Tremella | |
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Gelatinous fruit body of Tremella mesenterica | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Tremellomycetes |
Order: | Tremellales |
Family: | Tremellaceae |
Genus: | Tremella Pers. (1801) |
Type species | |
Tremella mesenterica | |
Synonyms | |
Tremella is a genus of fungi in the family Tremellaceae. All Tremella species are parasites of other fungi and most produce anamorphic yeast states. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies), when produced, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi". Over 100 species of Tremella (in its wide sense) are currently recognized worldwide. One species, Tremella fuciformis , is commercially cultivated for food.
Tremella was one of the original genera created by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum of 1753. The name comes from the Latin tremere meaning "to tremble". [1] Linnaeus placed Tremella in the algae, including within it a variety of gelatinous growths, including seaweeds, cyanobacteria, and myxomycetes, as well as fungi. Subsequent authors added additional species to this mix, until Persoon revised Tremella in 1794 and 1801, repositioning the genus within the fungi. [2]
Persoon's reinterpretation of Tremella was sufficiently radical to be considered a separate genus (Tremella Pers.) from that originally created by Linnaeus (Tremella L.). [2] Tremella Pers. has now been conserved under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, with Tremella mesenterica as the type species. [3]
Molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has shown that Tremella (as previously understood) is polyphyletic (and hence artificial), with most species not closely related to the type. [4] [5] [6] [7] Accordingly, some species have been transferred to new genera and new families: Tremella foliacea and related species are now placed in the genus Phaeotremella within the family Phaeotremellaceae; Tremella encephala and related species are now placed in the genus Naematelia within the Naemateliaceae; Tremella moriformis and related species are now placed in the genus Pseudotremella within the Bulleraceae; and Tremella polyporina is now placed in the genus Carcinomyces within the Carcinomycetaceae. [8] Several other species groups have not yet been renamed, pending further research. [8]
More than 500 species have been described in Tremella, but most of these are old names either of doubtful application or for species later transferred to other genera. In its strict sense the genus Tremella now contains some 30-40 species, including the type Tremella mesenterica and the cultivated species T. fuciformis . [9]
Fruit bodies, when present, are gelatinous. In some species they are small (under 5 mm across) and pustular to pulvinate (cushion-shaped). In others they are much larger (up to 150 mm across) and may be variously lobed, cephaliform (like a brain, with folds and ridges), or foliose (with leaf-like or seaweed-like fronds). Many Tremella species, however, are hymenial parasites, producing spores within the fruit bodies of their hosts, and are only visible microscopically. [4]
Tremella species produce hyphae that are typically (but not always) clamped and have haustorial cells from which hyphal filaments seek out and penetrate the hyphae of the host. [10] The basidia are "tremelloid" (globose to ellipsoid, sometimes stalked, and vertically or diagonally septate), giving rise to long, sinuous sterigmata or epibasidia on which the basidiospores are produced. These spores are smooth, globose to ellipsoid, and germinate by hyphal tube or by yeast cells. Conidiophores are often present, producing conidiospores that are similar to yeast cells. [4]
Species are mainly parasitic on wood-rotting fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, [11] particularly on species that occur on dead attached branches. Hosts include members of the corticioid fungi and Dacrymycetales in the Basidiomycota and species of Diaporthe , other Sordariomycetes, and lichens in the Ascomycota. Some Tremella species parasitize the fruit bodies of their hosts, others parasitize the mycelium within the wood.
As a group, Tremella species occur worldwide, though individual species may have a more restricted distribution.
The list below includes species of Tremella (in the wide sense) that have recently been described or redescribed based on fruit bodies. Species based on yeasts are not included. Some additional older species may also be valid, but lack a modern description. The type locality (but not the wider distribution) is given for each species together with the host fungus, where known. Species belonging to Tremella in the strict sense are marked as such, as are those that have been transferred to new genera.
Tremella mesenterica is a common jelly fungus in the family Tremellaceae of the Agaricomycotina. The gelatinous, orange-yellow fruit body of the fungus, which can grow up to 7.5 cm (3 in) diameter, has a convoluted or lobed surface that is greasy or slimy when damp.
