Astrothelium is a large genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens in the family Trypetheliaceae.[2] The genus is characterized by a corticate thallus and diverse ascomata structures, which can be simple, aggregated, or forming pseudostromata. Astrothelium is also notable for the carbonized walls of its ascomata, the so-called textura intricata (i.e., tightly interwoven) arrangement of cells in these walls, and various forms of distoseptate, transparent spores.

Astrothelium
Astrothelium aeneum found in Florida
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Dothideomycetes
Order: Trypetheliales
Family: Trypetheliaceae
Genus: Astrothelium
Eschw. (1824)
Type species
Astrothelium conicum
Eschw. (1824)
Synonyms[1]

Taxonomy

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The genus was circumscribed in 1824 by German botanist Franz Gerhard Eschweiler, with Astrothelium conicum assigned as the type species.[3]

Description

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The thallus, or the vegetative body of Astrothelium, is corticate, meaning it is covered by a protective cortex. The ascomata, which are the fruiting bodies containing the reproductive spores, can appear in various forms such as simple, aggregated, or forming pseudostromata. These structures often differ in their composition and colour, and can be used as characters to distinguish between species. The ascomata can range from being immersed within the thallus to prominently displayed on the surface. The ostioles, or small openings that allow the release of spores, can be located at the apex or eccentrically on the ascomata and may appear as either simple or fused structures.[4]

Astrothelium is also notable for its ascomatal wall, which is made up of hyphal cells and is typically carbonized. The wall features a textura intricata, a term used to describe a tightly interwoven arrangement of cells.[4]

Within the hamathecium, the tissue that houses the asci (spore-producing structures), the cells are either clear or filled with oil droplets. The ascospores, which are the sexual spores responsible for reproduction, are distoseptate and hyaline in appearance. They can also exhibit a variety of forms, including transversely septate or muriform, reflecting their segmented or multi-cellular nature.[4]

Species

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As of January 2024, Species Fungorum accepts 267 species in Astrothelium.[5]

 
Astrothelium marcidum
 
Astrothelium nigratum

References

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  1. ^ "Synonymy: Astrothelium Eschw., Syst. Lich.: 26 (1824)". Species Fungorum. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  2. ^ Wijayawardene, N.N.; Hyde, K.D.; Dai, D.Q.; Sánchez-García, M.; Goto, B.T.; Saxena, R.K.; et al. (2022). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021". Mycosphere. 13 (1): 53–453. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2. hdl:10481/76378.
  3. ^ Eschweiler, Franz Gerhard (1824). Systema Lichenum, Genera Exhibens rite distincta, Pluribus Novis Adaucta (in Latin). Nuremberg: J.L. Schrag. pp. 18, 26.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw Aptroot, André; Lücking, Robert (2016). "A revisionary synopsis of the Trypetheliaceae (Ascomycota: Trypetheliales)". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 763–982. doi:10.1017/s0024282916000487.
  5. ^ "Astrothelium". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Aptroot, André; Ertz, Damien; Etayo Salazar, Javier Angel; Gueidan, Cécile; Mercado Diaz, Joel Alejandro; Schumm, Felix; Weerakoon, Gothamie (2016). "Forty-six new species of Trypetheliaceae from the tropics". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 609–638. doi:10.1017/s002428291600013x.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Aptroot, André; Mendonça, Cléverton de Oliveira; Andrade, Danyelly Santos; Silva, Jeanne dos Reis; Martins, Suzana Maria de Azevedo; Gumboski, Emerson; Fraga, Carlos Augusto Vidigal; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva (2016). "New Trypetheliaceae from northern and southern Atlantic rainforests in Brazil". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 713–725. doi:10.1017/s0024282916000037.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Flakus, Adam; Kukwa, Martin; Aptroot, André (2016). "Trypetheliaceae of Bolivia: an updated checklist with descriptions of twenty-four new species". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 661–692. doi:10.1017/S0024282915000559.
  9. ^ a b c d e f da Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia; Aptroot, André (2017). "Lichens from the Brazilian Amazon, with special reference to the genus Astrothelium". The Bryologist. 120 (2): 166–182. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-120.2.166.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Lücking, Robert; Nelsen, Matthew P.; Aptroot, André; Benatti, Michel Navarro; Binh, Nguyen Quoc; Gueidan, Cecile; Gutiérrez, Martha Cecilia; Jungbluth, Patricia; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten; Marcelli, Marcelo P.; Moncada, Bibiana; Naksuwankul, Khwanruan; Orozco, Thelma; Salazar-Allen, Noris; Upreti, Dalip K. (2016). "A pot-pourri of new species of Trypetheliaceae resulting from molecular phylogenetic studies". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 639–660. doi:10.1017/S0024282916000475.
  11. ^ a b Lücking, Robert; Álvaro-Alba, Wilson Ricardo; Moncada, Bibiana; Marín-Canchala, Norida Lucia; Tunjano, Sonia Sua; Cárdenas-López, Dairon (2023). "Lichens from the Colombian Amazon: 666 taxa including 28 new species and 157 new country records document an extraordinary diversity". The Bryologist. 126 (2): 242–303. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-126.2.242.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Aptroot, André; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva (2016). "New Trypetheliaceae from the Amazon basin in Rondônia (Brazil), the centre of diversity of the genus Astrothelium". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 693–712. doi:10.1017/s0024282915000584.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Aptroot, André; Sipman, Harrie J.M.; Barreto, Flávia Maria Oliveira; Nunes, Ariel Dantas; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva (2019). "Ten new species and 34 new country records of Trypetheliaceae". The Lichenologist. 51 (1): 27–43. doi:10.1017/s002428291800052x.
  14. ^ a b Kukwa, Martin; Rodriguez-Flakus, Pamela; Aptroot, André; Flakus, Adam (2023). "Two new species of Astrothelium from Sud Yungas in Bolivia and the first discovery of vegetative propagules in the family Trypetheliaceae (lichen-forming Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota)". MycoKeys (95): 83–100. doi:10.3897/mycokeys.95.98986. PMC 10210239. PMID 37251997.
  15. ^ a b c d Junior, Isaias Oliveira; Aptroot, André; da Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia (2021). "Lichens from Monte Pascoal, Bahia, Brazil, with some new pyrenocarpous species and a key to the Pyrenula species from Brazil". The Bryologist. 124 (4): 552–568. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-124.4.552.
  16. ^ Córdova-Chávez, Octavio; Aptroot, André; Castillo-Camposa, Gonzalo; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva; Pérez-Pérez, Rosa Emilia (2014). "Three new lichen species from cloud forest in Veracuz, Mexico". Cryptogamie, Mycologie. 35 (2): 157–162. doi:10.7872/crym.v35.iss2.2014.157.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i Aptroot, André; de Souza, Maria Fernanda; dos Santos, Lidiane Alves; Junior, Isaias Oliveira; Barbosa, Bruno Micael Cardoso; da Silva, Marcela Eugenia Cáceres (2022). "New species of lichenized fungi from Brazil, with a record report of 492 species in a small area of the Amazon Forest". The Bryologist. 125 (3): 435–467. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-125.3.433.
  18. ^ a b da Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia; Aptroot, André (2016). "First inventory of lichens from the Brazilian Amazon in Amapá State". The Bryologist. 119 (3): 250–265. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-119.3.250.
  19. ^ a b c Kalb, Klaus; Aptroot, André (2018). "New lichen species from Brazil and Venezuela". The Bryologist. 121 (1): 56–66. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-121.1.056.