The Pleosporales is the largest order in the fungal 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 ...

. By a 2008 estimate it contains 23

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 ...

, 332

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 more than 4700

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 ...

. The majority of species are saprobes on decaying plant material in fresh water, marine, or terrestrial environments, but several species are also associated with living plants as

parasites 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 ...

, epiphytes or

endophyte An endophyte is an endosymbiont, often a bacterium or fungus, that lives within a plant for at least part of its life cycle without causing apparent disease. Endophytes are ubiquitous and have been found in all species of plants studied to date; h ...

s. The best studied species cause plant diseases on important agricultural crops e.g. ''

Cochliobolus heterostrophus ''Cochliobolus heterostrophus'' is a fungal plant pathogen. It can cause southern corn leaf blight in maize. ''Cochliobolus heterostrophus'' is found in many tropical regions and in the southern part of the US. ''Cochliobolus'', although not ...

'', causing southern corn leaf blight on

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

, ''

Phaeosphaeria nodorum ''Phaeosphaeria nodorum'' (syn. ''Stagonospora nodorum'', synonym and correct taxonomic name: ''Parastagonospora nodorum'') is a major fungal pathogen of wheat ('' Triticum aestivum''), causing the disease Septoria nodorum blotch. It is a member ...

'' (''Stagonospora nodorum'') causing glume blotch on

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and ''

Leptosphaeria maculans ''Leptosphaeria maculans'' (anamorph ''Phoma lingam'') is a fungal pathogen of the phylum Ascomycota that is the causal agent of blackleg disease on ''Brassica'' crops. Its genome has been sequenced, and ''L. maculans'' is a well-studied model ph ...

'' causing a stem canker (called blackleg) on cabbage crops (''

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole cr ...

''). Some species of Pleosporales occur on animal dung and a small number occur as

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.rock-inhabiting fungi.

Taxonomy

The order was proposed in 1955 as Dothideomycetes with perithecioid

ascomata An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mos ...

with

pseudoparaphyses {{Short pages monitor

Genera ''incertae sedis''

These are genera of the Pleosporales of uncertain

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

that have not been placed in any family. *'' Amarenomyces'' *'' Anguillospora'' *'' Aquaticheirospora'' *''

Ascochyta ''Ascochyta'' is a genus of ascomycete fungi, containing several species that are pathogenic to plants, particularly cereal crops. The taxonomy of this genus is still incomplete. The genus was first described in 1830 by Marie-Anne Libert, w ...

'' *'' Ascochytella'' *'' Ascochytula'' *'' Ascorhombispora'' *'' Ascoronospora'' *'' Berkleasmium'' *'' Briansuttonia'' *'' Centrospora'' *'' Cheiromoniliophora'' *'' Cheirosporium'' *'' Clavariopsis'' *'' Coronospora'' *'' Dactuliophora'' *'' Dictyosporium'' *'' Didymocrea'' *'' Digitodesmium'' *'' Elegantimyces'' *'' Extrusothecium'' *'' Farlowiella'' *'' Fusculina'' *''

Helicascus ''Helicascus'' is a genus of fungi in the class Dothideomycetes. The relationship of this taxon to other taxa within the class is unknown (''incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader re ...

'' *'' Herpotrichia'' *'' Hyalobelemnospora'' *'' Immotthia'' *'' Letendraea'' *'' Margaretbarromyces'' *'' Massariosphaeria'' *'' Metameris'' *'' Monoblastiopsis'' *'' Mycocentrospora'' *'' Mycodidymella'' *'' Neopeckia'' *'' Neophaeosphaeria'' *''

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

'' *'' Ochrocladosporium'' *'' Paraliomyces'' *'' Passerinula'' *'' Periconia'' *'' Phaeostagonospora'' *'' Protocucurbitaria'' *'' Pseudochaetosphaeronema'' *'' Pseudodidymella'' *'' Pseudotrichia'' *''

Pyrenochaeta Pyrenochaeta is a genus of fungus. It includes the species '' Pyrenochaeta romeroi''. Can cause a disease called eumycetoma Eumycetoma, also known as Madura foot, is a persistent fungal infection of the skin and the tissues just under the ...

'' *'' Rhopographus'' *'' Setomelanomma'' *'' Shiraia'' *'' Speira'' *'' Sporidesmium'' *'' Sporocybe'' *''

Subbaromyces ''Subbaromyces'' is a genus of fungi in the family Ophiostomataceae. It was named to honour Yellapragada Subbarow Yellapragada Subba Rao (12 January 1895 – 8 August 1948) was a pioneering Indian biochemist who discovered the function ...

'' *''

Trematosphaeriopsis ''Trematosphaeriopsis'' is a genus of fungus, fungi in the class Dothideomycetes. The relationship of this taxon to other taxa within the class is unknown (''incertae sedis''). A monotypic genus, it contains the single species ''Trematosphaeriops ...

'' *'' Versicolorisporium'' *''

Wettsteinina ''Wettsteinina'' is a genus of 23 fungi in the class Dothideomycetes. The type species ''Wettsteinina gigantospora'' was first described by Franz Xaver Rudolf von Höhnel in 1907. The relationship of this taxon to other taxa within the class is u ...

'' *'' Wicklowia'' Although in 2009 when Lentitheciaceae was established it placed various genera such as '' Lentithecium'' and '' Tingoldiago'', plus others.

Evolution

The oldest members of Pleosporales are the fossil genera '' Margaretbarromyces'', which was described from

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

age strata on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

, British Columbia, and ''

Cryptodidymosphaerites ''Cryptodidymosphaerites'' is an extinct monotypic genus of pleosporale fungus of uncertain family placement. When described it contained the single species ''Cryptodidymosphaerites princetonensis''. The genus is solely known from the Early Eoc ...

'', described from the

Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

Princeton chert in the British Columbian interior.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q147296 Ascomycota orders Lichen orders Taxa described in 1987