Asterinales » Asterinaceae » Dothidasteromella

Dothidasteromella sepulta

Dothidasteromella sepulta (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Höhn., Sber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math.-naturw. Kl., Abt. 1 119: 421 (1910)                                                                                                              Fig. 1

 Asterina sepulta Berk. & M.A. Curtis, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 4: 129 (1860)
          Index Fungorum number: IF 195171; Facesoffungi number: FoF 06236

Epiphytic on leaf of Cinnamomum japonicum, forming large, blackened, 1–2 mm, circular areas. Colonies 2–4 μm diam., (x̅ = 3 μm, n = 10), brown to dark brown, difficult to remove from the surface of host. Sexual morph: Thyriothecia 624–882 high μm × 493–1836 diam. (x̅ = 1061 × 706 μm, n = 6), superficial, erumpent from mycelia mass, solitary or gregarious, globose to subglobose, more or less carbonaceous, difficult to remove from the host surface, opening by linear or sometimes Y-shaped at the centre of thyriothecium. Peridium 7–11.5 μm diam., comprising 2- layers, outer layer dark brown, inner layer hyaline, comprising cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium lacking pseudoparaphyses. Asci 27–34 μm × 13–23 μm (x̅ = 30.5 × 17.8 μm, n = 10), 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, oblong or subglobose lacking a pedicel, apical region of asci usually with a thick opaque region and ocular chamber. Ascospores 15–16 μm × 4–5 μm (x̅ = 16 × 5 μm, n = 10), overlapping bi-seriate, hyaline when immature, pale brown to dark brown at maturity, ellipsoidal to fusoid, 1-septate, strongly constricted at the septum, upper cell broader and shorter than lower cell, verrucose. Asexual morph: Undetermined.

Material examined – JAPAN, on the leaf of Cinnamomum japonicum (Lauraceae), November 1867, C. Wright (S-F56756, holotype).

Economic significance – Species of Dothidasteromella appear to be members of sooty moulds and they coat fruits and leaves cursorily with black mycelia, which decreases photosynthesis rates of host plants (Chomnunti et al. 2014).

 

 

 

Figure 1 – Dothidasteromella sepulta (S-F56756, holotype). a Details of herbarium material.
b, c Habit and appearance of ascomata on host surface. d Section of ascoma. e Hamathecium.
f–h Asci. i–l Ascospores. Scale bars: b = 2 mm, c = 1 mm, d = 50 µm, e, i–l = 10 µm, f–h = 20 µm.

 

 

Reference

Chomnunti P, Hongsanan S, Hudson BA, Tian Q et al. 2014 – The sooty moulds. Fungal Diversity 66, 1–36.

 

 

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