Pleosporales

Pleomassariaceae

Pleomassariaceae M.E. Barr, Mycologia 71(5): 949 (1979).

Index Fungorum number: IF 81634; Facesoffungi number: FoF 06430, 58 species.

 

Saprobic or parasitic on woody substrates or lichens in terrestrial environments. Sexual morph: Ascomata medium to large, solitary, scattered or in groups, superficial to immersed in or erumpent from the peridium of woody host, globose or depressed globose, ostiolate. Ostiole flattened, papillate, open via minute slit or a small conical swelling in the host. Peridium thickened at sides, thin at the base and at the apex, comprises of one to several cell layers. Hamathecium comprising narrow cellular pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, oblong, cylindrical or clavate, with a furcate pedicel and minute ocular chamber. Ascospores partially overlapping, obliquely 1–2-seriate, clavate, oblong to ellipsoidal, brown, mostly distoseptate, often euseptate, 1-septate to multi-septate or muriform, constricted at the septa, smooth-walled to verruculose, surrounded by a gelatinous sheath. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous or hyphomycetous, Beverwykella, Myxocyclus, Prosthemium are currently reported asexual morphs for the family. (Description from Hongsanan et al. 2020)

 

Type genus: Prosthemium Kunze

 

Notes: Pleomassariaceae was introduced with Pleomassaria as the type by Barr (1979) to include fungi characterized by distoseptate, dark brown ascospores and ascomatal walls which are thickened at sides and thin at the base (Hyde et al. 2013; Wijayawardene et al. 2014). After the initial introduction of Asteromassaria and Splanchnonema into the family (Barr 1979), many genera were included into or excluded from the family during past revisions based on host, morphology and asexual morph (Hawksworth 1985, Aptroot 1991, Barr 1993). Based on the morphological similarities excluding ascospore septation, Pleomassaria was treated as a synonym of Splanchnonema (Barr 1993), though it was not followed by many studies (Zhang et al. 2012). Molecular studies conducted by Zhang et al. (2009) placed Pleomassariaceae within Melanommataceae similar to the study by Tanaka et al. (2010). Subsequently Zhang et al. (2012) showed a well-supported monophyletic clustering of Pleomassaria siparia and four Prosthemium species basal to Melanommataceae. Hence, Pleomassariaceae was reinstated as a separate family in Pleosporales. Lumbsch & Huhndorf (2010) accepted Lichenopyrenis, Peridiothelia, Pleomassaria, Splanchnonema and Asteromassaria in Pleomassariaceae; however, the latter was excluded by Hyde et al. (2013). Wijayawardene et al. (2018) accepted seven genera in the family, Beverwykella, Lichenopyrenis, Myxocyclus, Peridiothelia, Prosthemium (previously known as Pleomassaria) Pseudotrichia and Splanchnonema. Pleomassariaceae consists of both sexual and asexual morphs. The asexual morphs include both hyphomycetous (Beverwykella) and coelomycetous (Myxocyclus and Prosthemium) taxa. Long before the inclusion of molecular phylogeny in fungal identification, doubts arose on the connection between Pleomassaria siparia and Prosthemium betulinum based on observations of the two spore types in the same host sites (Winter 1887; Allescher 1903). Hantula et al. (1998) confirmed P. betulinum as the asexual morph of P. siparia. According to International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (McNeil et al. 2012), Wijayawardene et al. (2014) and Rossman et al. (2015) proposed to adopt the older asexual typified name Prosthemium as the generic name over the younger sexual name Pleomassaria. Even though Prosthemiaceae (1847) was validated before Pleomassariaceae (1979), it was proposed to conserve the family name Pleomassariaceae to maintain the nomenclatural stability rather than to adopt the long forgotten asexual family name Prosthemiaceae. This is because the name Prosthemiaceae has never been used in fungal classification since its introduction. (Notes from Hongsanan et al. 2020)

 

References

Allescher A (1903) Die Pilze Deutschlands, Oesterreichs und der Schweiz. 7. Abth. Fungi Imperfecti: GefaX rbt-sporige Sphaerioideen, sowie Nectrioideen, Leptostromaceen, Excipulaceen und Familien der Ordnung Melanconieen. Dr. L. Rabenhorst’s Kryptogamenflora von Deutschland, Oesterreich und der Schweiz. Band 1. Aufl. 2. Verlag von Eduard Kummer: Leipzig

