Lentitheciaceae Explained

The Lentitheciaceae are a family of fungi in the order of Pleosporales. They are found world-wide (within China, Egypt, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi, Thailand, UK and Uzbekistan,^[1]) with the greatest contributions found in Europe and Australia.^[2]

In a phylogenetic study of Lophiostoma and Massarina species, Lentithecium was proposed in 2009 based on Lophiostoma fluvitale now called Lentithecium fluviatile . Lentitheciaceae is a well supported clade.^[3]

Lentitheciaceous taxa are saprobic (living on dead tissue) on herbaceous and woody plants having narrow peridia, fusiform to broadly cylindrical pseudoparaphyses (sterile, thread-like filaments), hyaline (glassy appearance) ascospores with 1–3-transverse septa and containing refractive globules, surrounded by a mucilaginous sheath or extended appendage-like sheaths and asexual morphs producing stagonospora-like or dendrophoma-like asexual morphs.^[4] They are found in terrestrial or aquatic habitats.^[1]

Taxonomy

Genera accepted by the GBIF include:

• Aquilomyces (5)
• Coenosphaeria
• Darksidea (17)
• Flavomyces (2)
• Halobyssothecium (2)
• Katumotoa (1)
• Keissleriella (54)
• Lentithecium (6)
• Murilentithecium (5)
• Neoophiosphaerella (2)
• Poaceascoma (7)
• Setoseptoria (11)
• Suttonomyces (3)
• Tingoldiago (4)
• Towyspora (1)
• Zopfinula (1)

Figures in brackets are approx. how many species per genus.^[2]

Bibliography

• Aveskamp. M.M.. de Gruyter. J.. Woudenberg. J.H.C.. Verkley. G.J.M.. Crous. P.W.. Highlights of the Didymellaceae: A polyphasic approach to characterise Phoma and related pleosporalean genera. Studies in Mycology. 2010. 65. 1–60. 10.3114/sim.2010.65.01. 20502538. 2836210.
• Zhang Y, Schoch CL, Fournier J, Crous PW, Gruyter J De, Woudenberg JHC, Hirayama K, Tanaka K, Pointing SB, Hyde KD. 2009. Multi-locus phylogeny of the Pleosporales: a taxonomic, ecological and evolutionary re-evaluation. Studies in Mycology 64: 85–102.

Notes and References

1. Xu . Li . Bao . Dan-Feng . Luo . Zong-Long . Su . Xi-Jun . Shen . Hong-Wei . Su . Hong-Yan . Lignicolous freshwater ascomycota from Thailand: Phylogenetic and morphological characterisation of two new freshwater fungi: Tingoldiago hydei sp. nov. and T. clavata sp. nov. from Eastern Thailand . MycoKeys . 2020 . 65 . 119–138. 10.3897/mycokeys.65.49769 . free . 32269482 . 7125235 .
2. Web site: Lentitheciaceae . www.gbif.org . 1 August 2022 . en.
3. E. B. Gareth Jones and Ka-Lai Pang (Editors)
4. Calabon . Mark Seasat . Gareth Jones . E.B. . Hyde . Kevin D. . Boonmee . Saranyaphat . Tibell . Sanja . Tibell . Leif . Pang . Ka-Lai . Phookamsak . Rungtiwa . Phylogenetic assessment and taxonomic revision of Halobyssothecium and Lentithecium (Lentitheciaceae, Pleosporales) . Mycological Progress . 2021 . 20 . 5 . 701–720. 10.1007/s11557-021-01692-x . free .