The Sordariaceae 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 ...

perithecial An ascocarp, or ascoma (), 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. Ascocarps are mos ...

fungi within the

Sordariales The order Sordariales is one of the most diverse taxonomic groups within the Sordariomycetes (subdivision Pezizomycotina, division Ascomycota). Species in the order Sordariales have a broad range of ecological diversity, containing lignicolous, ...

order. The family includes the important model organism ''

Neurospora crassa ''Neurospora crassa'' is a type of red bread mold of the phylum Ascomycota. The genus name, meaning "nerve spore" in Greek, refers to the characteristic striations on the spores. The first published account of this fungus was from an infestation ...

'' that is used in genetic research. Members of the family include the red bread molds in the genus ''

Neurospora ''Neurospora'' is a genus of Ascomycete fungi. The genus name, meaning "nerve spore" refers to the characteristic striations on the spores that resemble axons. The best known species in this genus is ''Neurospora crassa'', a common model organ ...

'', including '' Neurospora sitophila'', which is used to produce the fermented food

oncom Oncom ( Aksara Sunda: ; IPA: ) is one of the traditional staple foods of West Java ( Sundanese) cuisine of Indonesia. There are two kinds of oncom: red oncom and black oncom. Oncom is closely related to tempeh; both are foods fermented using mold ...

. Other species in the family inhabit

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthp ...

dung or plant parts.

Characteristics

Sordariaceae have dark, usually ostiolate

ascomata An ascocarp, or ascoma (), 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. Ascocarps are mo ...

, and unitunicate, cylindrical

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

. Their

ascospore An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera o ...

s are brown to black, often with a gelatinous sheath or with wall ornamentations, but lack gelatinous appendages.

Systematics

The family includes the following genera: *'' Cainiella'' *'' Copromyces'' *'' Effetia'' *'' Gelasinospora'' *'' Guilliermondia'' *''

'' *'' Pseudoneurospora'' *'' Sordaria'' *''

Stellatospora ''Stellatospora'' is a genus of fungi within the Sordariaceae family. This is a monotypic genus, containing the single species ''Stellatospora terricola'', isolated from paddy soil in Japan. References External links *Stellatospora' at Index F ...

'' The ''Gelasinospora'' might be included in ''Neurospora''.Cai, L. et al., Phylogenetic investigations of Sordariaceae based on multiple gene sequences and morphology. Mycological Research 110 (2006) 137–150

References

Sordariales Ascomycota families {{Sordariales-stub