The Tremellomycetes are a class of dimorphic fungi in the Agaricomycotina. Some species have gelatinous basidiocarps or (microscopically) a sacculate parenthesome. There are six orders, 17 families, and 39 genera in the Tremellomycetes. Tremellomycetes include yeasts, dimorphic taxa, and species that form complex fruiting bodies. Tremellomycetes include some fungi that are human and animal pathogens in the genera Cryptococcus, Naganishia, Papiliotrema, and Trichosporon and some fungi that are cultivated for food in the genera Tremella and Naematelia.
The Tremellales are an order of fungi in the class Tremellomycetes. The order contains both teleomorphic and anamorphic species, most of the latter being yeasts. All teleomorphic species in the Tremellales are parasites of other fungi, though the yeast states are widespread and not restricted to hosts. Basidiocarps, when produced, are gelatinous.
The Hyaloriaceae are a family of fungi in the order Auriculariales. Species within the family have gelatinous basidiocarps that produce spores on septate basidia and, as such, were formerly referred to the "heterobasidiomycetes" or "jelly fungi". All appear to be saprotrophic, growing on dead wood or plant remains. Less than 30 species are currently included within the Hyaloriaceae, but the family has not been extensively researched.
The Cuniculitremaceae are a family of fungi in the order Tremellales. There are three genera in the family. Sterigmatosporidium polymorphum parasitizes other fungi growing in insect galleries in wood. It does not produce basidiocarps, but has septate basidia similar to those found in the genus Tremella. Most species are known only from their yeast states.
Phaeotremella is a genus of fungi in the family Phaeotremellaceae. All Phaeotremella species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states. Basidiocarps, when produced, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi". Fifteen or so species of Phaeotremella are currently recognized worldwide. Tremella sanguinea, shown to be a Phaeotremella species by DNA sequencing, is cultivated in China as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.
Naematelia is a genus of fungi in the family Naemateliaceae. All Naematelia species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states. When produced, basidiocarps, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi." Four species of Naematelia are currently recognized worldwide. One species, Naematelia aurantialba, is commercially cultivated for food.
Naematelia aurantia is a species of fungus producing yellow, frondose, gelatinous basidiocarps. It is widespread in north temperate regions and is parasitic on another species of fungus that grows on dead attached and recently fallen branches of broadleaf trees. It is commonly called golden ear in North America.
Pseudotremella is a genus of fungi in the family Bulleraceae. All Pseudotremella species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states. Basidiocarps, when produced, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi". Four species of Pseudotremella are currently recognized worldwide. Two of these species are, as yet, only known from their yeast states.
Carcinomyces is a genus of fungi in the order Tremellales. Species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states. Four species of Carcinomyces are recognized worldwide. The generic placement of a fifth species, Carcinomyces mycetophilus, is currently uncertain.
Tremella dysenterica is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces bright yellow, red-spotted, lobed to subfrondose, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on other fungi on dead branches of broad-leaved trees. It was originally described from Brazil and has been recorded elsewhere in the neotropics and in Africa.
Tremella fibulifera is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces soft, whitish, lobed to frondose, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on other fungi on dead branches of broad-leaved trees. It was originally described from Brazil.
Tremella brasiliensis is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces yellow, lobed to firmly foliaceous, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on other fungi on dead branches of broad-leaved trees. It was originally described from Brazil.
Tremella globispora is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces hyaline, pustular, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on pyrenomycetous fungi on dead herbaceous stems and wood. It was originally described from England.
Tremella roseolutescens is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces rose-pink to salmon, pustular, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on other fungi on dead attached branches of broad-leaved trees. It was originally described from Costa Rica.
Tremella salmonea is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces pale orange to salmon, foliose, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on other fungi on wood of broad-leaved trees. It was originally described from China.
Tremella armeniaca is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces orange to apricot, lobed, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on other fungi on dead branches of broad-leaved trees. It was originally described from Costa Rica.
Tremella coffeicolor is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces brown, lobed to foliaceous, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on other fungi on dead branches of broad-leaved trees. It was originally described from Bermuda, where it was collected as part of the Challenger expedition.
Tremella yokohamensis is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces white, foliaceous, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on other fungi on dead wood of broad-leaved trees. It was originally described from Japan.
Tremella exigua is a species of fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It produces small, dark, pustular, gelatinous basidiocarps and is parasitic on pyrenomycetous fungi on dead branches of trees and shrubs. It was originally described from France.