Pleurotrema
Pleurotrema Müll. Arg., Bot. Jb. 6: 388 (1885).
Index Fungorum number: IF 4251; Facesoffungi number: FoF 07671, 14 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2022), no molecular data available.
Saprobic on wood in terrestrial and aquatic habitat. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial, gregarious or solitary, immersed or erumpent through bark of host, black, ovoid to subglobose, carbonaceous to membranaceous, smooth, with ostioles. Peridium thick (60–120 μm), comprising of dark cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium composed of numerous, hyaline, septate, branched paraphyses. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, clavate to cylindrical, short pedicellate, apical ring present, non-amyloid. Ascospores uni-seriate, hyaline, ellipsoidal to cylindrical, septate, smooth-walled, mostly with guttules. Asexual morph: Unknown (adapted from Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016).
Type species: Pleurotrema polysemum (Nyl.) Müll. Arg.
Notes: Pleurotrema is characterised by perithecial, gregarious or solitary, immersed or erumpent ascomata, clavate to cylindrical, short pedicellate asci, and hyaline, ellipsoidal to cylindrical, septate ascospores. The taxonomic placement of Pleurotrema has been controversial being treated in Pyrenulaceae, Pleurotremataceae and Ascomycota genera incertae sedis based on morphology (Barr 1994, Kirk et al. 2001, Lumbsch & Huhndorf 2010). Aptroot (1991) synonymized Pleurotrema under Lithothelium as a member of Pyrenulaceae. Harris studied the isotype of P. polysemum, and suggested that the species is not lichenized, has unitunicate asci and it is closely related to Melomastia and Saccardoella (Barr 1994). Barr (1994) transferred Pleurotremataceae to Xylariales based on morphology namely non-fissitunicate cylindrical asci, with a non-amyloid apical ring and hyaline, distoseptate ascospores. Hawksworth et al. (1995) retained Pleurotrema in the order Pyrenulales. Maharachchikumbura et al. (2016) studied the isotype of Pleurotrema polysemum (S L1236) and synonymized Dyfrolomycetaceae under Pleurotremataceae based on the unitunicate asci. Pleurotrema is a distinct and type genus of Pleurotremataceae. Molecular data is lacking for Pleurotrema. Fresh collections and taxa with DNA sequence data are needed to provide a phylogeny of Pleurotrema.
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