Atheliaceae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

corticioid fungi The corticioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having effused, smooth basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the undersides of dead tree trunks or branches. They are sometimes colloquially called crust fungi or pa ...

placed under the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

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 ...

Atheliales. Both the order and the family were described by

Walter Jülich Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

in 1981. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 20

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 approximately 100

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 ...

. However, many genera formerly considered to belong in the Atheliaceae have since been moved to other families, including

Amylocorticiaceae 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'', ...

Albatrellaceae The Albatrellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Russulales. The family contains 9 genera and more than 45 species. Description Most genera in the family produce fruit bodies which have typical mushroom morphology, with caps and stems. O ...

, and

Hygrophoraceae The Hygrophoraceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Originally conceived as containing white-spored, thick-gilled agarics (gilled mushrooms), including ''Hygrophorus'' and ''Hygrocybe'' species (the waxcaps or waxy caps), DNA evide ...

. Despite being a relatively small group with inconspicuous forms, Atheliaceae members show great diversity in life strategies and are widespread in distribution. Additionally, being a group strictly composed of corticioid fungi, they may also provide insights on the evolution of fruiting body forms in

basidiomycetes 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 ...

History, taxonomy, and classification

Traditionally, the classification of basidiomycetes placed significant emphasis on readily observable features, such as the construction of the

basidiocarp 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 ...

or the

hymenophore A hymenophore refers to the hymenium-bearing structure of a fungal fruiting body. Hymenophores can be smooth surfaces, lamellae, folds, tubes, or teeth. The term was coined by Robert Hooke Robert Hooke FRS (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was ...

. Initially, all members of the presently known Atheliaceae had been grouped together with the other corticioid basidiomycetes in an artificial group called

Corticiaceae The Corticiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Corticiales. The family formerly included almost all the corticioid (patch- or crust-forming) fungi, whether they were related or not, and as such was highly artificial. In its current sense, ...

Marinus Anton Donk Marinus Anton Donk (14 August 1908 – 2 September 1972) was a Dutch mycologist. He specialized in the taxonomy and nomenclature of mushrooms. Rolf Singer wrote in his obituary that he was "one of the most outstanding figures of contemporary myc ...

in 1964. Following this, most currently known Atheliaceae

were once included in the broadly defined genus '' Athelia'', which were then subsequently distributed over several genera by

in 1972 in his

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

of “Atheliae”. In 1981, Jülich introduced the

Atheliaceae among other new families and orders, in an attempt to classify the higher order of

. Since then, several members of the family have been incorporated in a number of molecular phylogenetic studies. In a 2004 phylogenetic study based on molecular and morphological characters, representatives of Atheliaceae genera '' Piloderma'', '' Athelia'', '' Tylospora'', '' Byssocorticium'', '' Athelopsis'', and '' Amphinema'' formed a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

. Subsequently, the

order Atheliales was found to be closely related to the

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

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. T ...

, forming the monophyletic group known as the subclass

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 I ...

(

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 ...

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 clas ...

) in a 2007 study.

Genera

2012-01-25 Athelia acrospora Jülich 196784

List of genera and number of species based on the 10th edition of ''Ainsworth & Bisby's "Dictionary of the Fungi"'' (2008): *'' Amphinema'' (1892), 6 spp. *'' Athelia'' (1822) (

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 ...

: '' Fibularhizoctonia''), 28 spp. *'' Athelicium'' (1986), 2 spp. *'' Athelocystis'' (2010), 1 sp. *'' Butlerelfia'' (1980), 1 sp. *'' Byssocorticium'' (1944), 9 spp. *''

Byssoporia ''Byssoporia'' is a fungal genus in the family Albatrellaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single widespread corticioid species ''Byssoporia terrestris''. There are several varieties: ''sartoryi'', ''lilacinorosea'', ''aurantiaca'', '' ...

'' (1978), 1 sp. *'' Digitatispora'' (1962), 2 spp. *'' Elaphocephala'' (1983), 1 sp. *'' Fibulomyces'' (1972) (

: '' Taeniospora''), 4 spp. *'' Hypochnella'' (1888), 1 sp. *'' Hypochniciellum'' , 4 spp. *'' Leptosporomyces'' (1972), 11 spp. *'' Lobulicium'' (1982), 1 sp. *'' Lyoathelia'' (2004), 1 sp. *'' Melzericium'' (1975), 3 spp. *'' Mycostigma'' (1976), 1 sp. *'' Piloderma'' (1969), 6 spp. *'' Pteridomyces'' (1979), 7 spp. *'' Tylospora'' (1960), 2 spp.

