Melanotopelia

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Melanotopelia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Graphidales
Family: Graphidaceae
Genus: Melanotopelia
Lumbsch & Mangold (2008)
Type species
Melanotopelia toensbergii
(Kantvilas & Vězda) Lumbsch & Mangold (2008)
Species

M. africana
M. blepharostoma
M. rugosa
M. toensbergii

Contents

Melanotopelia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens. [1] [2] This genus includes species characterised by dark pigmentation in their exciple (a ring of tissue encircling their fruiting bodies), non-amyloid ascospores , and specific secondary metabolites.

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed in 2008 by the lichenologists H. Thorsten Lumbsch and Armin Mangold, with M. toensbergii assigned as the type species. The name Melanotopelia comes from the Greek prefix melano- (meaning very dark), which refers to the dark pigmentation of the true exciple, and the genus Topelia (family Gyalectaceae), which it superficially resembles. [3] The type was originally described as a member of the genus Topeliopsis toensbergii in 2000. [4]

Melanotopelia was established to address certain morphological and chemical characteristics that distinguished it from other genera within its family. Previous studies on the genus Topeliopsis had revealed notable inconsistencies in its circumscription. Initially described to accommodate species with specific ascomata features and spore characteristics, Topeliopsis was found to be heterogeneous. Some species, such as T. rugosa and T. toensbergii, showed unique traits that set them apart, such as dark pigmented layers in the proper exciple, non-amyloid ascospores, and the presence of depsidones. [3]

Subsequent molecular phylogenetics analyses supported the exclusion of these deviating species from Topeliopsis. The detailed morphological and chemical differences, along with DNA sequence data, demonstrated the need for a distinct genus to house these outliers. Consequently, the new genus Melanotopelia was described. [3]

Description

Melanotopelia is a genus of crustose lichens characterised by a thin, sometimes barely noticeable thallus covered by a delicate epinecral layer . The thallus lacks a visible prothallus and contains a trentepohlioid photobiont, which is a type of green alga. [3]

The apothecia (fruiting bodies) are sessile (attached directly by their base without a stalk) and can be subglobose (almost spherical) or barrel-shaped. Initially, they are closed but later open by a terminal pore. These apothecia measure between 0.3 and 1.0 mm in diameter and have a somewhat toothed margin. The discs are dark brown to blackish and deeply urn-shaped. The true exciple (outer layer of the apothecium) is cup-shaped, dark brown to black-brown, and features an internal, hyaline (translucent), amyloid layer at the top with lateral paraphyses (sterile filamentous structures). [3]

The hypothecium , which is the tissue layer below the hymenium (spore-bearing layer), is hyaline. The hymenium itself is tall, ranging from 150 to 350  μm, hyaline, and non-amyloid. Paraphyses are simple, straight, and fused together without thickened tips. The asci (spore sacs) are cylindrical, non-amyloid, and of the Ostropales type, typically containing 1 to 4 spores. [3]

The ascospores are ellipsoid, hyaline, and have a true muriform (brick-like) structure. They measure 75 to 180 μm in length and 20 to 40 μm in width. These spores are thin-walled, sometimes indistinctly surrounded by a halo ( halonate ), and turn reddish when treated with iodine. Pycnidia, which are asexual reproductive structures, are unknown for this genus. In terms of chemistry, Melanotopelia species produce depsidones, particularly the stictic acid chemosyndrome or protocetraric acid. [3]

Species

Related Research Articles

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

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Lithoglypha is a fungal genus in the family Acarosporaceae. It is monotypic, containing the single species Lithoglypha aggregata, a saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen found in South Africa.

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

Nadvornikia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. Species in the genus are corticolous (bark-dwelling) and crustose.

Schizotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2009 by Armin Mangold and H. Thorsten Lumbsch.

Ocellularia upretii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in India.

<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.

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.

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Topeliopsis acutispora is a species of crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in New South Wales and southern Queensland (Australia), where it grows on bryophytes.

Austrotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It is primarily found in the Australian-Southeast Asian region. The genus is characterized by small, pore-like apothecia with a double margin, faintly amyloid ascospores, and stictic acid chemistry. Austrotrema species grow on tree bark and have a continuous thallus with a cortex that is prosoplectenchymatous–featuring densely packed, filamentous fungal hyphae that run parallel to the surface of the lichen, creating a compact and firm texture. The genus is closely related to Thelotrema and Leucodecton, but can be distinguished from them based on molecular phylogenetic data, specific morphological traits, and its secondary chemistry. Currently, Austrotrema comprises three species.

Asteristion is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has seven species. Previously considered a synonym of either Phaeotrema or Thelotrema, molecular evidence led to its resurrection as a distinct genus. Asteristion lichens are corticolous (bark-dwelling), featuring a continuous thallus with a loose to hardened cortex and a photobiont layer containing calcium oxalate crystals. The ascomata, or fruiting bodies, are characterized by their large, often chroodiscoid appearance and the presence of distinct periphysoids. The secondary chemistry of these lichens includes major concentrations of stictic acid and minor to trace amounts of associated substances.

Xalocoa is a single-species fungal genus in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by lichenologists Ekaphan Kraichak, Robert Lücking, and H. Thorsten Lumbsch. It contains Xalocoa ocellata, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen that was originally described by Elias Magnus Fries in 1831.

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.

Glyphis frischiana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is distinguished by its large ascospores, single-spored asci, and the presence of stictic acid as a major metabolite. Found on the trunk of Eucalyptus trees in Cameroon, it is similar in appearance to Glyphis atrofusca but can be distinguished by these key characteristics.

Ocellularia vizcayensis is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is known from a single collection made in Luzon, Philippines. The lichen thallus is a white, irregularly structured, areolate surface with a layer that includes a photosynthetic partner, both containing large calcium oxalate crystals. Its fruiting bodies are either embedded or protruding, round, with very narrow openings, and contain large, oblong, colorless spores that turn violet-blue when stained with iodine.

Tricharia nigriuncinata is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. It is found in East Africa.

Crutarndina is a monotypic fungal genus in the family Graphidaceae. It contains the single species Crutarndina petractoides, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen.

<i>Mangoldia</i> Genus of lichens

Mangoldia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the subfamily Graphidoideae of the family Graphidaceae. It contains four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichens.

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. ↑ "Melanotopelia". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  2. ↑ Wijayawardene, N.N.; Hyde, K.D.; Dai, D.Q.; Sánchez-García, M.; Goto, B.T.; Saxena, R.K.; et al. (2022). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021". Mycosphere. 13 (1): 53–453 [159]. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2. hdl: 1854/LU-8754813 .
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mangold, A.; Martín, M.P.; Kalb, K.; Lücking, R.; Lumbsch, H.T. (2008). "Molecular data show that Topeliopsis (Ascomycota, Thelotremataceae) is polyphyletic". The Lichenologist. 40 (1): 39–46. doi:10.1017/S0024282908007366.
  4. ↑ Kantvilas, Gintaras; Vězda, Antonín (2000). "Studies on the lichen family Thelotremataceae in Tasmania. The genus Chroodiscus and its relatives". The Lichenologist. 32 (4): 325–357. doi:10.1006/lich.2000.0274.
  5. ↑ Sérusiaux, E.; Brand, A.M.; Fischer, E.; Killmann, D.; van den Boom, P.P.G.; Ertz, D. (2009). "A new species of Melanotopelia (Graphidaceae) from Africa" (PDF). The Lichenologist. 41 (3): 243–247. doi:10.1017/S0024282909008718.
  6. ↑ Lumbsch, H.T.; Divakar, P.K.; Messuti, M.I.; Mangold, A.; Lücking, R. (2010). "A survey of thelotremoid lichens (Ostropales, Ascomycota) in Subantarctic regions excluding Tasmania". The Lichenologist. 42 (2): 203–224. doi:10.1017/S0024282910000113.
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