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.

Nutaratat P, Boontham W, Khunnamwong P. 2022 – A novel yeast genus and two novel species isolated from pineapple leaves in Thailand: Savitreella phatthalungensis gen. nov., sp. Nov. and Goffeauzyma siamensis sp. nov. J Fungi 8(2):118.

Reddy MS, Kramer CA. 1975 – Taxonomic revision of the Protomycetales. Mycotaxon 3:1–50.

Rodrigues MG, Fonseca A. 2003 – Molecular systematics of the dimorphic ascomycete genus Taphrina. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 53(2):607–616.

Wang K, Sipilä TP, Overmyer K. 2016 – The isolation and characterization of resident yeasts from the phylloplane of Arabidopsis thaliana. Sci Rep 6(1):39403.

Wijayawardene NN, Hyde KD, Dai DQ, Sánchez-García M et al. 2022a – Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021. Mycosphere 13:53–453.

 

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 29 September 2026

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