Fungalpedia – Note 3282, Dothideomycetes
Dothideomycetes O.E. Erikss. & Winka, Myconet 1(1): 5 (1997).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.
Sexual morph: Ascomata stromatic, uni- or multi-loculate, pseudothecial, thyriothecial, cleistothecial, hysterothecial or apothecial, solitary to gregarious, globose to subglobose, pyriform to depressed, crustose or stellate, discoid to cupulate, immersed to superficial, coriaceous, with or without ostioles, glabrous to setose, periphysate, brown to black. Peridium single or multi-layered, composed of angular to globose or filiform, black to hyaline cells towards the inside lighter. Hamathecium comprising or lacking pseudoparaphyses. Asci cylindrical to clavate or ellipsoidal to subglobose, bitunicate, fissitunicate, with or without an ocular chamber. Ascospores filiform or ellipsoidal to fusiform, aseptate or septate, hyaline or colored, smooth- or rough-walled, with or without guttules, thin- or thick-walled, with or without various types of appendages and/or sheaths. Asexual morph: coelomycetous or hypomycetous. Coelomycetes: Conidiomata acervular or pycnidial, solitary or gregarious, immersed to erumpent, uni- or multi-loculate, with or without an ostiole. Conidiomatal wall composed of angular to globose or filiform, hyaline to brown cells. Conidiophores cylindrical to ampulliform or filiform, septate, branched to unbranched, sometimes reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells holoblastic, enteroblastic, phialidic, annellidic, arthric or tretic, integrated to discrete, doliiform, lageniform or cylindrical, sometimes with sympodial or percurrent proliferations, hyaline to brown. Conidia globose to oblong, cylindrical to filiform, hyaline to dark brown, aseptate or septate, smooth, striate, spinulose or verruculose, thin- or thick-walled, with or without appendages or gelatinous sheaths. Hyphomycetes: Conidiomata sporodochial or synnematal, solitary to gregarious, with or without setae. Conidiophores macronematous to micronematous, mononematous or synnematous, straight or flexuous, aseptate or septate, unbranched or branched, hyaline to brown. Conidiogenous cells blastic, phialidic, annellidic or tretic, integrated or discrete, determinate or proliferating sympodially or percurrently, cylindrical to oblong. Conidia solitary or catenate, acrogenous, pleurogenous or acropleurogenous, globose to ellipsoidal, cylindrical, clavate to obclavate, fusiform, filiform or reniform to sickle-shaped, straight to curved or helicoid, rounded or obtuse to truncate at apex, truncate at base, aseptate or septate, hyaline to dark brown, smooth or verruculose.
Life modes and distribution: The members of Dothideomycetes are distributed in a wide range of ecosystems around the world and have diverse life modes. Saprobic fungi are found in all environments and are important for decomposition and nutrient cycles in ecosystems (e.g. Hysterium, Lindgomyces). Phytopathogenic fungi are responsible for causing leaf, stem, root, and fruit diseases (e.g. Alternaria, Botryosphaeria, Cercospora, Mycosphaerella), while some have been reported as pathogenic to arthropods and mammals (e.g. Hortaea, Medicopsis, Myriangium, Piedraia). Lichens (e.g. Monoblastia, Strigula, Trypethelium) are found in the tropics and subtropics (Hongsanan et al. 2020b). Lichenicolous fungi (e.g. the Phoma complex) are also reported (Lawrey et al. 2012; Valenzuela-Lopez et al. 2018). Some members are endophytic (e.g. Alfoldia, Aquilomyces, Camarosporidiella, Neohendersonia, Ramichloridium), mycorrhizal (e.g. Cenococcum), fungicolous (e.g. Ampelomyces, Trichothyrium) and coprophilous (e.g. Delitschia, Preussia). There are some rock-inhabiting fungi (e.g. Coniosporium, Cryomyces) and their species diversity is becoming clearer (Ruibal et al. 2009). The ancestors of Dothideomycetes are presumed to have been saprobic and then evolved into other lifemodes such as phytopathogens and lichens (Schoch et al. 2009; Haridas et al. 2020).
Notes: Dothideomycetes, the largest and most phylogenetically diverse class of Ascomycota, were introduced by Eriksson and Winka (1997). This class encompasses the majority of species previously classified under Loculoascomycetes (Luttrell 1955) and is characterized by ascolocular development and fissitunicate asci. The classification of sexually typified genera within Dothideomycetes was provided by Lumbsch and Huhndorf (2007, 2010) alongside the Phylum Ascomycota. Similarly, asexual-typified genera in this class were incorporated into the natural classification systems by Wijayawardene et al. (2014), where molecular data are available. The most recent monographs of families of Dothideomycetes were presented by Hongsanan et al. (2020a, b).
