Fungalpedia – Note 3300, Neolectomycetes
Neolectomycetes O.E. Erikss. & Winka, Myconet 1(1): 8 (1997).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Taphrinomycotina, Ascomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.
Ascomata long, irregularly clavate, lanceolate or spathulate and consisting of a sterile zone at the bottom and a fertile zone (hymenium) on the top, yellow to bright yellowish, smooth, irregularly lobate. Asci cylindrical to cylindrical-clavate, 8-spored. Paraphyses absent. Ascospores uniseriate, unicellular, 5.5–8 × 3–4 μm, reniform, ellipsoid or ovoid, hyaline, smooth (Claudiu Chinan and Hewitt 2012).
Life mode and distribution: Associated with rootlets of conifers. Distribution is cosmopolitan.
Notes: Eriksson and Winka (1997) introduced this class to accommodate Neolecta Speg., typified by Neolecta flavovirescens Speg. Currently, the class comprises a single order, a family and a genus. Index Fungorum (2023) has listed four epithets (accession date: 29.06. 2023). However, Landvik et al. (2003) have accepted only two species (viz., N. vitellina (Bres.) Korf & J.K. Rogers 1971 and N. irregularis (Peck) Korf & J.K. Rogers 1971) except the type species.
The placement of Neolecta has been problematic for the last three decades. Based on RPB2 sequence data, Liu et al. (1999) showed that Neolecta vitellina can be accommodated in the basal lineage of the Ascomycota, sister to Schizosaccharomyces pombe Lindner. Furthermore, Liu et al. (1999) stated that ‘the ancestral ascomycetes may have been filamentous fungi with a sexual phase that produced a fruiting body’. The clade in which both taxa resided was named ‘Archiascomycetes’ but this was not a proper rank (See editorial comment in the Index Fungorum 2023). Landvick et al. (2001), however, showed that Neolecta is phylogenetically close to yeast taxa in Saccharomycotina and Taphrinomycotina. Schoch et al. (2009) confirmed the placement of Neolecta in Taphrinomycotina.
Type order: Neolectales Landvik, O.E. Erikss., Gargas & P. Gust., Syst. Ascom. 11: 107-118 (1993).
Type family: Neolectaceae Redhead, Can. J. Bot. 55: 305 (1977).
Type genus: Neolecta Speg., Anal. Soc. cient. argent. 12(5): 218 (1881).
Type species: Neolecta flavovirescens Speg. [as ‘flavo-virescens’], Anal. Soc. cient. argent. 12(5): 218 (1881).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Neolectomycetes.
Figure 1 – Neolecta irregularis: a Ascomata. b Asci. c Ascospores. d Cells of stipe. Scale bars: A=10mm; B=20µm; C-D =10µm. (Photograph ‘a’ with the courtesy of Bau Tolgor. b-d was redrawn from Jin-Zhao and Tolgor 2009).
References
Eriksson OE, Winka W. 1997 – Supraordinal taxa of Ascomycota. Myconet. 1:1–16.
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
Fungalpedia – Note 3301, Novakomycetes
Novakomycetes Dlauchy, G. Péter & Čadež, Microorganisms 9 (2, no. 301): 14 (2021).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Taphrinomycotina, Ascomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.
Sexual reproduction: Ascomata absent. Asci unconjugated or formed by heterogamous conjugation, one- or two-spored, ellipsoid, deliquescent. Ascospores subspheroid or ellipsoid, aseptate. Asexual reproduction: White to cream coloured yeast colonies formed by budding cells. Two layered cell walls, enteroblastic budding, solitary, aseptate blastoconidia. Pseudohyphae and true hyphae absent.
Life mode and distribution: Budding yeast originating from olive oil in Spain.
Notes: The class Novakomycetes was introduced by Čadež et al. (2021). Currently, it is the smallest among the six classes assigned to the subphylum Taphrinomycotina (Wijayawardene et al. 2022a). According to phylogenomic analyses, Novakomycetes is closely related to Schizosaccharomycetes comprising fission yeasts (Čadež et al. 2021). The class includes a hierarchic chain of monotypic taxa: Novakomycetales, Novakomycetaceae and Novakomyces erected to accommodate the species Novakomyces olei (Čadež et al. 2021).
