''Arthrinium'' is a genus of minute disease-causing

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

which belong to the family Apiosporaceae and which are parasitic on

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s such as

sedges The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large; botanists have described some 5,500 known species in about 90 generathe largest being the "true sedges" (genu ...

. These fungi have an

anamorph In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota: *Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body. *Anamorph: an ase ...

ic life cycle stage where spores are produced asexually in structures called

conidia A conidium ( ; : conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (: chlamydoconidia), is an asexual, non- motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also ...

and a

teleomorph In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota: *Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body. *Anamorph: an ase ...

ic stage where sexual spores are produced in asci. Historically the name ''Arthrinum'' represented the

form and a different genus name was used for the

form; however after a decision in 2011 one name or the other has to be selected as the current name for all cases. The corresponding teleomorph-derived name varies from species to species of ''Arthrinium'' but most commonly it is '' Apiospora'', for instance the teleomorph synonym of the species ''Arthrinium balearicum'' is ''Apiospora balearica''. There is a tendency to prefer the teleomorph name and the genus name ''Arthrinium'' is not the current official one for all species. The genus was first described by

Gustav Kunze Gustav Kunze (4 October 1793 in Leipzig – 30 April 1851 in Leipzig) was a German professor of zoology, an entomologist and botanist with an interest mainly in ferns and orchids. He was editor of some exsiccata series, one issued together with ...

in 1817. The genus has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

. ''Arthrinium caricola'' and ''A. saccharicola'' produce the mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropanoic acid. Selected species: * '' Arthrinium caricicola'' * '' Arthrinium carinatum'' * '' Arthrinium phaeospermum'' * '' Arthrinium puccinioides'' * '' Arthrinium sphaerospermum'' * '' Arthrinium saccharicola''

References

External links

Images & occurrence data for ''Arthrinium''
from

GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4896874 Enigmatic Sordariomycetes taxa Sordariomycetes genera