Fungalpedia – Note 595, Taphrina
Taphrina Fr.
Citation when using this data: Zhang et al. 2025 (in prep.) – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig. 1
Classification: Taphrinaceae, Taphrinales, Taphrinomycetidae, Taphrinomycetes, Taphrinomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Taphrina was described by Fries (1832) (fide. in Mix 1949) to accommodate the teleomorphic yeast state of T. populina. The first monograph for this genus was provided by Sadebeck (1893), discussing the differences among these three closely related genera (Exoascus, Magnusiella, and Taphrina) in Taphrinaceae. The most recent monograph of Taphrina was provided by Mix (1949), which accepted the single genus Taphrina in Taphrinaceae (Taphrinales, Taphrinomycetes, Ascomycota) (Kramer 1987; Wijayawardene et al. 2022; Hyde et al. 2024c). Additionally, the phylogenetic relationships of Taphrina were confirmed based on the DNA sequence data of SSU, LSU (26S) and ITS (Nishida and Sugiyama 1993; Sjamsuridzal et al. 1997; Bacigálová et al. 2003; Petrýdesova et al. 2013).
All the species of Taphrina exhibit dimorphic states, including a parasitic, filamentous sexual states and a saprobic, yeast-like asexual states. The sexual morph is characterized by phytoparasitic, filamentous, strictly biotrophic, forming dikaryotic mycelium and asci with ascospores in infected tissue, resulting in hypertrophy or typical morphological changes in host plant tissue (Mix 1938, 1939; Bacigálová 1994, 2003; Petrýdesova et al. 2013, 2016). The yeast-like asexual morph is a saprobic yeast state produced by germinating ascospores, colonizing both organic and inorganic substrates, and usually colonizes organic and inorganic substrates even in the absence of a potential hosts (Mix 1949; Gjaerum 1964; Rodrigues and Fonseca 2003; Fonseca and Rodrigues 2011; Petrýdesova et al. 2013, 2016). The traits of the parasitic stage (sexual morph) of Taphrina species, including host symptoms and anatomical and morphological characteristics of the sexual stage in infected tissues, are important for species identification, while the yeast-like asexual form is used for preservation and study as all Taphrina species can be cultivated in vitro on artificial yeast media (Mix 1949, 1954c; Bacigálová 1994; Rodrigues and Fonseca 2003; Inácio et al. 2004; Fonseca and Rodrigues 2011; Petrýdesova et al. 2013). Moreover, biochemical, morphological and physiological characteristics, as well as geographical distribution and molecular data, are pivotal factors for the recognition of Taphrina species (Mix 1938, 1949; Gjaerum 1964; Prillinger et al. 2000; Rodrigues and Fonseca 2003).
Currently, 189 epithets are listed under Taphrina in Index Fungorum (August, 2024), while approximately 95 species are accepted (Bacigálová et al. 2003; Wijayawardene et al. 2022). These species are known for their plant pathogenicity, causing specific infections in various vascular plants, including ferns and higher plants. The associated symptoms include “leaf curl”, “witches’ brooms”, tongue-like outgrowths from female catkins, spots on leaves or deformed fruits (Sydow et al. 1911; Mix 1938, 1949; Mix 1954c; Bacigálová et al. 2003; Petrýdesova et al. 2013). Notably, Taphrina is speculated to represent early divergence of higher fungi (Nishida and Sugiyama 1993). Most previous research has focused on the diseases affecting economically important fruit trees such as peach, plum, and cherry (Selbmann et al. 2014). However, there is an increasing need to pay more attention to fern hosts associated with Taphrina species (Kirschner et al. 2019; Mix 1938). A report detailing the known species of Taphrina on North American ferns was provided (Mix 1938), including detailed descriptions, host infection characteristics, and distribution of each species. Further study of ferns and their related fungi is anticipated to yield interesting findings, as they are closely related to the early evolution of fungi (Guatimosim et al. 2016b; Hudson et al. 2019).
Type species: Taphrina populina Fr.
≡ Erineum aureum Pers.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Taphrina.
Figure 1 – Taphrina species. (a The type species Taphrina populina; b–k Some examples of Taphrina species found on ferns). b Ascogenous cells, asci in epidermal locules of host and asci of Taphrina californica. c–k Asci of Taphrina lutescens, T. faulliana, T. hiratsukae, T. filicina, T. fusca, T. gracilis T. cystopteridis, T. polyspora, T. struthiopteridis. Redrawn from the website of Alamy, and Mix (1938).
References
Bacigálová K 1994 – Species of Taphrina on Alnus in Slovakia. Czech Mycology 47:223–236.
Fries E 1832 – Taphrina Fries. In Systema Mycologicum 3:520 (fde.MIX 1949).
Gjaerum HB 1964 – The genus Taphrina Fr in Norway. Nytt Mag Bot 11:5–26.
Hyde KD, et al. 2024c – The 2024 outline of fungi and fungus-like taxa. Mycosphere (in press).
Kramer C 1987 – The Taphrinales. Studies in Mycology 30:151–166.
Mix AJ 1949 – A monograph of the genus Taphrina. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 33:3–167.
Mix AJ 1938 – Species of Taphrina on North American ferns. Mycologia 30:563–579.
Prillinger H, Bacigálová K, Lopandic K, Binder M 2000 – Taphrina padi in Bayern und der Slowakei. Hoppea Denkschr Regensb Bot Ges 61:275–294.
Sydow H, Sydow P, Butler EJ 1911 – Fungi Indiae orientalis pars III. Annales Mycologici 9:372–421.
Entry by
Jing-Yi Zhang, School of Food and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Guizhou Institute of Technology, Guiyang, 550025, People’s Republic of 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, Guizhou Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang, 550009, People’s Republic of China.
Published online 11 June 2025