Aptroot A (1991) A monograph of the Pyrenulaceae (excluding Anthracothecium and Pyrenula) and the Requienellaceae, with notes on the Pleomassariaceae, the Trypetheliaceae and Mycomicrothelia (lichenized and non-lichenized Ascomycetes). Bibli Lichenol 44:1–178

Barr ME (1979) On the Massariaceae in North America. Mycotaxon 9:17–37

Barr ME (1993) Notes on the Pleomassariaceae. Mycotaxon 49:129–142

Hantula J, Hallaksela AM, Kurkela T (1998) Relationship between Prosthemium betulinum and Pleomassaria siparia. Mycol Res 102:1509–1512

Hawksworth D, Boise J (1985) Some additional species of Astrosphaeriella, with a key to the members of the genus. Sydowia 38:114–124

Hongsanan S, Hyde KD, Phookamsak R, Wanasinghe DN, McKenzie EHC, Sarma V V., Boonmee S, Lücking R, Bhat DJ, Liu NG, Tennakoon DS, Pem D, Karunarathna A, Jiang SH, Jones EBG, Phillips AJL, Manawasinghe IS, Tibpromma S, Jayasiri SC, Sandamali DS, Jayawardena RS, Wijayawardene NN, Ekanayaka AH, Jeewon R, Lu YZ, Dissanayake AJ, Zeng XY, Luo ZL, Tian Q, Phukhamsakda C, Thambugala KM, Dai DQ, Chethana KWT, Samarakoon MC, Ertz D, Bao DF, Doilom M, Liu JK, Pérez-Ortega S, Suija A, Senwanna C, Wijesinghe SN, Konta S, Niranjan M, Zhang SN, Ariyawansa HA, Jiang HB, Zhang JF, Norphanphoun C, de Silva NI, Thiyagaraja V, Zhang H, Bezerra JDP, Miranda-González R, Aptroot A, Kashiwadani H, Harishchandra D, Sérusiaux E, Aluthmuhandiram JVS, Abeywickrama PD, Devadatha B, Wu HX, Moon KH, Gueidan C, Schumm F, Bundhun D, Mapook A, Monkai J, Chomnunti P, Suetrong S, Chaiwan N, Dayarathne MC, Yang J, Rathnayaka AR, Bhunjun CS, Xu JC, Zheng JS, Liu G, Feng Y, Xie N (2020) Refined families of Dothideomycetes: Dothideomycetidae and Pleosporomycetidae. Mycosphere 11:1553–2107

Hyde KD, Jones EBG, Liu J-K, Ariyawansa H et al. (2013) Families of Dothideomycetes. Fungal Divers 63: 1–313.

Lumbsch HT, Huhndorf SM (2010) Outline of Ascomycota 2009. Myconet 14:1–64

McNeill J, Barrie FR, Buck WR, Turland N (eds) (2012) International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code) adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical2087 Congress Melbourne, Australia, July 2011 [Regnum Vegetabile no. 154.] Ruggell: A.R.G. Gantner Verlag.

Rossman AY, Crous PW, Hyde KD, Hawksworth DL et al. (2015) Recommended names for pleomorphic genera in Dothideomycetes. IMA Fungus 6:507–523

Tanaka K, Meľnik VA, Kamiyama M, Hirayama K, Shirouzu T (2010) Molecular phylogeny of two coelomycetous fungal genera with stellate conidia, Prosthemium and Asterosporium, on Fagales trees. Botany 88:1057–1071

Wijayawardene NN, Camporesi E, Bhat DJ, Song Y et al. (2014) Macrodiplodiopsis in Lophiostomataceae, Pleosporales. Phytotaxa 176:192–200

Wijayawardene NN, Hyde KD, Lumbsch HT, Liu JK, Maharachchikumbura SSN, Ekanayaka AH, Tian Q, Phookamsak R (2018) Outline of Ascomycota: 2017. Fungal Divers 88:167–263

Winter G (1887) Ascomyceten. Rabenhorst’s Kryptogamen-Flora 1:1–928

Zhang Y, Crous PW, Schoch CL, Hyde KD (2012) Pleosporales. Fungal Divers 53:1–221

Zhang Y, Schoch CL, Fournier J, Crous PW et al. (2009) Multi-locus phylogeny of the Pleosporales: a taxonomic, ecological and evolutionary re-evaluation. Stud Mycol 64:85–102

 

Recent Genus

1
Neochlamydotubeufia
Neohelicomyces

Recent Species

Neohelicomyces submersus
Neohelicomyces hyalosporus
Neohelicomyces grandisporus