of several new species, many of which may have been previously overlooked. [3]

Contents

Description

Genus Graphis includes crustose lichens, which have a crust-like appearance that can range from being fully embedded in the substrate to sitting on the surface. The lichen's symbiotic partner, or photobiont , is green algae from the genus Trentepohlia . The apothecia (fruiting bodies) of Graphis can also be immersed or superficial. These structures are typically elongated, resembling slits (referred to as lirelliform ), and can be simple , branched, or star-shaped. The disc of the apothecium, where spores are released, often remains slit-like or closed. Unlike some lichens, Graphis lacks a thalline exciple , which is a rim of tissue derived from the lichen thallus surrounding the apothecium. Instead, it has a true exciple , which is usually black, opaque, and well-developed. This exciple is sometimes marked by longitudinal grooves. [3]

Inside the apothecium, the hymenium (a spore-bearing layer) is colourless and does not react to staining with iodine (I-). Beneath this layer, the hypothecium can be either pale or dark, and it is relatively thin. The hamathecium , which supports the developing spores, consists of unbranched filaments called paraphyses. The spore-producing structures, the asci, typically contain up to eight spores. These asci are club-shaped to slightly cylindrical and release their spores through an apical split. The spores themselves are divided by transverse walls (septate) or have a muriform structure (multiple divisions), and they turn violet when stained with iodine as they mature. Initially colourless, these spores may darken to brown if they become over-mature. Graphis also produces conidia, which are asexual spores, within flask-shaped structures called pycnidia. The conidia are usually cylindrical to ellipsoidal and remain colourless. [3]

Chemically, some species of Graphis contain compounds known as β-orcinol depsidones. Additionally, older apothecia in certain species might react with potassium hydroxide solution (K+) to produce a purple colouration, indicating the presence of anthraquinones. [3]

Graphis can be distinguished from the genus Phaeographis by its colourless spores, which may become brown with age. Additionally, in the field, Graphis species may resemble Opegrapha species, but the latter can be differentiated by their distinctively structured asci and spore-bearing tissues. [3]

Habitat and distribution

Graphis has a cosmopolitan distribution, which includes most continents across the world. [4] This includes Florida in North America. [5] Ecologically, Graphis lichens are mostly found growing on bark, though they are occasionally found on rock. The genus is primarily distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few extending into temperate zones. [3]

Species

As accepted by Species Fungorum; [6]

Related Research Articles

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

Sarcographa is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It is estimated to contain 37 species. The genus was circumscribed by French botanist Antoine Laurent Apollinaire Fée in 1825.

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

Platythecium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It contains an estimated 27 species.

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

Platygramme is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae consisting of about 30 species. The genus was circumscribed by Antoine Laurent Apollinaire Fée in 1874.

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

Phaeographis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has an estimated 180 species.

Hemithecium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Vittore Benedetto Antonio Trevisan de Saint-Léon in 1853.

<i>Fissurina</i> Genus of fungi

Fissurina is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has about 160 species, most of which are found in tropical regions.

<i>Diorygma</i> Genus of lichens

Diorygma is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Franz Gerhard Eschweiler in 1824. Species of the genus are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Carbacanthographis is a genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed by German lichenologists Bettina Staiger and Klaus Kalb in 2002. An updated worldwide key to the genus was published in 2022 that added 17 new species. This revision allowed for further identification of undescribed species from other collections, and subsequently, 14 species were added in 2023 from the Amazonian lowland forests of Brazil and the Guianas.

<i>Acanthothecis</i> Genus of lichen

Acanthothecis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Frederick Edward Clements in 1909.

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

Myriotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae.

Chapsa is a genus of lichens in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Italian lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1860.

<i>Enterographa</i> Genus of lichen

Enterographa is a genus of lichens in the family Roccellaceae.

<i>Opegrapha</i> Genus of lichens in the family Opegraphaceae

Opegrapha is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Opegraphaceae. Species include:

<i>Astrothelium</i> Genus of lichens

Astrothelium is a large genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens in the family Trypetheliaceae. The genus is characterized by a corticate thallus and diverse ascomata structures, which can be simple, aggregated, or forming pseudostromata. Astrothelium is also notable for the carbonized walls of its ascomata, the so-called textura intricata arrangement of cells in these walls, and various forms of distoseptate, transparent spores.

<i>Coenogonium</i> Genus of lichen

Coenogonium is a genus of filamentous lichens in the monotypic family Coenogoniaceae. It has about 90 species. Most species are leaf-dwelling or grow on bark, although a few are known to grow on rocks under certain conditions, and some are restricted to growth on termite nests. The genus was circumscribed in 1820 by German naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.

<i>Allographa</i> Genus of lichen

Allographa is a genus of script lichens in the family Graphidaceae. It has nearly 200 species. Formally circumscribed in 1824 by François Fulgis Chevallier, Allographa was formerly included in Graphis, but was upgraded to generic status in 2018 by lichenologists Klaus Kalb and Robert Lücking, who used molecular phylogenetics analysis to show this group of species to constitute a distinct lineage in the Graphidaceae.

<i>Leiorreuma</i> Genus of lichens

Leiorreuma is a genus of script lichens in the family Graphidaceae. It has 18 species. The genus was circumscribed by Franz Gerhard Eschweiler in 1824, with Leiorreuma hepaticum assigned as the type species.

Pallidogramme is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has 8 species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens.

References

  1. ↑ "Graphis Adans. 1763". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  2. ↑ Wijayawardene, Nalin; Hyde, Kevin; Al-Ani, LKT; S, Dolatabadi; Stadler, Marc; Haelewaters, Danny; et al. (2020). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa". Mycosphere. 11: 1060–1456. doi: 10.5943/mycosphere/11/1/8 . hdl: 10481/61998 .
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Aptroot, A.; Weerakoon, G.; Cannon, P.; Coppins, B.; Sanderson, N.; Simkin, J. (2023). Ostropales: Graphidaceae, including the genera Allographa, Clandestinotrema, Crutarndina, Diploschistes, Fissurina, Graphis, Leucodecton, Phaeographis, Schizotrema, Thelotrema and Topeliopsis (PDF). Revisions of British and Irish Lichens. Vol. 36. pp. 8–9. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. ↑ "Graphis Adans., 1763". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  5. ↑ Seavey, Frederick; Seavey, Jean (2011). "The lichen genus Graphis (Graphidaceae) in Everglades National Park (Florida)". The Bryologist. 114 (4): 764–784. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-114.4.764.
  6. ↑ "Graphis - Search Page". www.speciesfungorum.org. Species Fungorum. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Zacarias Lepista; André Aptroot (March 2022). "Five further species of Graphis reported new to Europe from Portugal". The Lichenologist . 54 (2): 101–106. doi:10.1017/S0024282922000093.
  8. 1 2 Lücking, Robert; Álvaro-Alba, Wilson Ricardo; Moncada, Bibiana; Marín-Canchala, Norida Lucia; Tunjano, Sonia Sua; Cárdenas-López, Dairon (2023). "Lichens from the Colombian Amazon: 666 taxa including 28 new species and 157 new country records document an extraordinary diversity". The Bryologist. 126 (2): 242–303. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-126.2.242.
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