Schizothyrium
Schizothyrium Desm., Annls Sci. Nat., Bot., sér. 3 11: 360 (1849).
Index Fungorum number: IF 4911; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01933, (40 species as Schizothyrium, 2 species as Zygophiala; Species Fungorum 2022), >10 species with molecular data.
Epiphytic, or saprobic on leaves or branches of various flowering plants. Sexual morph: Ascostromata scattered, solitary to gregarious, superficial or subcuticular, flattened, dark, circular to ellipsoid, hemispherical, glabrous, multi-loculate, with each ascus forming in a locule, which is a ‘cell’ in a network-like structure, opening by splitting of the upper wall. Peridium thin walled, poorly developed at the base, composed of dark brown to black pseudoparenchymatous cells, arranged in a textura angularis to textura globulosa. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, subglobose to ovoid, sessile, apically rounded with indistinct ocular chamber, thick-walled at the apex, each ascus resting in a space between the mycelial networks. Ascospores overlapping bi- to tri-seriate, hyaline, ellipsoidal or oblong, 1-septate, slightly constricted at the septum, wider in upper cell, thick and rough-walled with small guttules. Asexual morph: Unknown but see notes (adapted from Phookamsak et al. 2016).
Type species: Schizothyrium acerinum Desm.
Notes: Schizothyrium is characterised by ascomata that are perithecial, sessile, solitary, sub-fleshy, rounded to ovoid, plane to low convex, minute, punctiform, longitudinal rim opening and ovoid ascospores (Desmazières 1849). Eriksson (1981) re-circumscribed Schizothyrium based on S. pomi (Mont. & Fr.) Arx and reported that Schizothyrium produce discreet vegetative mycelium, with ascomata opening by numerous fissures. Hyde et al. (2013) observed a typical specimen, collected by Desmazières (PC0084488) and revealed that Schizothyrium did not produce superficial or subcuticular vegetative mycelium and ascomata are characterised by pore-like openings based on horizontal sections. The asexual morph of Schizothyrium pomi has been described as hyphomycetous in the genus Zygophiala (Batzer et al. 2005, 2008; Kirk et al. 2008; Ma et al. 2010, Hyde et al. 2013; Wijayawardene et al. 2012, 2014; Phookamsak et al. 2016). Durbin et al. (1953) was the first to report the connection between Schizothyrium pomi and Zygophiala jamaicensis by inoculating apple fruit with ascospores when they observed both the asexual and sexual morph. Batzer et al. (2005) pointed out that the type species of Zygophiala, Z. jamaicensis was the asexual morph of S. pomi. Later, Batzer et al. (2008) showed that Z. jamaicensis is distinct from S. pomi based on phylogenetic studies (Ma et al. 2010, Gao et al. 2014). Based on one fungus one name rule, Rossman et al. (2015) preserved the name Schizothyrium over Zygophiala as it was the older name and synonymized nine species in Schizothyrium which were previously accommodated in Zygophiala. Currently, Schizothyrium is a distinct and well-supported genus in Schizothyriaceae. Molecular markers available for Schizothyrium are ITS, LSU, Actin, BTUB, RPB2 and TEF-1.
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