Lulworthiaceae Explained

The Lulworthiaceae are a family of marine fungi in the Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes.[1] Species in the family have a widespread distribution in both temperate and tropical oceans, and are typically found growing on submerged wood or on seaweed.[2] In 2000, Molecular analysis of several species of Lulworthia and Lindra led to the reassignment of their parent genera to the new order Lulworthiales in addition to the new family Lulworthiaceae.[3] In 2020, a large fungi study added more genera to the family.[4]

History and taxonomy

The type genus Lulworthia was originally described in 1916 by George Kenneth Sutherland to contain the species Lulworthia fucicola, a fungus found on the seaweed commonly known as the bladder wrack at Lulworth on the coast of Dorset, UK.[5] The fungus has since been collected several times from submerged wood, but never again from the original algal host; it was subsequently reported that specimens found on wood were morphologically different from those originally described growing on algae.[6] Since the original specimens had deteriorated beyond use, a holotype was designated, using submerged-wood specimens found in Chile in 1984.[7]

The genus Rostrupiella was created in 2007 to contain the species Rostrupiella danica, a Lulworthia-like species collected on driftwood found along the Danish coast and from the northwestern coast of the US.[8] thumb|right|Lulworthia fucicola was originally found on the algae Fucus vesiculosus

Genera

As accepted by Wijayawardene et al. 2020 (with amount of species per genus);[4]

Description

The ascomata, roughly spherical to cylindrical in shape, may be either embedded in or on the material to which the fruit body is attached. Atop the ascomata is a small rounded process with an opening (an ostiole) through which ascospores may be released. The brown- to black-colored ascomata can be either leathery (coriaceous) or dark-colored and readily broken (carbonaceous). The internal structure of the ascomata, the centrum, is at first filled with a transparent pseudoparenchyma (a type of tissue made of hyphae that are twisted and matted together) dissolves upon reaching maturity. The Lulworthiaceae have ascospores that are both filamentous, and transparent.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Lumbsch TH, Huhndorf SM . December 2007 . Outline of Ascomycota – 2007 . Myconet . 13 . 1–58 . The Field Museum, Department of Botany . Chicago, US . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090318003134/http://www.fieldmuseum.org/myconet/outline.asp . 18 March 2009 .
  2. Book: Cannon PF, Kirk PM . Fungal Families of the World . CABI. Wallingford . 2007 . 194–95 . 978-0-85199-827-5.
  3. 10.2307/3761504 . Kohlmeyer J, Spatafora JW, Volkmann-Kohlmeyer B . 2000 . Lulworthiales, a new order of marine Ascomycota . 3761504 . Mycologia . 92 . 3 . 453–58.
  4. 6 . Wijayawardene . Nalin . Hyde . Kevin . Laith Khalil Tawfeeq . Al-Ani . Somayeh . Dolatabadi . Stadler . Marc . Haelewaters . Danny . Tsurykau . Andrei . Mesic . Armin . Navathe . Sudhir . Papp . Viktor . Oliveira Fiuza . Patrícia . Vázquez . Víctor . Gautam . Ajay . Becerra . Alejandra G. . Ekanayaka . Anusha . K. C. . Rajeshkumar . Bezerra . Jadson . Matočec . Neven . Maharachchikumbura . Sajeewa . Suetrong . Satinee . 2020 . Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa . Mycosphere . 11 . 1060–1456 . 10.5943/mycosphere/11/1/8 . free. 10481/61998 . free .
  5. 10.1016/S0007-1536(14)80029-6 . Sutherland GK. . 1916 . Additional notes on marine pyrenomycetes . Transactions of the British Mycological Society . 5 . 257–63.
  6. Kholmeyer J, Volkmann-Kohlmeyer B . 2000 . Illustrated key to the filamentous higher marine fungi . Botanica Marina . 34 . 1–61. 10.1515/botm.1991.34.1.1 . 83745842 .
  7. 10.3852/mycologia.97.2.549 . Campbell J. . 2005 . Neotypification of Lulworthia fucicola . Mycologia . 97 . 2 . 549–51 . 16396361.
  8. 10.1515/BOT.2007.034 . Koch J, Pang KL, Jones EB . 2007 . Rostrupiella danica gen. et sp nov., a Lulworthia-like marine lignicolous species from Denmark and the USA . Botanica Marina. 50 . 5–6 . 294 - 301 . 86133897 .