Fungalpedia – Note 2102, Shiraiaceae

 

Shiraiaceae Y.X. Liu, Zi Y. Liu & K.D. Hyde

Citation when using this data: Hongsanan S et al. 2020 – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.

Classification: Pleosporales, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

Endophytic or parasitic on bamboo and wood. Sexual morph Ascostromata pinkish or dark brown to black, irregular, scattered, tuberculate, fleshy, easily peeling off host tissues without damage, multi-loculate. Locules immersed, arranged in a peripheral layer, subglobose or obpyriform, ostiolate. Peridium of locules comprising a single layer of light brown-walled cells or comprising several layers of thick-walled, brown to dark brown, heavily pigmented small cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium comprising relatively narrow, numerous, cellular pseudoparaphyses. Asci 6- or 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical, with a pedicel and an ocular chamber. Ascospores 1-seriate or distichously arranged, fusiform, hyaline or brown, muriform. Asexual morph forming in young ascostromata. Asexual locules immersed, arranged in rows or irregularly arranged, subglobose to ampulliform, lining comprising thick-walled cells of textura angularis. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells, arising all around the basal region of the locules. Conidiogenous cells holoblastic, unbranched, discrete, indeterminate, cylindrical, septate, hyaline, smooth. Conidia fusiform, muriform, asymmetrical, hyaline to light brown, with irregularly arranged transverse and longitudinal septa, acute at base, apex obtuse, or obtuse at both ends, smooth- and thick-walled.

Notes: This family was introduced by Liu et al. (2013) based on its unique morphological characteristics and the fact the family forms a distinct phylogenetic lineage from Phaeosphaeriaceae using LSU sequence data with high statistic support. The family contains three genera, Shiraia, Grandigallia, and Rubroshiraia (Hyde et al. 2013, Ariyawansa et al. 2013b, Dai et al. 2019). Because of lack of molecular evidence, Grandigallia is suggested to be included in the family based on morphological characteristics (Ariyawansa et al. 2013b).

Type genus: Shiraia Henn.

 

References

Ariyawansa HA, Kang JC, Alias SA, Chukeatirote E, Hyde KD. 2013b – Towards a natural classification of Dothideomycetes: The genera Dermatodothella, Dothideopsella, Grandigallia, Hysteropeltella and Gloeodiscus (Dothideomycetes incertae sedis). Phytotaxa 147, 35–47.

Dai DQ, Wijayawardene NN, Tang LZ, Liu C et al. 2019 – Rubroshiraia gen. nov., a second hypocrellin-producing genus in Shiraiaceae (Pleosporales). MycoKeys 58, 1–26.

Hyde KD, Jones EBG, Liu J-K, Ariyawansa H et al. 2013 – Families of Dothideomycetes. Fungal Diversity 63, 1–313.

Liu YX, Hyde KD, Ariyawansa HA, Li WJ et al. 2013 – Shiraiaceae, new family of Pleosporales (Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota). Phytotaxa 103, 51–60.

 

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 25 March 2026

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