''Taitaia'' is a single-species fungal

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 ...

in the family

Gomphillaceae The Gomphillaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. Species in this family are found mostly in tropical regions. The family underwent a major molecular phylogenetics-led reorganisation in 2023, in which 17 genera were ...

. It was

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

in 2018 to contain the species ''Taitaia aurea'', a lichenicolous (

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 ...

-dwelling)

fungus 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 ...

. This species is characterized by aggregated

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 ...

with yellow margins, and salmon-red that originate from a single base. It is known only from a few sites in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

's tropical lower-mountain forests, where it grows on

thalli 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 the lichen ''

Crocodia ''Crocodia'' is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Peltigeraceae. It has eight species. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, although most species occur in temperate and tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere. The main character ...

''.

Taxonomy

''Taitaia aurea'' was first

formally described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...

by mycologists Ave Suija, Ulla Kaasalainen, Paul Kirika, and Jouko Rikkinen. The genus name ''Taitaia'' is derived from the

Taita Hills The Taita Hills, sometimes also spelled as Teita Hills, are a mountain range located in the Taita-Taveta County in south-eastern Kenya. The hills consist of three massifs: Dawida Massif, Dawida, Sagalla Massif, Sagalla in the southern side of Vo ...

in Kenya, where the species was first discovered. The

species epithet Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany) ...

''aurea'' is a reference to the golden yellow colour of the margins of the fungal fruiting bodies.

Molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

analysis showed ''Taitaia'' to be most closely related to the lichenised, saxicolous species ''

Gyalidea fritzei ''Gyalidea'' is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Gomphillaceae. It has 50 species. Species *'' Gyalidea asteriscus'' *'' Gyalidea austrocoreana'' *'' Gyalidea corticola'' *'' Gyalidea diaphana'' *'' Gyalidea fritzei'' *''Gyalidea ...

'', and both species form a

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 is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

to the lichenicolous '' Corticifraga peltigerae''. ''Taitaia'' was later resolved as

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

in a 2022 molecular-phylogenetic revision of the family

. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

was found in Taita-Taveta Province, near the summit of Vuria in a dense moist forest populated with ''

Maesa lanceolata ''Maesa lanceolata'', the false assegai, is a tree species that is widespread in the Afrotropics, including Madagascar. It occurs from the southern Arabian Peninsula, southwards to the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It grows on stream verges, river ...

'', ''

Nuxia congesta ''Nuxia congesta'', commonly known as brittle-wood, is a species of tree in the Stilbaceae family, with an extensive range in the Afrotropics. The species is named ''congesta'' for its dense inflorescences. Range The species is native to Eswati ...

'' and ''

Dracaena afromontana ''Dracaena afromontana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to the highlands of eastern tropical Africa; South Sudan (Imatong Mountains), Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Ken ...

''. It was discovered growing on 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 the

foliose A foliose lichen is a lichen with flat, leaf-like , which are generally not firmly bonded to the substrate on which it grows. It is one of the three most common lichen growth forms, growth forms of lichens. It typically has distinct upper and lo ...

lichen ''

'' cf. ''clathrata'', which was itself growing on the stem of a woody vine.

Description

''Taitaia aurea'' is a lichenicolous fungus, meaning it lives symbiotically with lichens. The fungus forms ascomata, or fungal fruiting bodies, that break through the host lichen's thallus (its vegetative body). These ascomata can group together, sometimes ten or more budding from a single base. They start off closed and then open with the edges rolling outwards to reveal a

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

-red . The margin of the ascoma is golden yellow, earning the species its 'aurea' name. The hymenium, or fertile layer of the ascoma, comprises , non-

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of typically 7–13 nm in diameter, a β-sheet secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human ...

asci (sac-like structures in which spores are formed), and ,

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

paraphyses. The produced by ''Taitaia aurea'' are (spindle-shaped) and contain a single septum.

Habitat and distribution

The fungus is obligately lichenicolous, implying it exclusively grows on lichens, in this case, on the thalli of ''Crocodia'' cf. ''clathrata''. The ascomata can burst through the host thallus without causing any discernible harm to the mycobiont (the fungal component of the lichen) or the photobiont (the photosynthetic component). At the time of its publication, ''Taitaia aurea'' was known only from two locations in Kenya, both within

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 ...

lower-mountain forests.

Ecology

Inside the host lichen, the vegetative hyphae (filamentous structures) of ''Taitaia aurea'' can weave between the medullary hyphae of the host. They are slightly narrower than those of the host and can be traced for some distance. The ascomata of ''Taitaia aurea'' are closely associated with the internal

cephalodia A cephalodium () is a small gall-like structure found in some lichens. They occur only in lichens which contain both cyanobacterial and green algal partners. Cephalodia can occur within the tissues of the lichen, or on its upper or lower surface. ...

of the host, structures containing a nitrogen-fixing

cyanobacterium Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteria' ...

called ''

Nostoc ''Nostoc'', also known as star jelly, troll's butter, spit of moon, fallen star, witch's butter (not to be confused with the fungi commonly known as witches' butter), and witch's jelly, is the most common genus of cyanobacteria found in a variety ...

''. While the fungus's vegetative hyphae are seen on the surfaces of the cephalodia, they do not appear to penetrate these structures.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q50964790 Gomphillaceae Taxa described in 2018 Graphidales genera Monotypic Lecanoromycetes genera Taxa named by Ave Suija