Lautitia
Lautitia S. Schatz, Can. J. Bot. 62(1): 31 (1984).
Index Fungorum number: IF 25817; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00287, 1 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2022), no molecular data available.
Biotrophic in red algae (Chondrus crispus). Sexual morph: Ascostromata scattered, immersed to semi-immersed, visible as raised, black circular or irregular regions on the host surface. Locules uni to multi-loculate under pseudoclypeus, globose to subglobose, glabrous, pale brown, ostiole central, with pore-like opening. Peridium thin-walled, of unequal thickness, slightly thickened at the base, composed of several layers of prosenchymatous cells, arranged in textura epidermoidea at the apex and sides, with subhyaline to pale brown cells of textura porrecta at the base. Hamathecium composed of numerous, filamentous, anastomosing, rough-walled, narrow cellular pseudoparaphyses, with distinct septa, embedded in a mucilaginous matrix. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, clavate, long pedicellate, apically rounded to truncate, with an indistinct ocular chamber. Ascospores overlapping 1–3-seriate, 2-celled, obclavate with narrow upper cell, mostly the upper cell longer than the lower cell, hyaline, uniseptate, slightly constricted at the septum, rough-walled with appendage on upper cell (adapted from Phookamsak et al. 2014). Asexual morph: Conidiomata brown to dark brown or black, stromatic, pycnidial, solitary to gregarious, subepidermal, immersed to semi-immersed or erumpent, globose to subglobose, glabrous, papillate, ostiolate. Ostiole single, cylindrical to circular, centrally located. Conidiomatal wall composed of thick-walled, pale brown to hyaline cells of textura angularis to textura epidermoidea. Conidiophores formed from the innermost layers of conidiomata wall, hyaline, subcylindrical, branched, septate, smooth-walled. Conidiogenous cells hyaline, enteroblastic, with percurrent proliferation at apex, annellidic, cylindrical to ampulliform, discrete or integrated, smooth-walled. Conidia hyaline, cylindrical, straight or slightly curved, unicellular, smooth-walled, eguttulate.
Type species: Lautitia danica (Berl.) S. Schatz
Notes: Lautitia resembles Leptosphaeria in having hyaline, uniseptate, immature ascospores. Schatz (1984) treated Lautitia as a member of Phaeosphaeriaceae based on its pseudoparenchymatous to prosenchymatous peridium, and elongate, hyaline asymmetric ascospores. This was followed by other authors (Zhang et al. 2012, Hyde et al. 2013). Phookamsak et al. (2014) excluded Lautitia from Phaeosphaeriaceae based on prosenchymatous peridial cells, clavate asci with long pedicels, and asymmetric didymosporous ascospores. We examined the holotype specimen of L. danica (C-F-70866) and found only asexual characters. Fresh collections and DNA sequence data are needed to confirm the systematic position of Lautitia.
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