The single species assigned to Novakomycetes is budding yeast originating from olive oil; however, it may be allochthonous in this habitat, as no additional report of its occurrence has been published (Čadež et al. 2021; Zullo and Ciafardini 2022).
Type order: Novakomycetales Dlauchy, G. Péter & Čadež, in Čadež, Dlauchy, Tome & Péter, Microorganisms 9(2, no. 301): 14 (2021).
Type family: Novakomycetaceae Dlauchy, G. Péter & Čadež, in Čadež, Dlauchy, Tome & Péter, Microorganisms 9(2, no. 301): 14 (2021).
Type genus: Novakomyces Dlauchy, G. Péter & Čadež, Microorganisms 9 (2, no. 301): 14 (2021).
Type species: Novakomyces olei Dlauchy, G. Péter & Čadež, in Čadež, Dlauchy, Tome & Péter, Microorganisms 9(2, no. 301): 14 (2021).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Novakomycetes.
Figure 1 – Micromorphological characters of Novakomyces olei (from Čadež et al. 2021). a Budding cell of Novakomyces olei. Collarette surrounding the forming bud is indicated by arrows. b Ascosporulating culture of Novakomyces olei. The remnant of an ascus formed by heterogamous conjugation is indicated by arrow. Scale bars: a = 1 μm, b = 10 μm (The image ‘a’ was taken by Bence Rácz).
References
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
Fungalpedia – Note 3302, Pneumocystomycetes
Pneumocystomycetes O.E. Erikss. & Winka [as ‘Pneumocystidomycetes’], Myconet 1(1): 9 (1997).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Taphrinomycotina, Ascomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.
Non-filamentous yeast-like organisms, aggregated and parasitic cells in mammalian alveoli, thin-coated, uninucleate, divided by fission. Asci crassitunicate, tetra- or octosporum. Ascospores globose or round, 8-spored, thick-walled (Eriksson and Winka 1997; Cushion et al. 2004).
Life mode and distribution: parasitic on mammals as they aggregate in mammalian alveoli and P. carinii causes pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised (esp. AIDS) patients (Mills 1986; Kirk et al. 2008) and cancer patients (Sepkowitz et al. 1992; Sepkowitz 1993).
Notes: The genus Pneumocystis P. Delanoë & Delanoë was introduced by Delanoë and Delanoë (1912). For almost eight decades, Pneumocystis was regarded as a protozoan taxon (Stringer 2002) but Edman et al. (1988) confirmed that Pneumocystis is related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae using rRNA. Later, Stringer et al. (1989) confirmed that the members of Pneumocystis are related to Candida albicans, Neurospora crassa, and Cryptococcus neoformans as well.
Eriksson (1994) introduced the family Pneumocystaceae O.E. Erikss. and the order Pneumocystales O.E. Erikss. to accommodate Pneumocystis. Later, Eriksson and Winka (1997) introduced the class Pneumocystomycetes.
Type genus: Pneumocystis P. Delanoë & Delanoë 1912.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Pneumocystomycetes.
References
Delanoë P, Delanoë M. 1912 – Sur les rapports des kystes de Carini du poumon des rats avec le Trypanosoma lewisi. CR Acad Sci (Paris) 155:658–660.
Eriksson OE, Winka W. 1997 – Supraordinal taxa of Ascomycota. Myconet. 1:1–16.
Eriksson OE. 1994 – Pneumocystis carinii, a parasite in lungs of mammals, referred to a new family and order (Pneumocystidaceae, Pneumocystidales, Ascomycota). Syst Ascomycetum 13:165–180.
Stringer JR. 2002 – Pneumocystis. Int J Med Microbiol 292:391–404.
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
Fungalpedia – Note 3303, Pneumocystomycetidae
Pneumocystomycetidae P.M. Kirk, P.F. Cannon, Stalpers & J.C. David.
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Taphrinomycotina, Ascomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.
= Pneumocystomycetidae P.M. Kirk, P.F. Cannon, Stalpers & J.C. David, Ainsworth & Bisby’s Dictionary of the Fungi, Edn 9 (Wallingford): 417 (2001); Nom. inval., Art. 38.1(a) (Shenzhen)
Description: The description is similar to the class description.
