Fungalpedia – Note 2749, Strattoniaceae
Strattoniaceae. S.K. Huang, Maharachch. & K.D. Hyde.
Citation when using this data: Huang SK et al. 2021 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank
Classification: Sordariales, Sordariomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Coprophilous. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial, solitary, scattered or gregarious, superficial to immersed, coriaceous to membranaceous, pyriform to subglobose, brown to black, hairy, ostiolate, with a black papilla, periphysate. Paraphyses filiform-ventricose, septate. Asci 4–8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical, apex truncate or rounded, with J- apical ring. Ascospores uni-seriate, fusiform to obovoid, hyaline to subhyaline, 1-septate near the base, sometimes finely guttulae; upper cell becoming brown to black, swollen, ellipsoidal, with an apical germ pore; pedicel short, conical or cylindrical, hyaline, collapsing when dry, surrounded by gelatinous sheath. Gelatinous sheath rounded or irregular, swelling in water, invaginated at the pedicel, with indentations. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous, phialophora-like. Conidiophores arising from aerial hyphae, erect, inflated at the base. Phialides monophialidic, smooth-walled, hyaline, cylindrical, unbranched or branched. Conidia hyaline to pale yellow, ellipsoidal to oval, aseptate, smooth-walled (adapted from Lundqvist 1972; Bell 2000, 2005).
Notes: The coprophilous Strattonia was introduced based on Fimetaria tetraspora and was initially characterized by superficial to immersed, coriaceous ascomata, 4-spored asci and brown ascospores (Ciferri 1954). Subsequently, Lundqvist (1972) delimited this genus as having ostiolate ascomata, non-amyloid asci and two-celled ascospores (a dark brown fusiform or ellipsoidal upper cell and a hyaline pedicel), sometimes with gelatinous sheath, which is similar to Podospora, Sordaria and Triangularia. Since authentic material of S. tetraspora is lacking, Lundqvist (1972) described this type species based on previous literature and found a special feature, that is, if gelatinous sheath present, it surrounds the ascospores but collapses at the pedicel. Eleven species accepted in this genus based on morphology (Ciferri 1954; Lundqvist 1972; Abdullah 1983; Bell 2000, 2005).
Vu et al. (2019) sequenced Podospora petrogale and Strattonia oblecythiformis. These two strains clustered in 100%ML/1.00PP support as an unstable sister clade to Diplogelasinospora. Morphologically, these two species are coprophilous and have similar hairy ascomata, non-amyloid, cylindrical asci and ascospores comprise a fusiform to ellipsoidal, brown to dark brown upper cell and a hyaline pedicel, while surrounded by gelatinous sheath, except pedicel, in addition, both of them have phialophora-like asexual morph (Bell 2000, 2005). These characters are also similar to S. tetraspora. The difference between P. petrogale and S. oblecythiformis is that the former has a cylindrical pedicel in ascospores, whereas the latter has oblecythiform pedicel (Bell 2000, 2005). Therefore, we placed Podospora petrogale in Strattonia.
Strattonia carbonaria, S. karachiensis and S. minor with no gelatinous sheath were placed in Jugulospora and Lundqvistomyces (Neoschizotheciaceae) in phylogenetic analysis (Marin-Felix et al. 2020; this study). Thus, we believe that the gelatinous sheath surrounds the ascospores except pedicel should be accepted as a feature for the identifying Strattonia species.
We also raised Strattonia to a family level, Strattoniaceae. It is characterized by two-celled ascospores comprise a brown upper cell and a hyaline pedicel and surrounded by a gelatinous sheath except for pedicel, which is different from other lasiosphaeriaceous taxa. Phylogenetically, Strattonia species form a sister clade to Diplogelasinosporaceae
Type genus: Strattonia Cif., Sydowia 8(1-6): 245 (1954).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Strattoniaceae.
References
Abdullah SK 1983 – New and noteworthy Ascomycetes from Iraq. Trans Br Mycol Soc 81(2):392–396.
Bell A 2000 – Podospora petrogale Fungi: Sordariales: Lasiosphaeriaceae, a new species from Australia. Mueller 12(2):235–240.
Ciferri R 1954 – Schedae Mycologicae XII-XXXIV. Sydowia 8(1–6):245–270.
Lundqvist N 1972 – Nordic Sordariaceae s. lat. Symbolae Botanicae Upsalienses 20:1–374.
Entry by
Shi-Ke Huang, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China, The Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou Province, China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, The Mushroom Research Centre, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Published online 18 June 2026