Fungalpedia – Note 619, Echidnodella

 

Echidnodella Theiss.

Citation when using this data: D. S. Marasinghe et al. 2023 (in prep.) – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.

Index FungorumFacesoffungiMycoBankGenBank.

Classification: AsterinaceaeAsterinalesDothideomycetidaeDothideomycetesPezizomycotinaAscomycota, Fungi

Epiphytic and biotrophic of leaves. Superficial hyphae radiating from the margins of the thyriothecia, lacking appressoria. Sexual morph: Thyriothecia superficial, scattered or gregarious, black, with a longitudinal slit. Hamathecium of hyaline, cellular, aseptate, pseudoparaphyses with round ends. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, subglobose-clavate, sessile or with a short papilla-like pedicel, thickened at the apex, with an ocular chamber. Ascospores overlapping 2–4-seriate, conglobate, hyaline when immature, becoming brown to reddish brown at maturity, with rounded ends, 1-septum, strongly constricted at the septa. Asexual morph: Undetermined (Hongsanan et al. 2014a).

Notes: Theissen and Sydow (1918) established Echidnodella to accommodate Morenoella-like species lacking appressorial hyphae (Fig. 1). Morphologically, this genus is similar to Lembosia and Morenoella in having an elongate thyriothecia with longitudinal slits (Hongsanan et al. 2014a). However, Echidnodella differs from Lembosia and Morenoella in the hyaline, cellular pseudoparaphyses and lacking of hyphae with appressoria (Fig. 2) (Mohamed and Thomas 2021), while Morenoella is currently a synonym of Lembosia. Herein, we transfer this genus from Asterinaceae to Lembosiaceae based on its elongated thyriothecia opening by a longitudinal slit.

Type species: Echidnodella linearis (Syd. & P. Syd.) Syd., Annls mycol. 15(6): 422 (1918) [1917]

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Echidnodella.

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Figure 1  – Echidnodella linearis (BPI 652997). a Details of herbarium material. b, c Thyriothecia on the leaf surface. d Squash mount of thyriothecium. e Sparse pseudoparaphyses. f–h Immature and mature asci. i–k Immature and mature ascospores. Scale bars: c = 100 μm, e–h = 20 μm, i–k = 10 μm. Adapted from Hongsanan et al. (2014a)

 

image

 

Figure 2  – Echidnodella vagamonensis. a Colonies on the leaf surface. b Superficial hyphae. c Ascus. d Ascospores. Scale bars: b, c = 5 μm. Redrawn from Mohamed and Thomas (2021)

 

References

Hongsanan S, Li YM, Liu JK et al 2014a Revision of genera in Asterinales. Fungal Divers 68:1–68.

Mohamed H, Thomas J 2021 – A new species of Echidnodella (Asterinales, Lembosiaceae) from Western Ghats of Kerala State, India. Phytotaxa 496:275–280.

Theissen F, Sydow H 1918 – Synoptische Tafeln. Ann Mycologici 15:422.

 

Entry by 

Diana Sandamali Marasinghe, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand, Mushroom Research Foundation, 128 M.3 Ban Pa Deng T. Pa Pae, A. Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai, 50150, Thailand

 

Published online 29 August 2023