Notes: Pneumocystomycetidae P.M. Kirk et al. 2001 was invalidly published (Art. 38.1(a) (Shenzhen)). Here we validate Pneumocystomycetidae.
Type order: Pneumocystales O.E. Erikss. [as ‘Pneumocystidales’], Syst. Ascom. 13(2): 170 (1994).
Type family: Pneumocystaceae O.E. Erikss. [as ‘Pneumocystidaceae’], Syst. Ascom. 13(2): 170 (1994).
Type genus: Pneumocystis P. Delanoë & Delanoë, C. r. hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris 155: 660 (1912).
Type species: Pneumocystis carinii P. Delanoë & Delanoë, C. r. hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris 155: 660 (1912).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Pneumocystomycetidae.
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
Fungalpedia – Note 3304, Schizosaccharomycetes
Schizosaccharomycetes O.E. Erikss. & Winka, Myconet 1(1): 10 (1997).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Taphrinomycotina, Ascomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.
Notes: Eriksson et al. (1993) introduced the order Schizosaccharomycetales O.E. Erikss. et al. to accommodate the family Schizosaccharomycetaceae Beij. ex Klöcker. Eriksson and Winka (1997) introduced the class Schizosaccharomycetes. The phylogenetic placement was subject to a long-lasting discourse. Although it was early concluded that the fission yeasts diverged early from a common ancestor of the eukaryotes it could not be answered unambiguously if they are archaic ascomycetes which diverged early from the Ascomycota or if they diverged later after the Ascomycota from the lineage that leads to the Metazoa (Sipiczki 1989; Sipiczki 1995). Only after whole genome data were available open questions concerning the phylogeny of the fission yeast could be answered with higher confidence. Liu et al. (2009) confirmed the placement of Schizosaccharomyces (the representative genus of Schizosaccharomycetes) in the subphylum Taphrinomycotina. Currently, the class comprises one order, one family which only contains the genus Schizosaccharomyces. It was proposed to divide the genus Schizosaccharomyces in three genera: Schizosaccharomyces, Octosporomyces (Kudrjawzew 1960) and Hasegawaea (Yamada and Banno 1987). This proposal was never broadly accepted by later authors. The genus Schizosaccharomyces currently comprises seven species (i.e. S. japonicus, S. versatilis, S. cryophilus, S. pombe, S. octosporus, S. lindneri and S. osmophilus).
Type order: Schizosaccharomycetales O.E. Erikss., Syst. Ascom. 11: 146 (1994).
Type family: Schizosaccharomycetaceae Beij. ex Klöcker, Lafar’s Handb. Techn. Mykol., Edn 2 4: 189 (1905).
Type genus: Schizosaccharomyces Lindner, Wochenschr. Brau. 10: 1298 (1893).
Type species: Schizosaccharomyces pombe Lindner, Wochenschr. Brau. 10: 1298 (1893).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Schizosaccharomycetes.
Figure 1 – Microphotographs of different Schizosaccharomyces species. a Ascus of S. pombe with 4 ascospores (nuclei stained with dapi). b Ascus of S. lindneri with 8 ascospores. c Dividing cell of S. pombe. d Dividing cell of S. lindneri. Cell division instead of budding is one of the characteristic features that differentiates the Schizosaccharomycetes from the Saccharomycetes.
References
Eriksson O, Hawksworth DL. 1993 – Outline of the Ascomycetes— 1993. Syst Ascomycetum 12:1–257.
Eriksson OE, Winka W. 1997 – Supraordinal taxa of Ascomycota. Myconet. 1:1–16.
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
Fungalpedia – Note 3305, Taphrinomycetes
Taphrinomycetes O.E. Erikss. & Winka, Myconet 1(1): 11 (1997).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Taphrinomycotina, Ascomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.
