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 ...
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 French botanist Louis René Étienne Tulasne in 1862. The limits of the generic circumscription as well as the limits of certain species in ''Scutula'' was confused for a long time. In 1997, Triebel and colleagues applied the name ''Scutula'' specifically to a group of species growing on
hosts
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 ( ...
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 ...
grouping of
cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blu ...
-associated lichens. Before this, ''Scutula'' was applied to a diverse set of unrelated lichenicolous fungi featuring
hyaline
A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none.
Histopathology
Hyaline cartilage is ...
spores with a single
septum
In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate.
Examples
Human anatomy
* Interatri ...
and
sessile
Sessility, or sessile, may refer to:
* Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about
* Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant
* Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...
apothecia.
Once classified in the family Micareaceae,
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 showed ''Scutula'' to be nested within the Ramalinaceae, closely related to the genus ''
Toninia
''Toninia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae.
The genus was circumscribed by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo
Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo (13 May 1824 – 25 May 1860) was an Italian paleobotanist and lichenologist ...
''. This familial placement has been accepted in recent large-scale updates of fungal classifications.
Description
''Scutula'' species are characterized by apothecia that are either lecideine (where
exciple
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.thalline margin). The
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 ...
are non-capitate (i.e., lacking a knob-like structure at the tip).
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 ...
have a fuzzy amyloid (in Lugol's iodine solution after pre-treatment with KOH) axial tube structure of the ‘Scutula’-type. The
ascospore
An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or s ...
s are smooth,
hyaline
A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none.
Histopathology
Hyaline cartilage is ...
, and contain a single septum.
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 ...
s associated with ''Scutula'' include ''Libertiella'' in the mesoconidia and ''Karsteniomyces'' in the macroconidia.
Species
*''
Scutula aggregata
''Scutula'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Ramalinaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Scutula'' was circumscribed by French botanist Louis René Étienne Tulasne in 1862. The limits of the generic circumscription as well as the limits ...
Scutula krempelhuberi
''Scutula'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Ramalinaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Scutula'' was circumscribed by French botanist Louis René Étienne Tulasne in 1862. The limits of the generic circumscription as well as the limits ...
Scutula stereocaulorum
''Scutula stereocaulorum'' is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Ramalinaceae.
Host species
''Scutula stereocaulorum'' can use lichens of the genus ''Stereocaulon'' as hosts. It is very common and so far the following host species h ...
Scutula wallrothii
''Scutula'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Ramalinaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Scutula'' was circumscribed by French botanist Louis René Étienne Tulasne in 1862. The limits of the generic circumscription as well as the limits ...