Testudinaceae
Testudinaceae Arx
Index Fungorum number: IF 81456; Facesoffungi number: FoF 08372, 20 species
Saprobic on dead or decaying wood, parasitic on fungi, pathogenic on humans, isolated from soil, decaying plant materials and woody substrata, in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata cleistothecial or perithecial, globose to subglobose, carbonaceous, dark brown to black, immersed, clypeate, papillate, ostiolate or lacking ostioles, periphysate. Peridium multi-layered, thick-walled cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium comprising branched, septate, cellular or trabeculate pseudoparaphyses, evanescent to persistent. Asci 8-spored, thick-walled, bitunicate, fissitunicate, clavate to cylindrical, short pedicellate, lacking an apical structure or with an ocular chamber, evanescent to persistent. Ascospores 1-seriate, relatively small, ellipsoidal, brown, or hyaline, 1-septate or multi-septate, or muriform, with or without ornamentation on spore surface, with or without furrows, verrucose to verruculose. Asexual morph: Undetermined.
Type genus: Testudina Bizz.
Notes: Testudinaceae was established by von Arx (1971) to accommodate Testudina, Neotestudina Lepidosphaeria, Argynna (transferred to Argynnaceae) and Pseudophaeotrichum (synonymized as Neotestudina). This family is characterized by astomatous ascomata with a dark peridium, bitunicate asci and dark 2-celled ascospores (about 10μm long) and placed in Pseudosphaeriales (= Pleosporales). Hamathecium of Testudinaceae can be cellular (e.g., Lepidosphaeria and Muritestudina) and trabeculate pseudoparaphyses (e.g., Halotestudina and Lojkania). Hawksworth & Booth (1974) considered Testudinaceae as a synonym of Zopfiaceae but based on SEM studies of the ascospores Hawksworth (1979) regarded Zopfiaceae as a synonym of Testudinaceae. Subsequently, Eriksson (1981) accepted both families and later Zopfiaceae was validated by Eriksson & Hawksworth (1992). The phylogenetic relationships of selected coprophilous Pleosporales were investigated by Kruys et al. (2006). The molecular studies revealed that Lepidosphaeria nicotiae, Neotestudina rosatii, Ulospora bilgramii and Verruculina enalia formed a strongly supported clade in Pleosporales (Suetrong et al. 2009). These genera are known to share similar morphological features, such as dark, 1-septate ascospores with or without germ-pores, and with or without ornamentation.
Verruculina enalia was earlier treated under Didymosphaeriaceae but multi-gene phylogenetic analyses by Schoch et al. (2006) and Suetrong et al. (2009) suggested it as a member of the Testudinaceae. Molecular studies by Suetrong et al. (2009) showed that Massarina ricifera, an obligate marine species, shares a sister group relationship with U. bilgramii, N. rosatii and Quintaria lignatilis formed a sister group to Testudinaceae with weak support. Hyde et al. (2013) also accepted Testudinaceae as a family in Dothideomycetes including five genera. A freshwater genus Angustospora was introduced by Li et al. (2016) in Testudinaceae based on its morphology and molecular phylogeny. Phookamsak & Hyde (2015) transferred Lojkania from Fenestellaceae to Testudinaceae based on its morphological similarities with Verruculina. Muritestudina was established by Wanasinghe et al. (2017) based on its distinct hyaline, ellipsoidal, muriform ascospores, in contrast to other genera and supported by multi-gene analyses. Currently, Testudinaceae comprises Angustospora, Halotestudina, Lepidosphaeria, Lojkania, Muritestudina, Neotestudina, Testudina, Ulospora and Verruculina. The identification of taxa from Testudinaceae was mainly based on a few uncertain morphological characters and limited molecular data. Hence this family requires fresh collections in order to provide molecular data and better taxonomic assignment.