Notes: The class Taphrinomycetes was introduced by Eriksson and Winka (1997), with Taphrinales as the type order. Taphrinales comprises two families viz., Taphrinaceae and Protomycetaceae. Protomycetaceae has five genera (i.e. Protomyces, Protomycopsis, Saitoella, Taphridium, and Volkartia) while Taphrinaceae has only one genus (Taphrina) (Wijayawardene et al. 2022a). The type genus of Protomycetaceae (Protomyces) was first established by Unger (Kurtzman 1833), and P. macrosporus as a type species. This genus has been strictly defined previously, based on morphology and the host range (Compositae and Umbelliferae) (Reddy and Kramer 1975;). Later, Wang et al. (2016) found out that Protomyces species can be detected in other host plant families. The type genus of Taphrinaceae (Taphrina) was introduced by Fries (1815) to accommodate T. populina as a type species of the genus, which has a dimorphic lifestyle. The parasitic counterparts on plants are known as teleomorphs, and the anamorphic yeast state is known as the saprotrophic state and is classified in the genus Lalaria (Mix 1949; Nutaratat et al. 2022). In 2003, Rodrigues and Fonseca (2003) studied the Taphrina species based on DNA sequence by using the LSU rRNA gene (D1/D2 domains) and ITS regions to confirm the placement of the genus Taphrina and found that Taphrina is closely related to the genus Protomyces. Later, the reclassification of four Lalaria species (L. arrabidae, L. inositophila, L. kurtzmanii, and L. veronaerambellii) was proposed and synonymized under Taphrina, according to the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants.
Type Order: Taphrinales Haeckel, Systemat. Phylogen. Protist. Pflanzen, Entwurf natürl. Syst. Organism. Grund ihrer Stammesg. 1: 316 (1894).
Type Family: Taphrinaceae Gäum., in Gäumann & Dodge, Comp. Morph. Fungi (London): 161 (1928).
Type Genus: Taphrina Fr., Observ. mycol. (Havniae) 1: 217 (1815).
Type Species: Taphrina populina Fr., Observ. mycol. (Havniae) 1: 217 (1815).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Taphrinomycetes.
Figure 1 – a Leaf spots and galls on Laserpitium latifolium caused by Protomyces macrosporus. b, c Young stage of ascogenous cells. d, e Mature ascogenous cells. Scale bar: b-e = 50 μm (Redraw from Bacigálová et al. 2008).
References
Eriksson OE, Winka W. 1997 – Supraordinal taxa of Ascomycota. Myconet. 1:1–16.
Fries EM. 1815 – Observationes Mycologicae. 1:1-230.
Mix AJ. 1949 – A monograph of the genus Taphrina. University of Kansas Science Bulletin. 33:1–167.
Reddy MS, Kramer CA. 1975 – Taxonomic revision of the Protomycetales. Mycotaxon 3:1–50.
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
Fungalpedia – Note 3306, Basidiobolomycota
Basidiobolomycota Doweld, Prosyllabus Tracheophytorum, Tentamen Systematis Plantarum Vascularium (Tracheophyta) (Moscow): LXXVII (2001).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Basidiobolomyceta, Fungi.
Note: The phylum Basidiobolomycota was proposed by Doweld (2001). Basidiobolomycota encompasses certain fungi that were traditionally classified within the phylum ‘Zygomycota’ but were reclassified due to molecular and phylogenetic evidence (Doweld 2001). The classification was revised to account for monophyly and divergence time, as presented in studies conducted by Tedersoo et al. (2018) and Wijayawardene et al. (2018b). Members of Basidiobolomycota are characterized by their unique features, particularly in their reproductive structures. They produce spores on specialized structures called basidia, which are club-shaped cells that typically bear four spores at their tips. This mode of spore production is one of the defining characteristics of the phylum and distinguishes it from other fungal groups. One of the remarkable traits of Basidiobolomycota is the production of multinucleate cells, known as coenocytic hyphae. Unlike most fungi, which have septate hyphae with distinct cell walls separating individual compartments, the hyphae of Basidiobolomycota lack septa, and multiple nuclei can exist within a single hyphal compartment (Tedersoo et al. 2018; Wijayawardene et al. 2018b).
Controversial opinions: Humber (2012) established Entomophthoromycota, to accommodate Basidiobolomycetes, Neozygitomycetes and Entomophthoramycetes. This placement was accepted by Gryganskyi et al. (2013). In the phylogenomic analyses of Galindo et al. (2021), the representative taxa of Basidiobolomycota clustered in Zoopagomycota. Strassert and Monaghan (2022) also confirmed the results of Galindo et al. (2021) and regarded Basidiobolomycota as a subphylum of Zoopagomycota, i.e. Basidiobolomycotina.
