The Ceratobasidiaceae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

fungi A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...

in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Cantharellales The Cantharellales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order includes not only the chanterelles ( Cantharellaceae), but also some of the tooth fungi ( Hydnaceae), clavarioid fungi ( Aphelariaceae and Clavulinaceae), and cor ...

. All

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

within the family have

basidiocarps In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not ...

(fruit bodies) that are thin and effused. They have sometimes been included within the

corticioid fungi The corticioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having effused, smooth basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the undersides of dead tree trunks or branches. They are sometimes colloquially called crust fungi or pa ...

or alternatively within the " heterobasidiomycetes". Species are

saprotrophic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ( ...

, but some are also facultative

plant pathogens Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...

or are associated with orchid mycorrhiza. Genera of economic importance include '' Ceratobasidium'' and ''

Rhizoctonia ''Rhizoctonia'' is a genus of fungi in the order Cantharellales. Species form thin, effused, corticioid basidiocarps (fruit bodies), but are most frequently found in their sterile, anamorphic state. ''Rhizoctonia'' species are saprotrophic, bu ...

'', both of which contain

plant pathogenic Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...

species causing diseases of commercial crops and turf grass.

Taxonomy

The family was created in 1948 by American

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as w ...

G.W. Martin to accommodate species of

with heterobasidiomycete features (elongated sterigmata and

basidiospores A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are ...

that give rise to secondary spores). He restricted the Ceratobasidiaceae to the genus ''Ceratobasidium'', though including within the genus species later placed in ''Thanatephorus'' and '' Oliveonia''. In 1981, Jülich created the

Ceratobasidiales to accommodate the family. By 1995, the order and the family contained 18 genera, including ''Ceratobasidium'', ''

Heteroacanthella ''Heteroacanthella'' is a genus of fungi in the order Auriculariales. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are corticioid (effused, patch-forming) with smooth surfaces and occur on dead, attached wood or on lichens. They are microscopically distinctive in ...

'', ''Oliveonia'', '' Scotomyces'', ''Thanatephorus'', and their various synonyms and anamorphs.

Current status

Molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

research, based on

cladistic Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived ch ...

analysis of

DNA sequences A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases signified by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. By convention, sequences are usu ...

, has now shown that the Ceratobasidiaceae do not belong to a separate order, but are part of the Cantharellales. The genera ''Heteroacanthella'' and ''Oliveonia'' are not closely related to the Ceratobasidiaceae, but have been placed in the

Auriculariales The Auriculariales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. Species within the order were formerly referred to the " heterobasidiomycetes" or "jelly fungi", since many have gelatinous basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that produce spores on ...

. No species of the genus ''Scotomyces'' has yet been sequenced. Following changes to the

International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

, the practice of giving different names to teleomorph and anamorph forms of the same fungus was discontinued, meaning that ''Thanatephorus'' became a synonym of the earlier name ''Rhizoctonia'', previously used for anamorphic species. DNA evidence also placed most, if not all, ''Ceratobasidium'' species in ''Rhizoctonia''. Research on the septal pore

ultrastructure Ultrastructure (or ultra-structure) is the architecture of cells and biomaterials that is visible at higher magnifications than found on a standard optical light microscope. This traditionally meant the resolution and magnification range of a con ...

of the little-known and atypical type species of ''Ceratobasidium'', '' C. calosporum'', indicates that it is a member of the Auriculariales and is unrelated to other species of ''Ceratobasidium''. Technically, this means that the Ceratobasidiaceae belong within the Auriculariales, but this is a taxonomic problem that has yet to be resolved.

Habitat and distribution

Species are mainly

, occurring in the soil and producing fruit bodies on dead stems and plant detritus. Some occur on attached leaves and stems. Several species have been isolated from orchid mycorrhiza or from diseased crops and turf grass. Distribution appears to be cosmopolitan.

Economic importance

Several species of ''Ceratobasidium'' and ''Rhizoctonia'' are opportunistic parasites of plants, causing a variety of economically important diseases of crops.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3774448 Cantharellales Ceratobasidiaceae