References
Hawksworth DL, Booth C (1974) A revision of the genus Zopfia Rabenh. Mycol Pap 135:1–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0007-1536(75)80134-3
Hyde KD, Jones EBG, Liu JK, Ariyawansa H, Boehm E, Boonmee S, Braun U, Chomnunti P, Crous PW, Dai DQ, Diederich P, Dissanayake A, Doilom M, Doveri F, Hongsanan S, Jayawardena R, Lawrey JD, Li YM, Liu YX, Lücking R, Monkai J, Muggia L, Nelsen MP, Pang KL, Phookamsak R, Senanayake IC, Shearer CA, Suetrong S, Tanaka K, Thambugala KM, Wijayawardene NN, Wikee S, Wu HX, Zhang Y, Aguirre-Hudson B, Alias SA, Aptroot A, Bahkali AH, Bezerra JL, Bhat DJ, Camporesi E, Chukeatirote E, Gueidan C, Hawksworth DL, Hirayama K, De Hoog S, Kang JC, Knudsen K, Li WJ, Li XH, Liu ZY, Mapook A, McKenzie EHC, Miller AN, Mortimer PE, Phillips AJL, Raja HA, Scheuer C, Schumm F, Taylor JE, Tian Q, Tibpromma S, Wanasinghe DN, Wang Y, Xu JC, Yacharoen S, Yan JY, Zhang M (2013) Families of Dothideomycetes. Fungal Divers 63:1–313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-013-0263-4
Kruys Å, Eriksson OE, Wedin M (2006) Phylogenetic relationships of coprophilous Pleosporales (Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota), and the classification of some bitunicate taxa of unknown position. Mycol Res 110:527–536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mycres.2006.03.002
Li GJ, Hyde KD, Zhao RL, Hongsanan S, Abdel-Aziz FA, Abdel-Wahab MA, Alvarado P, Alves-Silva G, Ammirati JF, Ariyawansa HA, Baghela A, Bahkali AH, Beug M, Bhat DJ, Bojantchev D, Boonpratuang T, Bulgakov TS, Camporesi E, Boro MC, Ceska O, Chakraborty D, Chen JJ, Chethana KWT, Chomnunti P, Consiglio G, Cui BK, Dai DQ, Dai YC, Daranagama DA, Das K, Dayarathne MC, De Crop E, De Oliveira RJV, de Souza CAF, de Souza JI, Dentinger BTM, Dissanayake AJ, Doilom M, Drechsler-Santos ER, Ghobad-Nejhad M, Gilmore SP, Góes-Neto A, Gorczak M, Haitjema CH, Hapuarachchi KK, Hashimoto A, He MQ, Henske JK, Hirayama K, Iribarren MJ, Jayasiri SC, Jayawardena RS, Jeon SJ, Jerônimo GH, Jesus AL, Jones EBG, Kang JC, Karunarathna SC, Kirk PM, Konta S, Kuhnert E, Langer E, Lee HS, Lee HB, Li WJ, Li XH, Liimatainen K, Lima DX, Lin CG, Liu JK, Liu XZ, Liu ZY, Luangsa-ard JJ, Lücking R, Lumbsch HT, Lumyong S, Leaño EM, Marano A V., Matsumura M, McKenzie EHC, Mongkolsamrit S, Mortimer PE, Nguyen TTT, Niskanen T, Norphanphoun C, O’Malley MA, Parnmen S, Pawłowska J, Perera RH, Phookamsak R, Phukhamsakda C, Pires-Zottarelli CLA, Raspé O, Reck MA, Rocha SCO, de Santiago ALCMA, Senanayake IC, Setti L, Shang QJ, Singh SK, Sir EB, Solomon K V., Song J, Srikitikulchai P, Stadler M, Suetrong S, Takahashi H, Takahashi T, Tanaka K, Tang LP, Thambugala KM, Thanakitpipattana D, Theodorou MK, Thongbai B, Thummarukcharoen T, Tian Q, Tibpromma S, Verbeken A, Vizzini A, Vlasák J, Voigt K, Wanasinghe DN, Wang Y, Weerakoon G, Wen HA, Wen TC, Wijayawardene NN, Wongkanoun S, Wrzosek M, Xiao YP, Xu JC, Yan JY, Yang J, Da Yang S, Hu Y, Zhang JF, Zhao J, Zhou LW, Peršoh D, Phillips AJL, Maharachchikumbura SSN (2016) Fungal diversity notes 253–366: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions to fungal taxa. Fungal Divers 78:1–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-016-0366-9
Phookamsak R, Hyde KD (2015) Fenestellaceae. Mycosphere 6:402–413. https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/6/4/2
Schoch CL, Shoemaker RA, Seifert KA, Hambleton S, Spatafora JW, Crous PW (2006) A multigene phylogeny of the Dothideomycetes using four nuclear loci. Mycologia 98:1041–1052. https://doi.org/10.1080/15572536.2006.11832632
Suetrong S, Schoch CL, Spatafora JW, Kohlmeyer J, Volkmann-Kohlmeyer B, Sakayaroj J, Phongpaichit S, Tanaka K, Hirayama K, Jones EBG (2009) Molecular systematics of the marine Dothideomycetes. Stud Mycol 64:155–173S6. https://doi.org/10.3114/sim.2009.64.09
von Arx J (1971) Testudinaceae, a new family of ascomycetes. Persoonia 6:365–369
Wanasinghe D (2017) Saprobic Dothideomycetes in Thailand: Muritestudina gen. et sp. nov. (Testudinaceae) a new terrestrial pleosporalean ascomycete, with hyaline and muriform ascospores. Stud Fungi 2:219–234. https://doi.org/10.5943/sif/2/1/26
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