''Phaeotremella translucens'' is a species of fungus in the family Phaeotremellaceae. It produces small, pustular, gelatinous basidiocarps (fruit bodies) and is parasitic on

ascocarps 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 mo ...

of '' Lophodermium '' species on decaying pine needles. It was originally described from Scotland.

Taxonomy

''Tremella translucens'' was first published in 1938 by

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

Hugh Douglas Gordon based on collections from Scotland on decaying pine needles. British mycologist David Minter recollected specimens in Scotland in the 1970s and established that ''Tremella translucens'' was associated with ascocarps of '' Lophodermium '' species, transferring the species to the genus ''Pseudostypella'' based on morphological characters. American mycologist Robert Joseph Bandoni later transferred the species to his new genus ''

Sirotrema ''Sirotrema'' is a genus of fungi in the family Tremellaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution in north temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), whi ...

''.

Molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has however shown that ''Tremella translucens'' belongs in the genus '' Phaeotremella''.

Description

Fruit bodies are gelatinous, hyaline (colourless) to greyish, up to 2 mm across, pustular, emerging from ascocarps of their host. Microscopically, the

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 ...

e are clamped and occur in a gelatinous matrix. Haustorial cells arise on the hyphae, producing filaments that attach to and penetrate the hyphae of the host. The basidia are tremelloid (globose to ellipsoid, with oblique to vertical septa), 10 to 13 by 9 to 10

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 ...

, usually unstalked. The

basidiospores A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are pro ...

are oblong, smooth, 7 to 11 by 3 to 5.5 μm, and germinate by hyphal tube or by yeast cells.

Habitat and distribution

''Phaeotremella translucens'' is a parasite of ''

Lophodermium ''Lophodermium'' is a genus of fungi within the family Rhytismataceae. The genus contains 145 species and has a global distribution. Species of this genus are usually observed producing zone lines, conidiomata and ascomata on dead fallen leaves, ...

'' species growing on decaying pine needles, typically those still attached to brash or branches. The species was originally described from the United Kingdom, but has also been recorded in Europe from Austria, Bosnia, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Russia, and Spain. Elsewhere it has been recorded from Canada, New Zealand, and Japan.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q124293971 Tremellomycetes Fungi described in 1938 Fungi of North America Fungi of Europe Fungi of Asia Fungus species