Dothideomycetes families incertae sedis » Cookellaceae

Cookella

Cookella Sacc., Michelia 1(no. 4): 407 (1878).

Index Fungorum number: IF 1225; Facesoffungi number: FoF 07957, 4 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2022), no molecular data available.

Parasitic on leaves in terrestrial habitats. Sexual morph: Ascostromata superficial, subglobose, cushion-shaped, surface rough, flat or applanate at the base, scattered, pigmented, containing locules with individual asci, non-papillate, opening by breaks in the upper surface; cells of ascostromata comprising textura angularis to subglobulosa, with a basal hypostroma, developing in the host tissue, appearing as stromal blocks with swollen cells, compressed packages of textura angularis to prismatica. Locules scattered throughout ascostromata, small, globose to subglobose, peridial wall composed of textura angularis to subglobulosa. Hamathecium lacking pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, globose to subglobose or saccate, apedicellate, lacking an ocular chamber. Ascospores scattered in 3–5-seriate overlapping rows, muriform, ellipsoid to oblong, hyaline when immature, becoming brown at maturity, straight to slightly curved, ends rounded, with 3-transverse septa and 1-longitudinal septum in each cell, constricted at the septa, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: see notes (adapted from Hyde et al. 2013).

 Type species: Cookella microscopica Sacc.

Notes: Cookella is characterised by superficial, subglobose, cushion-shaped ascostromata, globose to subglobose or saccate asci and muriform, ellipsoid to oblong, hyaline ascospores. Saccardo (1878) described a coelomycete as having muriform conidia on leaves around ascostromata of C. microscopica which he considered as the asexual morph of Cookella. However, the fruiting bodies of the two fungi were different with one being an ascostromata and the latter an immersed individual conidiomata. The relationship of these two morphs is still doubtful and must be treated carefully. Hyde et al. (2013) provided an account of Cookella based on an illustration redrawn from PAD: no. 2509 and drawings in Arnaud (1925) and Arx (1963) since the specimen they borrowed from PAD lacked ascostromata. Cookella is a distinct genus in Cookellaceae. Fresh collections with DNA sequence data are needed to confirm the taxonomic placement of the genus.

 

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