Basidiobolomycota comprises one subphylum (Basidiobolomycotina) and one class (Basidiobolomycetes).
Type genus: Basidiobolus Eidam 1886.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Basidiobolomycota.
References
Doweld AB. 2001 – Prosyllabus tracheophytorum. In: Tentamen systematis plantarum vascularium (Tracheophyta). Geos, Moscow.
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
Fungalpedia – Note 3307, Basidiobolomycetes
Basidiobolomycetes Doweld, Prosyllabus Tracheophytorum, Tentamen Systematis Plantarum Vascularium (Tracheophyta) (Moscow): LXXVII (2001).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Basidiobolomycotina, Basidiobolomycota, Basidiobolomyceta, Fungi.
Cells in their vegetative state possess a single nucleus and can manifest either as a septate mycelium or as yeast-like cells that originate from the insides of preceding cells, exemplified by the ‘Darmform’ growth pattern. During mitosis, the nuclear membrane starts by breaking into pieces. These fragments, alongside other membranes, accumulate around a specific nuclear area. The chromosomes, which are numerous and minuscule, get compacted and position themselves on a central metaphase plate. This plate typically embeds within the nucleolus, working in conjunction with a barrel-shaped spindle. During the interphase, these chromosomes relax and expand. The cell responsible for producing conidia, known as the conidiophore, is straightforward but showcases a distinct bulbous enlargement at its tip, directly below the emerging conidium. Conidia are spherical, with a single nucleus, and have a tiny conical outgrowth at their base. This outgrowth juts into the spore body but flips out during release. The wall layers of the conidia are indistinguishable. The release of these conidia is quite forceful, resembling a rocket’s propulsion, which is triggered by a rupture in the central frail region of the sub-conidial enlargement. The upper part of this enlargement is released with the conidium and can occasionally separate during its movement. If secondary conidia are produced, they are typically elongated, sometimes bent, and may have a mucous drop at their tip. These are formed at the top of a slender, long conidiophore and are dispersed passively. Resting spores, generally zygospores, are developed within the axis of preceding cells. The nuclei of the gametangial cells divide before merging, but only a single nucleus from each cell becomes part of the zygospore. Once matured, zygospores exhibit robust, double-layered walls. Their germination directly results in a germ conidium, typically resembling the secondary type, which is elongated and passively released from a thin conidiophore (modified description from Humber 2012).
Life modes and distribution: Although Basidiobolomycetes are mostly known for their saprophytic lifestyle, there are a few species that can cause rare infections in humans and animals. Basidiobolus ranarum is the most well-known species responsible for infections, which are known as basidiobolomycosis. These infections often affect the subcutaneous tissue, gastrointestinal tract, or rhinofacial regions (Eidam 1886; Benjamin 1979).
Notes: Similar to notes in the phylum.
Type order: Basidiobolales Jacz. & P.A. Jacz. (1931), Opredelitel’ Gribov, I Ficomiţeti (Leningrad): 8 (1931)
Type family: Basidiobolaceae Engler & Gilg (1924), Syllabus, Edn 9 & 10 (Berlin): 45 (1924)
Type genus: Basidiobolus Eidam 1886 [Amphoromorpha Thaxter 1914], Krypt.-Fl. Schlesien (Breslau) 3.1(9–16): 224 (1886) [1889]
Type species: Basidiobolus ranarum, Krypt.-Fl. Schlesien (Breslau) 3.1(9–16): 225 (1886) [1889]
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Basidiobolomycetes.
Figure 1 – Culture and micromorphological characteristics of Basidiobolus omanensis (CBS 146282). a, b Colony after 7 days of incubation at 28°C. a MEA front. b PDA front. c Primary conidia. d Primary conidia arising from mycelia. e Young zygospore. f Zygospores. g Mature conidia. h Capilloconidium. i Conidia with sharp-pointed papillae projection with beak. j Smooth mature sexual zygospore. k Numerous primary conidia. Scale bars c-k = 10 µm.
References
Benjamin RK. 1979 – Zygomycetes and their spores. Whole Fungus 2:573–262.
