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Bathelium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bathelium
Bathelium carolinianum in North Carolina, USA
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Dothideomycetes
Order: Trypetheliales
Family: Trypetheliaceae
Genus: Bathelium
Ach. (1803)
Type species
Bathelium mastoideum
Afzel. ex Ach. (1803)

Bathelium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trypetheliaceae.[1]

Taxonomy

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The genus was circumscribed in 1803 by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius, with Bathelium mastoideum assigned as the type species.[2]

Description

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Genus Bathelium features a corticate thallus (a protective outer layer) usually with olive-green to brownish or greyish hues. This genus is distinguished by the form of its ascomata, the spore-producing structures, which possess apical ostioles (openings at the top). These ascomata can be found either singly or in groups, and often form pseudostromata, a stroma made of both thallus tissue and bits of host tissue. They are noticeable, ranging from prominent to sessile, and show a brown-black colouration, though in rare instances, they may have a whitish pruinose (powdery) appearance. This is complemented by a peripheral layer made up of tightly packed cells.[3]

Within the ascomata, the hamathecium, a tissue layer containing filamentous structures, is clear and hyaline (translucent). It comprises thin, interconnecting filaments known as paraphysoids. The ascospores number from one to eight per ascus. They are transversely septate to muriform (divided into compartments by cross walls), with thin septa and more or less angular lumina. These spores are fusiform, meaning they have a spindle-like shape, with either acute (pointed) or rounded ends, and are not constricted at the median septum. They appear hyaline, do not react to iodine (IKI−), and are encased in a gelatinous sheath.[3]

No conidiomata (structures responsible for asexual reproduction) have been identified in this genus. In terms of chemical properties, Bathelium frequently contains anthraquinones, compounds often present internally in pseudostromata. Lichexanthone, a fluorescent xanthone compound, is occasionally found within the genus.[3]

Species

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References

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  1. ^ Wijayawardene, Nalin; Hyde, Kevin; Al-Ani, Laith Khalil Tawfeeq; Somayeh, Dolatabadi; Stadler, Marc; Haelewaters, Danny; et al. (2020). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa". Mycosphere. 11: 1060–1456. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/11/1/8. hdl:10481/61998.
  2. ^ Acharius, E. (1803). Methodus qua Omnes Detectos Lichenes Secundum Organa Carpomorpha ad Genera, Species et Varietates Redigere atque Observationibus Illustrare Tentavit Erik Acharius (in Latin). Stockholm: impensis F.D.D. Ulrich. p. 111.
  3. ^ a b c Aptroot, André; Lücking, Robert (2016). "A revisionary synopsis of the Trypetheliaceae (Ascomycota: Trypetheliales)". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 763–982. doi:10.1017/s0024282916000487.
  4. ^ a b c d e Flakus, Adam; Kukwa, Martin; Aptroot, André (2016). "Trypetheliaceae of Bolivia: an updated checklist with descriptions of twenty-four new species". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 661–692. doi:10.1017/S0024282915000559.
  5. ^ Lücking, Robert; Nelsen, Matthew P.; Aptroot, André; Benatti, Michel Navarro; Binh, Nguyen Quoc; Gueidan, Cecile; Gutiérrez, Martha Cecilia; Jungbluth, Patricia; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten; Marcelli, Marcelo P.; Moncada, Bibiana; Naksuwankul, Khwanruan; Orozco, Thelma; Salazar-Allen, Noris; Upreti, Dalip K. (2016). "A pot-pourri of new species of Trypetheliaceae resulting from molecular phylogenetic studies". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 639–660. doi:10.1017/S0024282916000475.