Fungalpedia – Note 2343, Paralophiostoma
Paralophiostoma V.V. Sarma & M. Niranjan
Citation when using this data: Hongsanan S et al. 2020 – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig. 1
Classification: Paralophiostomataceae, Pleosporales, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Etymology – In reference to its similarity to Lophiostoma.
Saprobic on dead and decaying twigs. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecoid, scattered, carbonaceous, subglobose, immersed, erumpent with hysterothecoid necks, clypeate, apical long slit-like ostioles, periphysate. Peridium thick-walled with several layers of textura angularis cells. Hamathecium comprising numerous, filamentous, septate, unbranched, trabeculate pseudoparaphyses, anastomosing in a gelatinous matrix. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindro-clavate, apically rounded with ocular chamber, long pedicellate. Ascospores overlapping 1-seriate, fusiform, hyaline to pale brown when young, brown to dark brown at maturity, 1-septate with a constriction when young, 3-septate with constrictions at maturity, central septum strongly constricted, uni-guttulate in each cell, obtuse ends with apical caps, each spore having one, supramedian cell, spores often splitting into part spores at maturity. Asexual morph: Undetermined.
Notes – Out of the 24 genera in Lophiostomataceae (Tennakoon et al. 2018b), only Alpestrisphaeria, Biappendiculispora, Guttulispora, Neopaucispora, Parapaucispora, Paucispora and Sigarispora produce 3-septate, brown ascospores but they lack appendages or sheaths. While, Paralophiostoma produces 3-septate, brown ascospores with bipolar appendages and a thin (incipient) sheath. Paralophiostoma is closely related to Guttulispora but differs in having darkbrown ascospores with apical caps, splitting into part spores (Thambugala et al. 2015b). Paralophiostoma has close affinities to Lophiostoma including slit-like ostioles in the ascomata, long pedicellate asci and often phragmosporous, fusiform ascospores. However, the new genus differs from Lophiostoma in having immersed ascomata erumpent with hysterothecoid necks opening with slit-like ostioles, cylindrical asci instead of clavate asci and ascospores splitting into part spores at maturity. Hence based on the morphological and DNA sequence differences, a new genus Paralophiostoma is introduced based on the monotypic species P. hysterioides to be accommodated in Paralophiostomataceae.
Type species: Paralophiostoma hysterioides M. Niranjan & V.V. Sarma.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Paralophiostoma.
Figure 1 – Paralophiostoma hysterioides (PUFNI 17617, holotype). a Ascomata on host twig. b Ascoma. c Peridium. d, e Slit-like ostiole. f, g Part-spores. h Pseudoparaphyses. i–k Asci. l–n Ascospores. Scale bars: b = 100 µm, c, j, k = 50 µm, h, i = 20 µm, f, g, l–n = 10 µm.
References
Entry by
Sinang Hongsanan, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbial Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People’s Republic of China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50002, Thailand
Published online 17 April 2026