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
Fungalpedia – Note 3308, Agaricomycetes
Agaricomycetes Doweld, Prosyllabus Tracheophytorum, Tentamen Systematis Plantarum Vascularium (Tracheophyta) (Moscow): LXXVIII (2001).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1a.
Classification: Agaricomycotina, Basidiomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.
The morphological diversity of fruiting bodies in Agaricomycetes is unparalleled in any other clade of Fungi. In Agaricomycetes, the pileate-stipitate morphotype is dominant, along with the coralloid, polyporoid, corticioid, gasteroid, and other forms (Hibbett et al. 2014). Size variation of their fruiting bodies encompasses at least four orders of magnitudes ranging from tiny cyphelloid forms, such as Henningsomyces candidus (Pers.) Kuntze (in the order of 1 mm) (Wei et al. 2007), to giant polypores (Phellinus ellipsoideus (B.K. Cui & Y.C. Dai) B.K. Cui, Y.C. Dai & Decock), which can measure up to 1,085 cm long (Dai and Cui 2011). Sánchez-García et al. (2020) highlighted that morphological transitions, not nutritional modes, are the most important drivers of diversification across Agaricomycetes and that lineages with pileate-stipitate basidiomata have strongly increased diversification rates across all clades.
Life modes and distribution: Agaricomycetes are saprobes (e.g., Agaricaceae, Polyporaceae), and form mutualistic symbioses with a great variety of vascular plants (e.g., Amanitaceae, Boletaceae, Russulaceae) or insects (e.g., Termitomyces). Others are plant pathogens (e.g., Heterobasidion, Armillaria) (Weiß et al. 2004), human pathogens (e.g., Schizophyllum commune Fr.), fungal pathogens (e.g., Squamanita) (Liu et al. 2021), and predators on nematodes (e.g., Hohenbuehelia, Pleurotus). Although less common, some Agaricomycetes species are lichenized (e.g. Omphalina licheniformis X.L. Wei, Z.H. Cao & R.L. Zhao) (Zhang et al. 2022d). Members of the class are widespread.
Notes: Agaricomycetes with about 30,000 species encompasses the majority of described species in Basidiomycota, including 22 orders, 128 families, and 1,434 genera (He et al. 2019). As a result of the complexity of morphological and ecological diversity, there are many difficulties in the delimitation of Agaricomycetes species. Given this, the best practice is to delimit species and publish new taxa based on as many independent lines of evidence as available, that is, by applying a so-called integrative (or polyphasic) taxonomic approach (Cao et al. 2021). The most comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of Agaricomycetes so far were a multilocus and genomic-scale data-based phylogeny of 5,284 taxa (Varga et al. 2019) and a five-locus analysis of 8,472 taxa (Sánchez-García et al. 2020).
The vast majority of wild or cultivated edible fungi include Agaricus bisporus (J.E. Lange) Imbach, Tricholoma matsutake (S. Ito & S. Imai) Singer, and Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler, all of which are Agaricomycetes (Niego et al. 2023). Similarly, a significant proportion of medicinal mushrooms, including Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst., and Hericium erinaceus (Bull.) Pers., also belong to the Agaricomycetes (Thongbai et al. 2015; Dai et al. 2021). However, there also are many poisonous mushrooms threatening public health. The lethal species are mainly from Agaricales, such as Amanita exitialis Zhu L. Yang & T.H. Li, A. phalloides (Vaill. ex Fr.) Link, and Galerina marginata (Batsch) Kühner (He et al. 2022b).
Type order: Agaricales Underw., Moulds, mildews, and mushrooms. A guide to the systematic study of the Fungi and Mycetozoa and their literature (New York): 97 (1899).
Type family: Agaricaceae Chevall., Fl. gén. env. Paris (Paris) 1: 121 (1826).
Type genus: Agaricus L., Sp. pl. 2: 1171 (1753).
Type species: Agaricus campestris L. [as ‘campester’], Sp. pl. 2: 1173 (1753).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Agaricomycetes.
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
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
Fungalpedia – Note 3309, Bartheletiomycetes
Bartheletiomycetes Thines, Mycological Progress 17 (3): 340 (2017).
Citation when using this data: Wijayawardene NN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1b.
Classification: Agaricomycotina, Basidiomycota, Dikarya, Fungi.
