''Lazarenkoiopsis'' is a single-species

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

genus in the family

Teloschistaceae The Teloschistaceae are a large family (biology), family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class (taxonomy), class Lecanoromycetes in the division (botany), division Ascomycota. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, althoug ...

. It contains ''Lazarenkoiopsis ussuriensis'', a

corticolous This glossary of mycology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to mycology, the study of fungi. Terms in common with other fields, if repeated here, generally focus on their mycology-specific meaning. Related terms can be found ...

(bark-dwelling),

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the Substrate (biology), substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichen ...

species found in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

Taxonomy

The lichen was first described scientifically in 2011 by the lichenologists

Alfred Oxner Alfred Mycolayovych Oxner (; ) (15 February 1898 – 20 November 1973) was a Ukrainian botanist and lichenologist. His research covered various areas: floristics, taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, phylogenetics, phytogeography, and phytosociology. ...

Sergey Kondratyuk Sergey Yakovlevich Kondratyuk () (born 17 May 1959) is a Ukrainian botanist specialising in lichenology. His research deals with the taxonomy, floristics, ecology and geography of lichens and lichenicolous fungi. He has worked at the for mo ...

, and John Elix, as ''Caloplaca ussuriensis''. The

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

is derived from the Primorsky region's historical name, the

Ussuriysk Ussuriysk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, in the valley of the Razdolnaya River. The city is north of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai, and about from both the China–Russia bo ...

region. The

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

was transferred to the newly created genus ''Lazarenkoiopsis'' in 2020; it is its

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

and only species. The genus name honours Andrij Sozontovych Lazarenko (1901–1979), a Ukrainian bryologist. ''Lazarenkoiopsis'' is in the subfamily Caloplacoideae of the family

Description

The

thallus Thallus (: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. A thallus usually names the entir ...

of ''Lazarenkoiopsis ussuriensis'' is 2–3 cm wide, thick and smooth, and can be distinctly cracked with broad cracks up to 0.07 mm wide. The range from 0.5 to 2.5 mm in width. The upper surface is whitish, dull greyish-white to grey, or greenish grey-brown, with bright to dull yellow

soralia Soredia are common reproductive structures of lichens. Lichens reproduce asexually by employing simple fragmentation and production of soredia and isidia. Soredia are powdery propagules composed of fungal hyphae wrapped around cyanobacteria or g ...

. The soralia are initially rounded or irregular in shape, eventually becoming and forming elongated fissure-like structures. In cross-section, the thallus is 70–200

μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...

thick, with a layer of 20–50 μm.

Apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. As ...

are 0.5–1 mm in diameter and up to 0.3 mm high, initially in form with well-developed margins, later becoming . The is 60–70 μm thick, and the is 30–40 μm wide in the upper portion, thinning towards the base. The

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in oth ...

reaches up to 70 μm high, with

paraphyses Paraphyses are erect sterile filament-like support structures occurring among the reproductive apparatuses of fungi, ferns, bryophytes and some thallophytes. The singular form of the word is paraphysis. In certain fungi, they are part of the f ...

lacking swollen tips. are broadly

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that can be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional Scaling (geometry), scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a Surface (mathemat ...

to almost spherical or elongated, with a wide

septum In biology, a septum (Latin language, Latin for ''something that encloses''; septa) is a wall, dividing a Body cavity, cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Hum ...

. ''Lazarenkoiopsis ussuriensis'' contains several

secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called ''specialised metabolites'', ''secondary products'', or ''natural products'', are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, archaea, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved ...

s (

lichen product Lichen products, also known as lichen substances, are organic compounds produced by a lichen. Specifically, they are secondary metabolites. Lichen products are represented in several different chemical classes, including terpenoids, orcinol deri ...

s), including

fragilin Fragilin is a chemical compound of the anthraquinone class. It has the molecular formula and is a chlorinated derivative of parietin. In 1965, it was reported as a constituent of the lichens ''Sphaerophorus fragilis'' and ''Sphaerophorus corall ...

and

parietin Parietin is the predominant cortical pigment of lichens in the genus '' Caloplaca'', a secondary product of the lichen '' Xanthoria parietina'', and a pigment found in the roots of curled dock (''Rumex crispus''). It has an orange-yellow color ...

as major constituents, along with minor amounts of

emodin Emodin (6-methyl-1,3,8-trihydroxyanthraquinone) is an organic compound. Classified as an anthraquinone, it can be isolated from rhubarb, buckthorn, and Japanese knotweed ('' Reynoutria japonica'' syn. ''Polygonum cuspidatum''). Emodin is part ...

, 7-chloroemodin, erythroglaucin, 7- chloroparietinic acid, physcoin bysanthrone, and traces of physcoin 9-anthrone and physcoin 10-anthrone. Genus ''Lazarenkoiopsis'' closely resembles the genus '' Solitaria'' from the subfamily Xanthorioideae. It is distinct due to its notably cracked-areolated, thicker thallus, and the presence of numerous oil droplets within its hymenium. Its true exciple has a tissue structure (with intricately tangled

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e). Unlike ''Solitaria'', the paraphyses in ''Lazarenkoiopsis'' do not swell at the tips.

Similar species

''Lazarenkoiopsis ussuriensis'' is similar to '' Solitaria chrysophthalma'' but can be distinguished by its thicker, cracked-areolated thallus, and the presence of numerous oil droplets in the subhymenium. It differs from '' Oxneriopsis oxneri'' by having soralia instead of and . Compared to '' Caloplaca brunneola'' and '' Obscuroplaca camptidia'', it has lecanorine rather than apothecia and larger ascospores. ''L. ussuriensis'' also differs from '' Caloplaca spadicea'' by not having three-septate ascospores and a minutely isidiate thallus.

Habitat, distribution, and ecology

''Lazarenkoiopsis ussuriensis'' has been observed in several locations within the Far East of Russia, particularly in the Primorsky Krai region. Regularly found growing alongside '' Oxneriopsis oxneri'', ''L. ussuriensis'' is often mistaken for having both isidia and soredia. It differs from ''O. oxneri'' in its non-exfoliating upper surface and non-visible medulla. '' Caloplaca cerina'' is also sometimes associated but differs in apothecial colour and the absence of soralia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108894479 Teloschistales Teloschistales genera Monotypic Lecanoromycetes genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 2017 Taxa named by Sergey Kondratyuk Taxa named by László Sándor Lőkös Taxa named by Jae-Seoun Hur