The Lulworthiaceae are a
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of marine
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 ...
in the
Ascomycota
Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...
, class
Sordariomycetes
Sordariomycetes is a class of fungi in the subdivision Pezizomycotina (Ascomycota). It is the second-largest class of Ascomycota, with a worldwide distribution that mostly accommodates terrestrial based taxa, although several can also be found in ...
. Species in the family have a widespread distribution in both
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...
and
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
oceans, and are typically found growing on submerged wood or on
seaweed
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
. In 2000, Molecular analysis of several species of ''
Lulworthia'' and ''
Lindra'' led to the reassignment of their parent
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 ...
to the new order
Lulworthiales in addition to the new family Lulworthiaceae.
In 2020, a large fungi study added more genera to the family.
History and taxonomy
The
type genus
In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name.
Zoological nomenclature
According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...
''
Lulworthia'' was originally described in 1916 by
George Kenneth Sutherland to contain the species ''Lulworthia fucicola'', a fungus found on the seaweed commonly known as the
bladder wrack at
Lulworth
Lulworth is the popular name for an area on the coast of Dorset, South West England notable for its castle and cove. However, there is no actual place or feature called simply "Lulworth", the villages are East and West Lulworth and the coastal f ...
on the coast of
Dorset
Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, UK. The fungus has since been collected several times from submerged wood, but never again from the original algal host; it was subsequently reported that specimens found on wood were morphologically different from those originally described growing on algae. Since the original specimens had deteriorated beyond use, a
holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...
was designated, using submerged-wood specimens found in Chile in 1984.
The genus ''
Rostrupiella'' was created in 2007 to contain the species ''Rostrupiella danica'', a ''Lulworthia''-like species collected on driftwood found along the Danish coast and from the northwestern coast of the US.
Genera
As accepted by Wijayawardene et al. 2020 (with amount of species per genus);
*''
Cumulospora'' (2)
*''
Halazoon'' (2)
*''
Haloguignardia'' (1)
*''
Hydea'' (1)
*''
Kohlmeyeriella'' (2)
*''
Lindra'' (5)
*''
Lulwoana'' (1)
*''
Lulwoidea'' (1)
*''
Lulworthia'' (32)
*''
Matsusporium'' (1)
*''
Moleospora'' (1)
*''
Moromyces'' (1)
*''
Orbimyces'' (1)
*''
Paralulworthia'' (3)
*''
Rostrupiella'' (1)
*''
Sammeyersia'' (1)
Description
The
ascomata
An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body (sporocarp (fungi), sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded ascus, asci, each of which typically contains four to ...
, roughly spherical to cylindrical in shape, may be either embedded in or on the material to which the fruit body is attached. Atop the ascomata is a small rounded process with an opening (an
ostiole
An ''ostiole'' is a small hole or opening through which algae or fungi release their mature spores.
The word is a diminutive of wikt:ostium, "ostium", "opening".
The term is also used in higher plants, for example to denote the opening of the ...
) through which
ascospore
In fungi, an ascospore is the sexual spore formed inside an ascus—the sac-like cell that defines the division Ascomycota, the largest and most diverse Division (botany), division of fungi. After two parental cell nucleus, nuclei fuse, the ascu ...
s may be released. The brown- to black-colored ascomata can be either leathery (coriaceous) or dark-colored and readily broken (carbonaceous). The internal structure of the ascomata, the centrum, is at first filled with a transparent
pseudoparenchyma
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 ...
(a type of tissue made of
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 that are twisted and matted together) dissolves upon reaching maturity. The Lulworthiaceae have ascospores that are both
filamentous
The word filament, which is descended from Latin ''filum'' meaning "Thread (yarn), thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures, including:
Astronomy
* Galaxy filament, the largest known cosmic structures in the universe
* ...
, and
transparent.
[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10570670
Lulworthiales
Ascomycota families