The Agaricomycetes are a
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
of
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
in the division
Basidiomycota
Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...
. The
taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
is roughly identical to that defined for the Homobasidiomycetes (alternatively called holobasidiomycetes) by Hibbett & Thorn,
[ with the inclusion of ]Auriculariales
The Auriculariales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. Species within the order were formerly referred to the "heterobasidiomycetes" or "jelly fungi", since many have gelatinous basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that produce spores on ...
and Sebacinales
The Sebacinales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. Taxa have a widespread distribution and are mostly terrestrial, many forming mycorrhizas with a wide variety of plants, including orchids
Orchids are plants that belong to ...
. It includes not only mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
-forming fungi, but also most species placed in the deprecated taxa Gasteromycetes
The gasteroid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota. Species were formerly placed in the obsolete class Gasteromycetes Fr. (literally "stomach fungi"), or the equally obsolete order Gasteromycetales Rea, because they produce spores insi ...
and Homobasidiomycetes.[ Within the subdivision ]Agaricomycotina
The subdivision Agaricomycotina, also known as the hymenomycetes, is one of three taxa of the fungal division Basidiomycota (fungi bearing spores on basidia). The Agaricomycotina contain some 20,000 species, and about 98% of these are in the cla ...
, which already excludes the smut and rust
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...
fungi, the Agaricomycetes can be further defined by the exclusion of the classes Tremellomycetes
The Tremellomycetes are a class of dimorphic fungi in the Agaricomycotina. Some species have gelatinous basidiocarps (fruiting bodies) or (microscopically) a sacculate parenthesome. There are six orders, 17 families, and 39 genera in the Tremel ...
and Dacrymycetes
The Dacrymycetes are a class of fungi in the Basidiomycota. The class currently contains the single order Dacrymycetales, with a second proposed order Unilacrymales now treated at the family level. The order contains four families and has a cosmo ...
, which are generally considered to be jelly fungi
Jelly fungi are a paraphyletic group of several heterobasidiomycete fungal orders from different classes of the subphylum Agaricomycotina: Tremellales, Dacrymycetales, Auriculariales and Sebacinales. These fungi are so named because their ...
. However, a few former "jelly fungi", such as ''Auricularia
''Auricularia'' is a genus of fungi in the family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maint ...
'', are classified in the Agaricomycetes. According to a 2008 estimate, Agaricomycetes include 17 orders
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 ...
, 100 families
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
, 1147 genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
, and about 21000 species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
.[ Modern ]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 ...
analyses have been since used to help define several new orders in the Agaricomycetes: Amylocorticiales
Amylocorticiales is an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order was circumscribed in 2010 to contain mostly resupinate (crust-like) forms that have been referred to genera '' Anomoporia'', ''Amyloathelia'', '' Amylocorticiellum'', ...
, Jaapiales
''Jaapia'' is a genus in the monotypic family Jaapiaceae and order Jaapiales. The genus was first described by Italian mycologist Giacomo Bresadola in 1911, and contains two widely distributed species, '' J. argillacea'' and '' J. ochro ...
, Stereopsidales
The Stereopsidales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. It was first described in 2014 to contain the genera ''Stereopsis'', which was until then classified in the order Polyporales, and '' Clavulicium'', which was until then cl ...
, and Lepidostromatales
Lepidostromatales is an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. It is the only known order of basidiomycete fungi composed entirely of lichenized members. Morphologically, the fruiting bodies of all species are clavarioid. Six species are ...
.
Classification
Although morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
* Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
* Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
of the mushroom or fruit body
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
(basidiocarp) was the basis of early classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood.
Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes.
It may also refer to:
Business, organizat ...
of the Agaricomycetes,[ this is no longer the case. As an example, the distinction between the '']Gasteromycetes
The gasteroid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota. Species were formerly placed in the obsolete class Gasteromycetes Fr. (literally "stomach fungi"), or the equally obsolete order Gasteromycetales Rea, because they produce spores insi ...
'' (including puffball
Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that bursts on impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores when mature. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including ''Calvatia'', ''Ca ...
s) and ''Agaricomycetes'' (most other agaric
An agaric () is a type of fungus fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. In the UK, agarics are called "mushrooms ...
mushrooms) is no longer recognized as a natural one—various puffball species have apparently evolved independently from agaricomycete fungi. However, most mushroom guide books still group the puffballs or gasteroid forms separate from other mushrooms because the older Friesian classification is still convenient for categorizing fruit body forms. Similarly, modern classifications divide the gasteroid order Lycoperdales
The Lycoperdales are a now outdated order of fungi. The order included some well-known types such as the giant puffball, the earthstars, and other tuberous fungi. They were defined as having epigeous basidiomes, a hymenium present, one to three ...
between Agaricales
The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, alo ...
and Phallales
The Phallales are an order of fungi in the subclass Phallomycetidae. The order contains two families: the Claustulaceae, and the Phallaceae, which, according to a 2008 estimate, collectively contain 26 genera and 88 species.
See also
* Lis ...
.
Features
All members of the class produce basidiocarps
In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not ...
which range in size from tiny cups a few millimeters across to a giant polypore
Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polyp ...
(''Phellinus ellipsoideus
''Phellinus ellipsoideus'' (formerly ''Fomitiporia ellipsoidea'') is a species of polypore fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae, a specimen of which produced the largest fungal fruit body ever recorded. Found in China, the fruit bodies produc ...