Dothideomycetes comprising 49 orders, 222 families and 1748 genera (Wijayawardene et al. 2022a) are divided into two subclasses: Dothideomycetidae and Pleosporomycetidae. Most orders and families are treated as incertae sedis within this class (Schoch et al. 2006). Within the subclass Dothideomycetidae, there are ten accepted orders, namely: Aureoconidiellales, Capnodiales, Cladosporiales, Comminutisporales, Dothideales, Mycosphaerellales, Myriangiales, Neophaeothecales, Phaeothecales, and Racodiales (Wijayawardene et al. 2022a). In the Pleosporomycetidae subclass, Gloniales, Hysteriales, Mytilinidiales, and Pleosporales are accepted (Wijayawardene et al. 2022a), whereas 35 orders are categorized as Dothideomycetes orders incertae sedis.
One fungus one name: In recent years, DNA sequencing and molecular phylogenetic analysis have made it possible to confirm sexual and asexual relationships and to propose one name for a single species or genus (Crous et al. 2009; Bensch et al. 2012; Manamgoda et al. 2012; Phillips et al. 2013; Hyde et al. 2013, 2014). Thus, it was proposed to adopt one name (between two generic names) when the links between the morphs are confirmed.
The members of Dothideomycetes are well-known as pathogens of both plants and animals, and industrially important taxa. Some studies focusing on economically, clinically and industrially important taxa are summarized in Tables 8, 9 and 10 respectively (examples that were published in the last 5 years).
Type order: Dothideales Lindau, in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam., Teil. I (Leipzig) 1(1): 373 (1897).
Type family: Dothideaceae Chevall. [as ‘Dothideae’], Fl. gén. env. Paris (Paris) 1: 446 (1826).
Type genus: Dothidea Fr., Observ. mycol. (Havniae) 2: 347 (1818).
Type species: Dothidea sambuci (Pers.) Fr., Syst. mycol. (Lundae) 2(2): 551 (1823).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Dothideomycetes
Figure 1 – Morphology in species of Dothideomycetes. a–d Symptoms (a Pseudocercospora cladrastidis on leaves of Maackia amurensis. b Alternaria alternata on apple leaf. c Venturia inaequalis on apple fruit d Shiraia bambusicola on bamboo). e–g Ascomata on host surfacpe (e Dothidea puccinioides. f Caryospora minima. g Hysterium angustatum). h–j Ascomata in vertical sections (h D. puccinioides. i Keissleriella quadriseptata. j Minutisphaera japonica). k pseudoparaphyses (Lineolata rhizophorae). l Ascus apex (Jahnula sp.). m–p Asci (m Asterina aucubae, n Hadrospora fallax. o Massarina eburnea. p Neoheleiosa sp.). q Fissitunicate ascus with extending endoascus (Lindgomyces cinctosporus). r Fissitunicate ascus and discharged ascospores with an elongated sheath (Tingoldiago graminicola (mounted in India ink)). s–v Ascospores (s Phyllosticta sp. (stained with blue-black ink). t Rebentischia abietis. u Patellaria sp. v Stemphylium sp.). w Conidioma in vertical section (Versicolorisporium triseptatum). x Macronematous conidiophores (Cladosporium sp.). y Synnema (Phragmocephala atra). z–f1 conidia (z Botryosphaeria dothidea. a1 Periconia macrospinosa (bleached using NaClO). b1 Muyocopron sp. c1 Berkleasmium concinnum. d1 Prosthemium intermedium. e1 Quadricrura meridionalis. f1 Tubeufia sp.). g1 Propagule (Collapsimycopappus styracis). Scale bars: e–g = 500 µm, h–j, w–y = 100 µm, m–r = 50 µm, k, l, s–v, z–g1 = 20 µm.
References
Eriksson OE, Winka W. 1997 – Supraordinal taxa of Ascomycota. Myconet. 1:1–16.
Lumbsch HT, Huhndorf SM. 2007 – Outline of Ascomycota – 2007. Myconet 13:1–58.
Luttrell ES. 1955 – The ascostromatic Ascomycetes. Mycologia 47:511–532.
Entry by
Nalin N. Wijayawardene, Center for Yunnan Plateau Biological Resources Protection and Utilization, College of Biological Resource and Food Engineering, Qujing Normal University, Qujing, Yunnan 655011, P.R. China, Tropical Microbiology Research Foundation, 96/N/10, Meemanagoda Road, 10230 Pannipitiya, Sri Lanka, Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Technology, Rajarata University, Sri Lanka
Published online 25 September 2026