| Pyrenotrichaceae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Eurotiomycetes |
| Order: | Chaetothyriales |
| Family: | Pyrenotrichaceae Zahlbr. (1926) |
| Type genus | |
| Pyrenothrix | |
| Genera | |
The Pyrenotrichaceae are a small family of fungi in the order Chaetothyriales. [2] It contains two genera, and a total of six species. [3] The genus Pyrenothrix has two species of bark- or leaf-dwelling lichens, while Neophaeococcomyces has four species of saprobic fungi.
The family (originally spelled as Pyrenothricaceae) was proposed by the lichenologist Alexander Zahlbruckner in 1926 to contain the genera Pyrenothrix and Cyanoporina . [4] Because of the presence of perithecia in this Pyrenothrix species, Aino Henssen suggested that the genus should be in the order Pleosporales in 1964. [5] Ove Eriksson challenged Henssen's classification of Pyrenothrix in 1981, proposing instead that it was closely related to the sooty molds, specifically the family Coccodiniaceae. This repositioning aligns with the characteristics of a filamentous thallus and perithecia, placing Pyrenothrix within the order Chaetothyriales. [6] He classified Pyrenothrichaceae under the class Chaetothyriomycetes and Dothideomycetes incertae sedis in 2004. [7] In a 2005 publication, Herrera-Campos and colleagues, describing a second species of Pyrenothrix, proposed including the genus in Chaetothyriales based on the simple perithecial wall characteristic of the genus. Although DNA sequences for species of Pyrenotrichaceae are lacking, [8] the placement of the family in the Chaetothyriales has been later followed by subsequent authors. [9] Genus Cyanoporina, circumscribed to contain Cyanoporina granulosa in 1951, [10] is now considered to be of uncertain classification in the Pezizomycotina. [11] The second genus of the Pyrenotrichaceae, Neophaeococcomyces , was proposed in 2015. It contains four species of saprobic fungi that live on dead plant bark in terrestrial habitats. [12]
The Pyrenotrichaceae comprises lichens that are either corticolous (growing on bark) or foliicolous (growing on leaves). These lichens have a thallus made up of closely packed yet distinct filaments, each comprising unbranched or pseudo-branched photobiont threads (the photosynthetic part of the lichen) encased in a sheath of fungal hyphae. These hyphae are branched and interconnected, consisting of elongated, often curved cells that are pale brownish in colour and sometimes inflated at the ends. The photobiont in these lichens is cyanobacterial, a type of photosynthesizing bacteria. [3]
In terms of reproduction, the sexual morph of Pyrenotrichaceae is characterised by perithecioid ascomata, which are spore-producing structures that are either sessile (attached directly by the base) or immersed among the thallus filaments. These ascomata are typically spherical to pear-shaped and have a short neck, but lack any sort of hair (i.e., they are glabrous ). The opening of the ascomata, or ostiole, is not very distinct and contains long, hyaline (translucent) periphysoids (hair-like structures). The excipulum , or outer layer of the ascomata, is thin and made up of multiple layers of cells that vary in width and wall thickness, ranging from thin-walled and hyaline to thick-walled and heavily pigmented. There is no involucrellum , an additional protective layer found in some other lichens. [3]
Inside the ascomata, the structure known as the hamathecium , which is the tissue containing the spore-bearing cells, lacks paraphyses (sterile filaments). This tissue reacts positively to J and KI staining. The asci (spore-producing cells), are fissitunicate (having a two-layered wall that splits open to release the spores), broadly clavate to sac-like in shape, and do not react to J or KI tests, but their lumen (internal cavity) does turn yellow with iodine and pale yellow with potassium iodide. The ascospores produced by the asci typically number eight per ascus and have a transversal septate to muriform (divided into compartments) structure, with a colour ranging from pale to dark grayish-brown. [3]
The asexual morph of Pyrenotrichaceae, which refers to the part of the life cycle where reproduction does not involve the fusion of gametes, remains undetermined. [3]
Gloeoheppiaceae is a family of ascomycete fungi in the order Lichinales. The family contains ten species distributed amongst three genera. Most species are lichenised with cyanobacteria. Species in this family are mostly found in desert areas. Modern molecular phylogenetics analysis casts doubt on the phylogenetic validity of the family, suggesting a more appropriate placement of its species in the family Lichinaceae.
The Stictidaceae are a family of fungi in the order Ostropales. It has 30 genera and about 240 species.
