''Abrothallus'' is a genus of

lichenicolous fungi A lichenicolous fungus is a parasitic fungus that only lives on lichen as the host. A lichenicolous fungus is not the same as the fungus that is the component of the lichen, which is known as a lichenized fungus. They are most commonly specific to ...

. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Abrothallaceae, which itself is the sole taxon in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Abrothallales.

Taxonomy

The genus was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

by Italian botanist Giuseppe De Notaris in 1849. The classification of the genus in either family or order was uncertain until

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis revealed the group as an independent

lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populati ...

in the class

Dothideomycetes Dothideomycetes is the largest and most diverse class of ascomycete fungi. It comprises 11 orders 90 families, 1300 genera and over 19,000 known species. Traditionally, most of its members were included in the loculoascomycetes, which is not par ...

. Both the family and the order were circumscribed in 2013 by Sergio Pérez-Ortega and

Ave Suija Ave Suija (born 16 April 1969) is an Estonian lichenologist. The lichenicolous fungus A lichenicolous fungus is a parasitic fungus that only lives on lichen as the host. A lichenicolous fungus is not the same as the fungus that is the component ...

. In 2012 Mikhail Zhurbenko proposed the genus ''Epinephroma'' to contain ''E. kamchatica''; later analysis showed it to be the

anamorph In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota: *Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body. *Anamorph: an ase ...

of an ''Abrothallus'' species, and now ''Epinephroma'' is placed in synonymy with ''Abrothallus''. Other synonyms are ''Abrothallomyces'', ''Phymatopsis'', and ''Pseudo-lecidea''.

Description

There are several morphological characteristics help define the genus ''Abrothallus''. These include: spherical (or nearly so) ascomata without a margin or well-defined edge that are sometimes dusted with golden or green pruina; bitunicate

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

(i.e., with two functional ascal wall layers) that have four to eight ascospores; brown, 2- to 4-celled, warted asymmetric ascospores;

paraphyses Paraphyses are erect sterile filament-like support structures occurring among the reproductive apparatuses of fungi, ferns, bryophytes and some thallophytes. The singular form of the word is paraphysis. In certain fungi, they are part of the fe ...

that are ramified- anastomosed; and the presence of an epihymenium (the uppermost layer of the

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some ...

) with granulose pigments that often dissolve in potassium hydroxide.

Species

*'' Abrothallus acetabuli'' – parasitic on '' Parmelia acetabulum''; from Europe *'' Abrothallus boomii'' *'' Abrothallus brattii'' *'' Abrothallus bryoriarum'' *'' Abrothallus caerulescens'' *'' Abrothallus canariensis'' *'' Abrothallus cetrariae'' *'' Abrothallus cladoniae'' *'' Abrothallus curreyi'' – New Zealand *'' Abrothallus doliiformis'' *'' Abrothallus eriodermae'' *'' Abrothallus ertzii'' *'' Abrothallus etayoi'' *'' Abrothallus granulatae'' – parasitic on '' Pseudocyphellaria granulata''; from Argentina *''

Abrothallus halei ''Abrothallus halei'' is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Abrothallaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 2010 by lichenologists Sergio Pérez-Ortega, Ave Suija, David Leslie Hawksworth, and Rolf Santesson. The t ...

'' – parasitic on ''

Lobaria quercizans ''Lobaria quercizans'' or ''Ricasolia quercizans,'' commonly known as the smooth lungwort, is a macrolichen in the family Peltigeraceae. It forms large, smooth, grey (pale green when wet) growths that often have abundant red-brown apothecia. D ...

'' and '' L. pulmonaria''; from Europe and North America *'' Abrothallus heterodermiicola'' *'' Abrothallus hypotrachynae'' *'' Abrothallus kamchatica'' *'' Abrothallus lobariae'' *'' Abrothallus macrosporus'' – South America *'' Abrothallus microspermus'' *'' Abrothallus nephromatis'' *'' Abrothallus niger'' – Ecuador *''

Abrothallus parmeliarum ''Abrothallus parmeliarum'' is a species of lichenicolous fungus. It grows on the thallus and apothecia of ''Parmelia'' species. It was first described scientifically by Norwegian botanist Søren Christian Sommerfelt in 1826. In 2018, a proposal ...

'' *'' Abrothallus parmotrematis'' *'' Abrothallus peyritschii'' *'' Abrothallus pezizicola'' *'' Abrothallus prodiens'' *'' Abrothallus prodiens'' *'' Abrothallus prodiens'' *'' Abrothallus psoromatis'' *'' Abrothallus puntilloi'' *'' Abrothallus ramalinae'' – Seychelles *'' Abrothallus santessonii'' *'' Abrothallus secedens'' – commensalistic on species of '' Pseudocyphellaria''; from Argentina and Kenya *'' Abrothallus stereocaulorum'' *'' Abrothallus stictarum'' – Colombia *'' Abrothallus stroblii'' *'' Abrothallus subhalei'' *'' Abrothallus suecicus'' *'' Abrothallus teloschistis'' *'' Abrothallus tulasnei'' – parasitic on ''

Xanthoparmelia somloensis ''Xanthoparmelia'' (commonly known as green rock shields or rock-shield lichens) is a genus of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ''Xanthoparmelia'' is ...

''; from Canada *'' Abrothallus usneae'' *'' Abrothallus welwitschii''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4669602, from2=Q29476615, from3=Q27973071 * Dothideomycetes genera Lichenicolous fungi Taxa named by Giuseppe De Notaris Taxa described in 1845