Asexual morph: The sori produce copious conidia (slimy, hyaline 1-celled), which germinate readily to infect other newly fallen leaves. Conidiophores branched, hyaline, finely verruculose in the apical parts, originating from a ± compact base of irregularly interwoven, hyaline to pale brown intramatrical hyphae. Conidiogenesis holoblastic. Conidiogenous cells are mostly long, terminal, or intercalary with one or two conidiogenous branches, unilocal with percurrent proliferation and rather dense annellations, and/or multilocal with distichous sympodial proliferation and densely stacked secession scars. Conidia hyaline, one-celled, straight, cylindrical-bacilliform or sometimes slightly broader below the middle with a short attenuate base and minutely truncate scar, uninucleate with the nuclear area in the middle, with minute guttules, finely verruculose. The conidiophores are soon replaced by teliospores originating from the same basal cushion of intramatrical hyphae (Scheuer et al. 2008). Sexual morph: thick-walled, dark brown Teliospores either single, immersed in the leaf tissues and ± evenly dispersed (most conspicuous in the epidermis), or conglutinated in compact, erumpent, and finally ± superficial telia. Telia (similar to those of rust fungi) are single or arranged in ± circular groups. Telia often develop from conidial sori, hemispherical or cushion-like to ±spherical. After a year of dormancy, teliospores germinate with stipitate, longitudinally septate, statismosporic phragmobasidia and produce basidiospores on each sporogenous locus (Scheuer et al. 2008).
Life modes and distribution: Bartheletia paradoxa is apparently saprotrophic rather than endophyte, strictly host-specific and widely distributed fungal companion of Ginkgo biloba. Most probably, just like its host plant, the fungus is also a living fossil (Scheuer et al. 2008). Its biology is unclear. Kirschner and Okuda (2013) showed that the fungus is a pioneer colonizer in the initial stage of decomposition of Ginkgo litter. According to available information, although Ginkgo is grown worldwide, the global distribution of B. paradoxa is uneven. The species are generally distributed in Europe (Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom), Russia, Ukraine, and Asia (Japan and Korea) (Hayova and Tykhonenko 2017).
Note: The family Bartheletiaceae was proposed to accommodate B. paradoxa, which was discovered on ginkgo leaf litter and remained unknown for a long time (Scheuer et al. 2008). The first valid information on this fungus was included only by Scheuer et al. 2008 (Hayova and Tykhonenko 2017). The position of B. paradoxa was not resolved in the initial nrSSU DNA sequence analysis, but Mishra et al. (2018) took a more phylogenetic approach using a large set of conserved genes and offered a perfect solution. The new study used 67 highly conserved orthologous loci for network analysis. New data excluding negative genes strongly (but not conclusively) support that this organism is at the base of the Agaricomycetes and is the sister of all other members of the sub-phylum and separate from the Ustilaginomycotina and Pucciniomycotina, which together create a sister group to the whole of the Agaricomycotina. The new class and order Bartheletiomycetes and Bartheletiales, were introduced by Mishra et al. (2018).
According to Wijayawardene et al. (2020a), the class Bartheletiomycetes consists of a single order Bartheletiales, single family Bartheletiaceae, and single genus Bartheletia. B. paradoxa is the only species within this genus (Scheuer et al. 2008). Bartheletiomycetes paradoxa reproduces sexually only on ginkgo leaves and can survive in some tissues of ginkgo trees as an asymptomatic disease (Scheuer et al. 2008).
Type Order: Bartheletiales Thines, Mycological Progress 17 (3): 340 (2017).
Type Family: Bartheletiaceae R. Bauer, Scheuer, M. Lutz & Grube, in Scheuer, Bauer, Lutz, Stabentheiner, Melnik & Grube, Mycol. Res. 111(11): 1269 (2008).
Type Genus: Bartheletia G. Arnaud ex Scheuer, R. Bauer, M. Lutz, Stabenth., Melnik & Grube, Mycol. Res. 111(11): 1269 (2008).
Type Species: Bartheletia paradoxa G. Arnaud ex Scheuer, R. Bauer, M. Lutz, Stabenth., Melnik & Grube, Mycol. Res. 112(11): 1269 (2008).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Bartheletiomycetes.
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
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