Asteristion

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Asteristion
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Graphidales
Family: Graphidaceae
Genus: Asteristion
Leight. (1870)
Type species
Asteristion erumpens
Leight. (1870)
Species

A. alboannuliforme
A. alboolivaceum
A. australianum
A. cupulare
A. leucophthalmum
A. platycarpoides
A. platycarpum

Contents

Asteristion is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. [1] It has seven species. Previously considered a synonym of either Phaeotrema or Thelotrema , molecular evidence led to its resurrection as a distinct genus. Asteristion lichens are corticolous (bark-dwelling), featuring a continuous thallus with a loose to hardened cortex and a photobiont layer containing calcium oxalate crystals. The ascomata , or fruiting bodies, are characterized by their large, often chroodiscoid appearance and the presence of distinct periphysoids . The secondary chemistry of these lichens includes major concentrations of stictic acid and minor to trace amounts of associated substances.

Taxonomy

Asteristion belongs to the tribe Wirthiotremateae in the family Graphidaceae. This tribe, revised in 2017 to account for newly clarified phylogenetic relationships, contains the genera Wirthiotrema , Austrotrema , Asteristion, and Nadvornikia . These genera are characterized by having the substance stictic acid, in addition to minor or trace amounts of related substances. Originally considered a synonym of either Phaeotrema or Thelotrema , [2] Asteristion was later recognized as a section of Thelotrema by Tatsuo Matsumoto in 2000. [3] Molecular evidence and extended phylogenetic analysis reported in the 2017 study have since revealed that the type species, Asteristion erumpens, does not belong to Thelotrema or any other recognized genus. Consequently, Asteristion has been resurrected as a distinct genus, which currently comprises seven species that were formerly members of the Chapsa platycarpa species complex. [2]

The genus name Asteristion derives from the star-like appearance of the recurved thalline margin commonly found in this genus, particularly evident in the type species. [2]

Description

Asteristion lichens are corticolous, featuring a continuous, epiperidermal thallus with a smooth to uneven surface and no prothallus. The thallus comprises a loose to prosoplectenchymatous cortex, a photobiont layer with calcium oxalate crystals, and a thin epi- to endoperidermal medulla. The photobiont in Asteristion lichens is Trentepohlia , a green algal genus. [2]

The ascomata in these lichens are rounded to angular and immersed to erumpent . The disc , which ranges in colour from flesh to brown and is white- pruinose , can be covered or exposed. The proper margin is distinct, fissured to recurved, and separated from the thalline margin by a narrow split, forming a prominent rim around the disc. The thalline margin is white to pale brown and entire to recurved. [2]

Asteristion lichens have an entire, hyaline to pale yellow, paraplectenchymatous excipulum, separated from the covering thalline layer by a split. A columella is absent, and the hypothecium is prosoplectenchymatous and hyaline. The hymenium is hyaline and clear, while the epithecium is grey and granular. The paraphyses are unbranched with smooth apices, and periphysoids are present. The asci are fusiform, with fusiform to ellipsoid ascospores that are transversely septate to muriform , somewhat distoseptate with lens-shaped lumina , and hyaline to brown. Ascospores may be non-amyloid or amyloid. Conidiomata have not been observed to occur in Asteristion lichens. [2]

The secondary chemistry of these lichens includes major concentrations of stictic acid and minor to trace amounts of related substances. [2]

Asteristion species can be distinguished from other genera in the Wirthiotremateae tribe by their large, often chroodiscoid ascomata and the presence of distinct periphysoids (lateral paraphyses). They may resemble Chapsa and its allies, such as Astrochapsa, but can be differentiated by the presence of a distinctly free excipulum forming a double margin, as opposed to a fused excipulum in Chapsa. [2]

Species

As of April 2023, Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accept seven species of Asteristion. [1]

The taxon Asteristion erumpensLeight. (1870) is now named Phaeotrema erumpens . [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphidaceae</span> Family of fungi

The Graphidaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. The family contains nearly a hundred genera and more than 2000 species. Although the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most Graphidaceae species occur in tropical regions, and typically grow on bark.

<i>Nadvornikia</i> Genus of lichen-forming fungi

Nadvornikia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. Species in the genus are corticolous (bark-dwelling) and crustose.

Ocellularia upretii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in India.

Leucodecton coppinsii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in lowland forests of Sarawak, Malaysia.

Acanthothecis roseola is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by Shirley Cunha Feuerstein. The type specimen was collected from the Parque Estadual do Papagaio Charão. The lichen has a whitish to greenish, cracked thallus with a black prothallus. Crystals of calcium oxalate are abundant below the algal layer and the hamathecium. The lichen contains norstictic acid, stictic acid, and subnorstictic acid, which are lichen products that can be detected using thin-layer chromatography. The specific epithet roseola refers to the pinkish-coloured margins of the ascomata.