Verrucariaceae is a family of lichens and a few non-lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichens have a wide variety of thallus forms, from crustose (crust-like) to foliose (bushy) and squamulose (scaly). Most of them grow on land, some in freshwater and a few in the sea. Many are free-living but there are some species that are parasites on other lichens, while one marine species always lives together with a leafy green alga.
Roccella is a genus of 23 species of lichens in the family Roccellaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1805, with Roccella fuciformis as the type species.
Gallaicolichen is a fungal genus in the division Ascomycota. The relationship of this taxon to other taxa within the division is unknown, and it has not yet been placed with certainty into any class, order, or family. This is a monotypic genus, containing the single species Gallaicolichen pacificus, a foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen.
Collariella bostrychodes is a fungal decomposer of lignin and carbohydrate in the family Chaetomiaceae commonly found in soil and dung. The fungus is distinguished by a darkened collar-like ostiole around the ostiolar pore, giving the fungus its name. The fungus is highly variable in shape and form, giving raise to the belief that there are two subclades in the species. The ascospores range from lemon-shaped to nearly spherical with slightly pointed ends. It can grow to be pale green and later turn pale bluish grey or olivaceous with age. The fungus produces the toxic secondary metabolite, chaetochromin.
Lecanographaceae is a family of mostly lichens in the order Arthoniales. The family was circumscribed in 2014, prompted by a molecular phylogenetic-based restructuring of the Arthoniales.
Teuvoa is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Megasporaceae. It was first classified by lichenologists Mohammad Sohrabi and Steven Leavitt in 2013, with Teuvoa uxoris asigned as the type species. This genus was delineated from the larger genus, Aspicilia, following a molecular phylogenetic analysis which revealed that the Aspicilia uxoris species group constituted a distinct lineage in the Megasporaceae. Initially containing three species, two additional species native to China were added in 2018. Teuvoa is characterised by its small ascospores and conidia, and the absence of secondary metabolites.
Hydropunctaria is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. The genus includes both aquatic and amphibious species, with members that colonise either marine or freshwater habitats. The type species, Hydropunctaria maura, was formerly classified in the large genus Verrucaria. It is a widely distributed species common to littoral zones. Including the type species, five Hydropunctaria lichens are considered marine species: H. adriatica, H. amphibia, H. aractina, H. orae, and H. oceanica.
Phylloblastia is a genus of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1921 by Finnish lichenologist Edvard August Vainio, with Phylloblastia dolichospora assigned as the type species.
Mastodia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Verrucariaceae. It has six species.
Thelenellaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi. It is the sole family in the monotypic order Thelenellales, and contains three genera and about 50 species.
Austrographa is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Roccellaceae. It has three species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by lichenologists Laurens Sparrius, John Elix, and Alan Archer, with Austrographa kurriminensis assigned as the type species. The genus had been published invalidly on two separate occasions. All three species in the genus were found in a mangrove stand in Queensland, Australia. The genus was discovered in Australia, and the name Austrographa reflects this.
Protothelenella is a genus of fungi in the family Protothelenellaceae. It contains 11 species, some of which form lichens. Protothelenella species have a crustose thallus with spherical to pear-shaped, dark brown to blackish perithecia. Microscopic characteristics of the genus include bitunicate asci with an amyloid tholus, and ascospores that are colourless and contain multiple internal partitions. Some species grow on acidic substrates including rocks, soil, bryophytes, plant detritus or rotten wood. Other species are lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling), growing on species of Solorina, Peltigera, Pseudocyphellaria, or Cladonia.
Aspiciliopsis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trapeliaceae. It has two species, both of which occur in the Southern Hemisphere.
Coniocarpon is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Arthoniaceae. It has eight species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens. This genus is distinct for its crystalline orange, red, and purple quinoid pigments in the ascomata that turn purple in potassium hydroxide solution, its colourless, transversely septate ascospores with large apical cells, and its rounded to lirellate ascomata.
Zwackhiomacromyces is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi in the family Xanthopyreniaceae. It has two species. The genus is distinguished by its black, pear-shaped fruiting bodies with large, nipple-shaped ostioles that have a granular surface, and a dark, multi-layered wall made up of hyphal cells forming a pseudoparenchymatous structure. The genus is closely related to the similarly named genus Zwackhiomyces.
Macroconstrictolumina is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trypetheliaceae. It has four species.
Phaeographopsis is a genus of script lichens in the family Graphidaceae. It has three species.