''Microsphaeropsis caloplacae'' is a species of lichenicolous (
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fungus in the family
Didymosphaeriaceae
The Didymosphaeriaceae are a family of fungi in the order Pleosporales. The family was erected by Anders Munk in 1953.
Taxa have a cosmopolitan distribution, and are saprobic in both woody and herbaceous plants. Some species are parasitic on ...
The fungus was formally described as a new species in 2009 by Javier Etayo and Kenan Yazıcı. The type specimen was collected by the second author along the Kızılırmak River ( Sivas Province) at an altitude of ; there, the lichen was found growing on the apothecial discs of the crustose lichen '' Caloplaca persica'', which itself was growing on the bark of a ''
Populus
''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood.
The we ...
'' tree. The
species epithet Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany)
A botanical name ...
host
A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it.
Host may also refer to:
Places
* Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
People
*Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman
* Michel Host ...
lichen, ''
Caloplaca
''Caloplaca'' is a lichen genus comprising a number of distinct species. Members of the genus are commonly called firedot lichen, jewel lichen.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, gold lichens, "ora ...
''.
The authors noted that they placed this species provisionally into ''
Microsphaeropsis
''Microsphaeropsis'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Didymosphaeriaceae.
The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most o ...
'' "with some hesitation", as the species in this genus typically infect plant leaves.
Description
''Microsphaeropsis caloplacae'' produces pycnidia that are entirely immersed in the host lichen's apothecial discs. They are apparent as barely visible blackish spots with a diameter between 30 and 50
μm
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...
, with an
ostiole
An ''ostiole'' is a small hole or opening through which algae or fungi release their mature spores.
The word is a diminutive of "ostium", "opening".
The term is also used in higher plants, for example to denote the opening of the involuted ...
(opening). The pycnidial cavity is filled with
conidia
A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non-motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due to the ...
that measure 7.2–8.3 by 4–6 μm. Infections by this fungus do not seem to be highly
pathogenic
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
to the lichen, as 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 ...
of the apothecia continues producing spores as normal.
Habitat and distribution
''Microsphaeropsis caloplacae'' is only known from the
type locality
Type locality may refer to:
* Type locality (biology)
* Type locality (geology)
See also
* Local (disambiguation)
* Locality (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
, a well-lit site with typical
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...