Fungalpedia – Note 1145, Cephalothecaceae

 

Cephalothecaceae Höhn.

Citation when using this data: Hyde KD et al. 2020 (in prep.) – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.

Classification: Cephalothecales, Sordariomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

Saprobic on decaying wood or bark and soil or hypersaprobic on other fungi, particularly polypores, some species are opportunistic pathogens causing systemic mycotic infection in animals and humans. Sexual morph: Ascomata cleistothecial, solitary to gregarious, superficial, subglobose to globose, dark brown to black, glabrous, sometimes covered or surrounded at base by subiculum consisting of sulphureous hyphae, lacking ostioles. Peridium cephalothecoid, comprising 2–3 layers, outer layer composed of dark brown cells of textura angularis to prismatica, inner layer composed of elongated, hyaline cells of textura prismatica. Paraphyses comprising branched, and septate ascogenous hyphae. Asci forming upon the ascogenous hyphae, 8-spored, unitunicate, pyriform to subglobose to globose, evanescent, apedicellate, without an apical ring. Ascospores irregularly arranged, brown, variously-shaped, unicellular, without germ pores, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Mycelium pale-yellowish to brownish-yellow, branched septate. Conidiophores macronematous, semi-macronemous or micronematous, cylindrical, stiffly upright, septate, unbranched or verticillate. Conidiogenous cells phialidic, cylindrical, strongly tapering and thick-walled, hyaline, smooth-walled. Conidia in chains, hyaline to brown, cylindrical, ovate or obovate, with or without an apiculate or truncate base, 1-celled, smooth-walled (adapted from Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b, Davolos et al. 2019).

Notes: Cephalothecaceae was previously accommodated in the Sordariales by Suh & Blackwell (1999), but this study was based only on SSU, LSU sequence analysis. This has been revised with time and based on its uncertain phylogenetic placement and different morphology, Maharachchikumbura et al. (2015) tentatively referred the Cephalothecaceae to family incertae sedis in Sordariomycetes. Similar results were obtained by Hongsanan et al. (2017) who reported that the divergence of Cephalothecaceae was at 175 MYA. Five genera, Albertiniella, Cephalotheca, Cryptendoxyla, Phialemonium and Victoriomyces are currently included in Cephalothecaceae (Fuckel 1872, Kirschstein 1936, Malloch & Cain 1970, Gams & McGinnis 1983, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b, Davolos et al. 2019). The genus is placed in Cephalothecales in this study.

Type genus: Cephalotheca Fuckel, Jb. nassau. Ver. Naturk. 25-26: 297 (1871).

 

References

Davolos D, Pietrangeli B, Persiani AM, Maggi O. 2019 – Victoriomyces antarcticus gen. nov., sp. nov., a distinct evolutionary lineage of the Cephalothecaceae (Ascomycota) based on sequence-based phylogeny and morphology. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 69, 1099–1110.

Fuckel L. 1872 – Symbolae mycologicae. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Rheinischen Pilze. Erster Nachtrag. Jahrbücher des Nassauischen Vereins für Naturkunde 25–26, 287–346.

Gams W, McGinnis MR. 1983 – Phialemonium, a new anamorph genus intermediate between Phialophora and Acremonium. Mycologia 75, 977–987.

Hongsanan S, Maharachchikumbura SSN, Hyde KD, Samarakoon MC et al. 2017 – An updated phylogeny of Sordariomycetes based on phylogenetic and molecular clock evidence. Fungal Diversity 84, 25–41.

Kirschstein W. 1936 – Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Ascomyceten und ihrer Nebenformen besonders aus der Mark Brandenburg und dem Bayerischen Walde. Annales Mycologici 34, 180–210.

Malloch D, Cain RF. 1970 – Five new genera in the new family Pseudeurotiaceae. Canadian Journal of Botany 48, 1815–1825.

Maharachchikumbura SSN, Hyde KD, Jones EBG, McKenzie EHC et al. 2015 – Towards a natural classification and backbone tree for Sordariomycetes. Fungal Diversity 72, 199–301.

Maharachchikumbura SSN, Hyde KD, Jones EBG, McKenzie EHC et al. 2016b – Families of Sordariomycetes. Fungal Diversity 79, 1–317.

Suh SO, Blackwell M. 1999 – Molecular phylogeny of the cleistothecial fungi placed in Cephalothecaceae and Pseudeurotiaceae. Mycologia 91, 836.

 

Entry by

Kevin David Hyde, Institute of Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510225, P.R. China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, 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, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand, Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, P.R. China, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, World Agroforestry Centre, East and Central Asia, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, P.R. China

 

Published online 28 February 2020

 

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