'') greater than several meters across and weigh up to .[ The group also includes what are arguably the largest and oldest individual organisms on earth: the ]mycelium
Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrate (biology), substrates. A typical single ...
of one individual '' Armillaria gallica'' has been estimated to extend over with a mass of and an age of 1,500 years.[
]
Ecology
Nearly all species are terrestrial (a few are aquatic), occurring in a wide range of environments where most function as decayers, especially of wood. However, some species are pathogenic or parasitic
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...
, and yet others are symbiotic
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
(i.e., mutualistic), these including the important ectomycorrhizal symbionts of forest trees. General discussions on the forms and life cycles of these fungi are developed in the article on mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
s, in the treatments of the various orders
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 ...
(links in table at right), and in individual species accounts.
Evolution
A study of 5,284 species with a backbone phylogeny based on 104 genomes[Varga T, Krizsán K, Földi C, Dima B, Sánchez-García M, Sánchez-Ramírez S, Szöllősi GJ, Szarkándi JG, Papp V, Albert L, Andreopoulos W, Angelini C, Antonín V, Barry KW, Bougher NL, Buchanan P, Buyck B, Bense V, Catcheside P, Chovatia M, Cooper J, Dämon W, Desjardin D, Finy P, Geml J, Haridas S, Hughes K, Justo A, Karasiński D, Kautmanova I, Kiss B, Kocsubé S6, Kotiranta H, LaButti KM, Lechner BE, Liimatainen K, Lipzen A, Lukács Z, Mihaltcheva S, Morgado LN, Niskanen T, Noordeloos ME, Ohm RA, Ortiz-Santana B, Ovrebo C, Rácz N, Riley R, Savchenko A, Shiryaev A, Soop K, Spirin V, Szebenyi C, Tomšovský M, Tulloss RE, Uehling J, Grigoriev IV, Vágvölgyi C, Papp T, Martin FM, Miettinen O, Hibbett DS, Nagy LG (2019) Megaphylogeny resolves global patterns of mushroom evolution. Nat Ecol Evol ] has suggested the following dates of evolution:
Agaricomycetidae
Agaricomycetidae is a subclass of fungi, in the division Basidiomycota. The name Agaricomycetidae had previously been named by Marcel Locquin in 1984, but his publication did not contain a Latin diagnosis and it is therefore invalid under the ...
~ (–)
Cantharellales (–)
Agaricales
The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, alo ...
(-)
Hymenochaetales (–)
Boletales
The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. ...
(–)
Fossil record
The fruit bodies of Agaricomycetes are extremely rare in the fossil record
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
, and the class does not yet pre-date the Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
(146–100 Ma). The oldest Agaricomycetes fossil, dating from the lower Cretaceous (130–125 Ma) is '' Quatsinoporites''. It is a fragment of a poroid fruit body with features that suggest it could be a member of the family Hymenochaetaceae
The ''Hymenochaetaceae'' are a family of fungi in the order Hymenochaetales. The family contains several species that are implicated in many diseases of broad-leaved and coniferous trees, causing heart rot, canker and root diseases, and also es ...
. Based on molecular clock
The molecular clock is a figurative term for a technique that uses the mutation rate of biomolecules to deduce the time in prehistory when two or more life forms diverged. The biomolecular data used for such calculations are usually nucleoti ...
analysis, the Agaricomycetes are estimated to be about 290 million years old.
Phylogeny
Modern molecular phylogenetics
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 ...
suggest the following relationships:
Genera ''incertae sedis''
There are many genera in the Agaricomycetes that have not been classified in any order or family. These include:
*'' Akenomyces''
*'' Aldridgea''
*'' Anixia''
*'' Arrasia''
*'' Arthrodochium''
*'' Arualis''
*'' Atraporiella''
*'' Cenangiomyces''
*'' Ceraceopsis''
*'' Corticomyces''
*'' Cruciger''
*'' Dendrosporomyces''
*'' Ellula''
*'' Fibulochlamys''
*'' Fibulocoela''
*'' Fibulotaeniella''
*'' Geotrichopsis''
*'' Gloeoradulum''
*'' Gloeosynnema''
*'' Glomerulomyces''
*'' Glutinoagger''
*'' Grandinia''
*'' Granulocystis''
*'' Hallenbergia''
*'' Hyphobasidiofera''
*'' Hypolyssus''
*'' Intextomyces''
*'' Korupella''
*'' Minostroscyta''
*'' Mylittopsis''
*''Odonticium
''Odonticium'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Rickenellaceae.
The genus was first described by Erast Parmasto in 1968.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species:
* ''Odonticium romellii'' (S.Lundell) Parmasto
References ''
*'' Pagidospora''
*'' Peniophorella''
*'' Phlyctibasidium''
*'' Pseudasterodon''
*'' Purpureocorticium'' S.H.Wu (2017)
*'' Pycnovellomyces''
*'' Resinicium''
*'' Riessia''
*'' Riessiella''
*'' Skvortzovia''
*'' Taiwanoporia''
*'' Timgrovea''
*'' Titaeella''
*'' Trechinothus''
*'' Tricladiomyces''
*'' Trimitiella''
*'' Tubulicrinopsis''
*'' Xanthoporus''
*'' Xenosoma''
References
External links
*
Tree of Life Agaricomycetes by David S. Hibbett
* ttp://www.mykoweb.com/articles/Homobasidiomycete_clades.html Evolution & Morphology in the Homobasidiomycetes
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27720
Basidiomycota classes
Lichen classes
Taxa described in 2001