The Spiculogloeomycetes are a

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 ...

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 subdivision

Pucciniomycotina Pucciniomycotina is a subdivision of fungus within the division Basidiomycota. The subdivision contains 10 classes, 21 orders, and 38 families. Over 8400 species of Pucciniomycotina have been described - more than 8% of all described fungi. T ...

of the

Basidiomycota Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...

. The class consists of a single

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

, the Spiculogloeales, together with an additional, unassigned

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

, '' Meniscomyces''. Many species are currently known only from their

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

states. Species in the genus '' Spiculogloea'' form hyphal states that produce auricularioid (laterally septate)

basidia A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...

and are parasitic on other fungi.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Spiculogloea'' was described in 1996 and provisionally placed in the order Platygloeales within the former class Heterobasidiomycetes. In 2004, molecular research, based on

cladistic Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...

analysis of

DNA sequences A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the ...

, indicated that an unnamed ''Spiculogloea'' species clustered together with an equally unnamed '' Mycogloea'' species, forming a well-supported

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

that was later referred to as the new order ''Spiculogloeales''. Together with the Agaricostilbales, the Spiculogloeales were referred to the class

Agaricostilbomycetes The Agaricostilbomycetes are a class of fungi in the subdivision Pucciniomycotina of the Basidiomycota. The class consists of a single order, six families, and 15 genera. Its type genus, ''Agaricostilbum'' was originally placed in ''Ascomycota,'' ...

. A subsequent molecular study based upon seven genes indicated that the Spiculogloeales formed a basal lineage distinct from the Agaricostilbomycetes. The class Spiculogloeomycetes was therefore proposed to accommodate ''Spiculogloea'' and its allies.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28038319 Basidiomycota classes Pucciniomycotina Taxa described in 2015 Monotypic fungus classes