Astrosphaeriella
Astrosphaeriella Syd. & P. Syd., Annls mycol. 11(3): 260 (1913).
Index Fungorum number: IF 441; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01222, 50 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2022), 9 species with molecular data.
Saprobic on host. Sexual morph: Ascomata dark brown to almost black, unilocular, hemispherical to conical, scattered, or rarely clustered, with 2–3 occasionally clustering at the base, immersed at first and initially subepidermal, mainly becoming superficial, with the base attached to the host, or covered by epidermis except for the ostiolar region, or rupturing the host tissue with tissue remaining as scales around the base, with a stellate appearance from above, base flattened, ostiolate. Ostiole usually black, mammiform or occasionally elongated. Peridium strongly carbonaceous and relatively thick, composed of thick-walled red-brown to dark angular or relatively compressed pseudoparenchymatous cells. Pseudoparaphyses trabeculate, numerous, narrow, persistent, filiform, septate, anastomosing and branched, embedded in a gelatinous matrix. Asci 8– spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical, cylindricclavate, pedicellate, with an ocular chamber and some with a faint ring. Ascospores 2–3–seriate, elongate fusiform, hyaline or reddish brown, smooth-walled, mostly straight, 1–5-septate, sometimes constricted at the septa, concolourous, or with striations, often with a mucilaginous sheath. Asexual morph: Unknown (adapted from Liu et al. 2011, Phookamsak et al. 2015).
Type species: Astrosphaeriella fusispora Syd. & P. Syd.
Notes: Astrosphaeriella was redefined by Hawksworth (1981) and revised by Hawksworth and Boise (1985). Astrosphaeriella fusispora was previously known as Astrosphaeriella stellata (Hyde & Fröhlich 1998, Hyde et al. 2000, Chen & Hsieh 2004, Tanaka & Harada 2005, Chen & Huang 2006, Tanaka et al. 2009). Phookamsak et al. (2015) showed that A. stellata is a distinct species, suggesting that A. fusispora should be the type species of Astrosphaeriella and designated a reference specimen of A. fusispora. Species of Astrosphaeriella resemble those of Caryospora and Trematosphaeria in the structure of their ascomata. Astrosphaeriella is unique in the shape and structure of the ascospores and their ecology. Caryospora is characterised by ascospores which have thick walls and germ pores at the ends of ascospores. Species of Trematosphaeria differ from Astrosphaeriella in having ascospores with lighter ends and in that they occur on monocotyledonous hosts (Hawksworth 1981, Hyde and Fröhlich 1998, Zhang et al. 2008). Currently, Astrosphaeriella is accommodated in Astrosphaeriellaceae. Molecular markers available for Astrosphaeriella are ITS, LSU, SSU, RPB2 and TEF-1.
Recent News
Recent paper to be publishedRecent Genus
NothocladosporiumPhillipsiella
Curreya
Recent Species
Nothocladosporium syzygiiPhillipsiella atra
Curreya conorum
