Dothideomycetes is the largest and most diverse

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

of ascomycete

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 ...

. It comprises 11 orders 90 families, 1,300

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and over 19,000 known

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. Wijayawardene et al. in 2020 added more orders to the class. Traditionally, most of its members were included in the loculoascomycetes, which is not part of the currently accepted classification. This indicates that several traditional morphological features in the class are not unique and DNA sequence comparisons are important to define the class. The designation loculoascomycetes was first proposed for all fungi which have ascolocular development. This type of development refers to the way in which the sexual structure, bearing the sexual spores ( ascospores) forms. Dothideomycetes mostly produce flask-like structures referred to as pseudothecia, although other shape variations do exist (e.g. see structures found in Hysteriales). During ascolocular development pockets ( locules) form first within the vegetative cells of the fungus and then all the subsequent structures form. These include the asci which, superficially, have a thicker outer layer through which a thinner inner layer ‘bursts’, like a jack-in-a-box to release the spores. These asci are therefore referred to as bitunicate (superficially, two layers) or fissitunicate (referring to spore release). After several DNA sequence comparisons it is now clear that another group of fungi which share these characteristics are distantly related. These are the "black yeasts" in subclass Chaetothyriomycetidae ( Eurotiomycetes). This means that loculoascomycetes did not constitute a natural group. The best known members of this class are several important plant pathogens (like '' Phaeosphaeria nodorum'' and ''

Venturia inaequalis ''Venturia inaequalis'' is an ascomycota, ascomycete fungus that causes the apple scab disease. Systematics ''Venturia inaequalis'' anamorphs have been described under the names ''Fusicladium dendriticum'' and ''Spilocaea pomi''. Whether ''V. in ...

''). However, a majority of described species are either found as endophytes or saprobes growing on woody debris, decaying leaves or dung. A smaller number exist as

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

s and a single species, '' Cenococcum geophilum'', can form mycorrhizal associations with plant roots.

References

External links

Tree of Life Dothideomycetes
* {{Authority control Fungal plant pathogens and diseases Fungus classes Lichen classes Taxa described in 1997

See also

References

External links