Carbacanthographis megalospora is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by Shirley Cunha Feuerstein and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected by the first author from the Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve at an altitude of 800 m (2,600 ft). The lichen has a whitish grey thallus with a thin cortex and an underlying black prothallus. Its asci contain a single ascospore. These spores are hyaline, and typically measure 235–255 by 30–40 μm. The specific epithet alludes to the large spores, the largest known in genus Carbacanthographis. C. megalospora contains stictic acid, cryptostictic acid, and constictic acid, which are lichen products that can be detected using thin-layer chromatography.

Cruentotrema is a genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens in the family Graphidaceae. It has seven species.

Myriochapsa is a genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens in the subfamily Graphidoidae of the family Graphidaceae. It has three species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Marcela Cáceres, Robert Lücking, and H. Thorsten Lumbsch, with the Brazilian Myriochapsa psoromica assigned as the type species. The generic name combines Myriotrema and Chapsa, referring to the two Graphidaceae genera that it resembles. The main distinguishing characteristics of the new genus are its densely corticate thallus, and the presence of the lichen product psoromic acid. Additionally, its apothecia have wider pores, with differently textured margins. Although originally created as a monotypic genus, Harrie Sipman added two South American species in 2014.

Austrographa is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Roccellaceae. It has three species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by lichenologists Laurens Sparrius, John Elix, and Alan Archer, with Austrographa kurriminensis assigned as the type species. The genus had been published invalidly on two separate occasions. All three species in the genus were found in a mangrove stand in Queensland, Australia. The genus was discovered in Australia, and the name Austrographa reflects this.

Vigneronia spieri is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Roccellaceae. It is found in the Galápagos Islands, mainland Ecuador and the Antilles (Curaçao).

Pseudochapsa lueckingii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is known only from a single collection in São Paulo, Brazil.

Clandestinotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has 17 species. They typically inhabit montane and cloud forest at higher elevations in the tropics.

Clandestinotrema carbonera is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Venezuela, it was formally described as a new species in 2018 by Ian Medeiros. The species epithet refers to the type locality – El Bosque La Carbonera-San Eusebio in the Venezuelan Andes. The species had previously been mentioned by lichenologist Mason Hale in a 1978 publication, but he did not described it formally. This was the first reported instance of hypostictic acid isolated from a lichen.

Coenogonium australiense is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Coenogoniaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2018 by lichenologists Gintaras Kantvilas and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected by the first author near Little Fisher River (Tasmania) at an altitude of 880 m (2,890 ft), where it was found in a rainforest growing on Nothofagus cunninghamii. The species epithet australiense refers to its geographical distribution. In addition to Tasmania, the lichen has also been documented from New South Wales and Kangaroo Island. In the latter location it was found in remnant stands of coniferous woodland, where it was growing on the bark of old, fissured Callitris trunks.

Redonographa is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the monogeneric family Redonographaceae. It has five species.

Austrotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It is primarily found in the Australian-Southeast Asian region. The genus is characterized by small, pore-like apothecia with a double margin, faintly amyloid ascospores, and stictic acid chemistry. Austrotrema species grow on tree bark and have a continuous thallus with a cortex that is prosoplectenchymatous–featuring densely packed, filamentous fungal hyphae that run parallel to the surface of the lichen, creating a compact and firm texture. The genus is closely related to Thelotrema and Leucodecton, but can be distinguished from them based on molecular phylogenetic data, specific morphological traits, and its secondary chemistry. Currently, Austrotrema comprises three species.

Jocatoa is a fungal genus in the family Graphidaceae. It contains the single species Jocatoa agminalis, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen that can be found in dry forests and semi-arid regions throughout Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. The genus is characterized by its simple, thin paraphysis tips and the absence of an epithecium. Named in honor of the late Professor José Castillo Tovar for his contributions to Mexican mycology, Jocatoa is distinguishable from other superficially similar genera such as Diorygma and Glyphis based on its distinctive features, chemical composition, and molecular data.

Xalocoa is a single-species fungal genus in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by lichenologists Ekaphan Kraichak, Robert Lücking, and H. Thorsten Lumbsch. It contains Xalocoa ocellata, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen that was originally described by Elias Magnus Fries in 1831.

Sanguinotrema is a single-species fungal genus in the family Graphidaceae, and subfamily Graphidoideae. It contains the species Sanguinotrema wightii, a mostly corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen. This species has a pantropical distribution.

Gintarasia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has seven species, all of which are found in Australia. Gintarasia species are corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens with a thelotremoid form.

References

  1. 1 2 "Asteristion". Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Medeiros, Ian D.; Kraichak, Ekaphan; Lücking, Robert; Mangold, Armin; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten (2017). "Assembling a taxonomic monograph of tribe Wirthiotremateae (lichenized Ascomycota: Ostropales: Graphidaceae)". Fieldiana Life and Earth Sciences. 9: 1–31. doi:10.3158/2158-5520-16.9.1. S2CID   90460213.
  3. Matsumoto, T. (2000). "Taxonomic studies of the Thelotremataceae (Graphidales, lichenized Ascomycota) in Japan: (1) Genus Thelotrema". Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory. 88: 1–50.
  4. "Record Details: Asteristion erumpens Leight., Trans. Linn. Soc. London 27(2): 163 (1870) [1871]". Species Fungorum . Retrieved 9 April 2023.