The ''Coniochaeta'' are a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of pleomorphic

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

s of the order '' Coniochaetales'' and are

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "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 theory of d ...

s of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s. Some species have also been found to form endophytic associations within plants in which they live inside plant tissues but do not actually harm the

organism An organism is any life, living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have be ...

. They can take the form of pink to brown

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

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 o ...

conidiophore A conidium ( ; : conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (: chlamydoconidia), is an Asexual reproduction, asexual, non-motility, motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word f ...

s or

sclerotia A sclerotium (; : sclerotia () 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 u ...

. In 2013, the ''Lecythophora'' were merged with the ''Coniochaeta'', following suggestions by Ziauddin Khan ''et al''.

Ecology

The ''Coniochaeta'' have been described as typically associated with wood, water, and soil. However, there is also growing evidence of specialised associations between each species and specific environments, and a suggestion that 4-

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

d and 8-spored species interact differently with their environments, some species surviving

forest fires A forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Au ...

, which activate their sexual cycle.''Coniochaeta extramundana'', with a Synopsis of Other ''Coniochaeta'' Species. D. P. Mahoney and J. S. LaFavre Mycologia Vol. 73, No. 5 (Sep. - Oct., 1981), pp. 931-952

Medical Issues

Other members of the ''Coniochaeta,'' most commonly '' Coniochaeta polymorpha'', can cause clinical infections in

immunocompromised Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromise, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that affe ...

individuals, which has increased recent interest in the genus.

Species

As accepted by

Species Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (Binomial nomenclature, scientific names) in the fungus Kingdom (biology), kingdom. As of 2015, the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partn ...

; * '' Coniochaeta acaciae'' * '' Coniochaeta africana'' * '' Coniochaeta albidomucosa'' * '' Coniochaeta alkalivirens'' * '' Coniochaeta angustispora'' * '' Coniochaeta arctispora'' * '' Coniochaeta arenariae'' * '' Coniochaeta areolatirubra'' * '' Coniochaeta arxii'' * '' Coniochaeta baysunika'' * '' Coniochaeta boothii'' * ''

Coniochaeta burtii The ''Coniochaeta'' are a genus of pleomorphism (microbiology), pleomorphic yeasts of the order ''Coniochaetales'' and are pathogens of trees. Some species have also been found to form Endophyte, endophytic associations within plants in which the ...

'' * '' Coniochaeta caffra'' * '' Coniochaeta calligoni'' * '' Coniochaeta caryotae'' * '' Coniochaeta cateniformis'' * '' Coniochaeta cephalothecoides'' * '' Coniochaeta cipronana'' * '' Coniochaeta coluteae'' * '' Coniochaeta cruciata'' * '' Coniochaeta cymbiformispora'' * '' Coniochaeta cypraeispora'' * '' Coniochaeta dakotensis'' * ''

Coniochaeta deborreae The ''Coniochaeta'' are a genus of pleomorphism (microbiology), pleomorphic yeasts of the order ''Coniochaetales'' and are pathogens of trees. Some species have also been found to form Endophyte, endophytic associations within plants in which the ...

Rosellinia obliquata ''Rosellinia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Xylariaceae consisting of over 90 species. Several of the species in this genus are plant pathology, plant pathogens. Fossils of ''Rosellinia'' have been found in 12 million year old rocks from cent ...

'', Xylariaceae * ''C. pilosella'' = '' Capronia pilosella'', Herpotrichiellaceae * ''C. polyspora'' = '' Sordaria polyspora'', Sordariaceae * ''C. queenslandiae'' = ''

Rosellinia queenslandiae ''Rosellinia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Xylariaceae consisting of over 90 species. Several of the species in this genus are plant pathogens. Fossils of ''Rosellinia'' have been found in 12 million year old rocks from central England. T ...

'', Xylariaceae * ''C. sanguinolenta'' = '' Helminthosphaeria sanguinolenta'', Helminthosphaeriaceae

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10457878 Sordariomycetes genera Coniochaetales