Description

Atheliaceae consists of strictly

which resemble thin crusts with soft

basidiocarps In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp (fungi), sporocarp of a basidiomycota, basidiomycete, the Multicellular organism, multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are chara ...

that are loosely attached to the substrate.

Basidiocarps In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp (fungi), sporocarp of a basidiomycota, basidiomycete, the Multicellular organism, multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are chara ...

are thin with well-developed subiculum (wool- or crust-like growth of

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 ...

underneath the

). The hymenal surface is smooth when dry, without any warts or papillae and may appear wrinkled when fresh. The colour is mostly whitish, sometimes greenish-bluish and rarely brownish. Their

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

l system is strictly

monomitic A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

, with transparent

e that have smooth surface or sometimes covered with granules or crystals. On the

clamps Clamp may refer to: Tools and devices *Brick clamp, an early method of baking bricks *Clamp (tool), a device or tool used to hold objects in a fixed relative position (many types listed) **C-clamp **C-clamp (stagecraft) **Riser clamp, a device u ...

may be present, rare, or absent.

Cystidia A cystidium (plural cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that ar ...

are rarely observed in most species, and if observed are usually little differentiated. Mature

basidia A basidium () is a microscopic sporangium (a spore-producing structure) found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi which are also called tertiary mycelium, developed from secondary mycelium. Tertiary mycelium is highly-c ...

are club-shaped, arranged at typical clusters, bearing 2-6

sterigmata In biology, a sterigma (pl. sterigmata) is a small supporting structure. It commonly refers to an extension of the basidium (the spore-bearing cells) consisting of a basal filamentous part and a slender projection which carries a spore at the ti ...

Spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

are non-

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a Fibril, fibrillar morphology of 7–13 Nanometer, nm in diameter, a beta sheet (β-sheet) Secondary structure of proteins, secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be Staining, ...

with smooth surface and are normally spherical to ellipsoid, except in '' Tylospora'' where it is angular and warted.

Distribution and ecology

Despite its morphological simplicity, members of Atheliaceae vary widely in terms of ecological strategies. A number of species are known to be

saprotrophs Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi (f ...

of needle and leaf litter, while some species of '' Amphinema'', '' Byssocorticium'', '' Piloderma'', and '' Tylospora'' are

ectomycorrhizal An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobi ...

symbionts 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 ...

. They sometimes constitute a major component of the

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...

l communities. Subsequently,

parasitism Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...

has been observed in ''

Athelia arachnoidea ''Athelia arachnoidea'' is a corticioid fungus in the family Atheliaceae. The species forms thin, white, cobwebby basidiocarps (fruit bodies) and typically occurs saprotrophically on leaf litter and fallen wood. It can, however, also be a facult ...

'', which targets

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus, fungi species in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship.Lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Athelia epiphylla'', which is also associated with the

white rot A wood-decay or xylophagous fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some species of wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as brown rot, and some, such as ''Armillaria'' (honey fungus), are parasitic and col ...

of ''

Populus tremuloides ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

''. A species of '' Athelia'' also engaged in a

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 ...

relationship with

termites Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

of the genus ''

Reticulitermes ''Reticulitermes'' is a termite genus in the family Rhinotermitidae. They are found in most temperate regions on Earth including much of Asia and the Middle East, Western Europe, and all of North America. Caste descriptions ''Reticulitermes'' ...

'', in which the fungus forms

sclerotia A sclerotium (; (), is a compact mass of hardened fungal mycelium containing food reserves. One role of sclerotia is to survive environmental extremes. In some higher fungi such as ergot, sclerotia become detached and remain dormant until favor ...

that mimic termite eggs and worker termites handling the

as if they were eggs. The presence of the

in the nest appears to enhance egg viability, while the fungus might be dispersed to new substrates. Atheliaceae members are also quite widespread, with most of the discovered species occurring throughout the northern temperate regions. They are mostly found in moist environments, on substrates such as soil, humus, leaf litter, and wood. One species, '' Digitatispora marina'', has been found to prefer salt water habitats, growing on marine-submerged woods.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2869012, from2=Q2610298 Basidiomycota families Lichen families Monotypic fungus taxa Taxa named by Walter Jülich Taxa described in 1981

History, taxonomy, and classification

Genera

Description

Distribution and ecology

See also

References