Fungalpedia – Note 3317, Microbotryomycetes

 

Microbotryomycetes R. Bauer, Begerow, J.P. Samp., M. Weiss & Oberw., Mycol. Progr. 5(1): 47 (2006).

Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1g.

Classification: Pucciniomycotina, Basidiomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.

Asexual morph: reproduction occurs mostly by polar budding or, in one species, by the production of aquatically adapted tetraradiate spores. Sexual morph: variable where known either aquatic or plant parasitic and sorus-forming. Basidiospores are sessile or singly formed on sterigmata, on transversely septate basidia (Toome et al. 2013). A spindle pole body type is also described as characteristic for other Microbotryomycetes (McCully and Robinow 1972a,b; Celio et al. 2006). Metaphasic SPBs intranuclear (Bauer et al. 2006; Oberwinkler et al. 2017). Structurally and ecologically highly diverse basidiomycetes, mostly with ontogenetic yeast stages and simple pored hyphal septa in dimorphic species. 

Life modes and distribution: Microbotryales are predominantly teliospore-forming plant parasites; Sporidiobolales and Leucosporidiales—anamorphic or teliospore-forming yeasts isolated from various habitats and surfaces; Heterogastridiales—hyphal fungi isolated from decaying plant material and mushrooms, mycoparasites, saprobic yeasts (Aime et al. 2006; Toome et al. 2013).

Notes: The class Microbotryomycetes was proposed by Bauer et al. (2006) and accommodated in the subdivision Pucciniomycotina (Oberwinkler 2017). He et al. (2024) accepted seven orders i.e. Heitmaniales, Heterogastridiales, Kriegeriales, Leucosporidiales, Microbotryales, Rosettozymales, and Sporidiobolales, which comprises eleven families and 45 genera. 

Type order: Microbotryales R. Bauer & Oberw., in Bauer, Oberwinkler & Vánky, Can. J. Bot. 75: 1309 (1997).

Type family: Microbotryaceae R.T. Moore, Mycotaxon 59: 17 (1996).

Type genus: Microbotryum Lév., Annls Sci. Nat., Bot., sér. 3 8: 372 (1847).

Type species: Microbotryum antherarum (DC.) Lév. 1847 (Designated by Pfeiffer, Nomenclator Botanicus (Cassellis) 2: 303. 1873) (fide Index Fungorum 2023).

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Microbotryomycetes.

 

Figure 1 – Different taxa of Basidiomycota. a Agaricomycetes (Amanita hemibapha). b Bartheletiomycetes (Bartheletia paradoxa). c Cystobasidiomycetes (Cyphobasidium), white arrow shows the fruiting bodies. d Dacrymycetes (Dacryomyces spathularia). e Exobasidiomycetes (Exobasidium ferrugineae). f Malasseziomycetes (Malassezia); g Microbotryomycetes (Microbotrium). h Physodermatomycetes (Physoderma menyanthis). i Pucciniomycetes (Puccinia). j Tremellomycetes (Tremella fusiformis). k Tritirachiomycetes (Tritirachium oryzae). l Ustilaginomycetes (Mycosystema maydis). m Wallemiomycetes (Wallemia sebi). Photo credits: Figure a: Stephen Axford, Figures B-M: iNaturalist (The photos have been used under the CC BY-NC 4.0 non-commercial use license)

 

References

Bauer R, Begerow D, Sampaio JP, Weiß M et al. 2006 – The simple-septate basidiomycetes: a synopsis. Mycol Prog 5:41–66.

Aime, MC, Matheny PB, Henk DA et al. 2006 – An overview of the higher-level classification of Pucciniomycotina based on combined analyses of nuclear large and small subunit rDNA sequences. Mycologia 98:896–905.

Toome M, Roberson RW, Aime MC. 2013 – Meredithblackwellia eburnea gen. et sp. nov., Kriegeriaceae fam. nov. and Kriegeriales ord. nov. toward resolving higher-level classification in Microbotryomycetes. Mycologia 105(2):486–495.

McCully EK, Robinow CF. 1972a – Mitosis in heterobasidiomycetous yeasts. I. Leucosporidium scottii (Candida scottii). J Cell Sci 10:857–881.

McCully EK, Robinow CF. 1972b – Mitosis in heterobasidiomycetous yeasts. II. Rhodosporidium sp. (Rodotorula glutinis) and Aessosporon salmonicolor (Sporobolomyces salmonicolor). J Cell Sci 11:1–31.

Celio GJ, Padamsee M, Dentinger BTM, Bauer R et al. 2006 – Assembling the fungal tree of life: constructing the structural and biochemical database. Mycologia 98:850–859.

He MQ, Cao B, Liu F, Boekhout T et al. 2024 – Phylogenomics, divergence times and notes of orders in Basidiomycota. Fungal Divers.

Oberwinkler F. 2017 – Yeasts in Pucciniomycotina. Mycol Prog 16:831–856.

 

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 2 October 2026

Back to Glossary Index Page