Austrostigmidium , a new austral genus of lichenicolous fungi close to rock-inhabiting meristematic fungi in Teratosphaeriaceae

Abstract The new genus of lichenicolous fungi Austrostigmidium is described from Antarctica and Tierra del Fuego (Chile). It is characterized by the presence of black pseudothecia, pseudoparaphyses, fissitunicate, I−, KI− asci and 3-septate hyaline ascospores. So far, the only known species grows on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lichenologist
Main Authors: Pérez-Ortega, Sergio, Garrido-Benavent, Isaac, De Los Ríos, Asunción
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0024282915000031
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0024282915000031
Description
Summary:Abstract The new genus of lichenicolous fungi Austrostigmidium is described from Antarctica and Tierra del Fuego (Chile). It is characterized by the presence of black pseudothecia, pseudoparaphyses, fissitunicate, I−, KI− asci and 3-septate hyaline ascospores. So far, the only known species grows on Mastodia tessellata ( Verrucariales , Eurotiomycetes). The new genus is compared with anatomically close genera. Based on nuLSU and nuSSU markers we inferred its phylogenetic relationships and found that it belongs to the family Teratosphaeriaceae ( Capnodiales , Dothideomycetes) and is closely related to rock-inhabiting fungal species, as well as to the hyphomycetous lichenicolous fungus Xanthoriicola . Finally, the host-parasite interface has been analyzed by means of transmission electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy in order to describe the interactions among the new fungus and the symbionts forming the host lichen.