Genus

Marinosphaera

Species

mangrovei

Author

K.D. Hyde, Can. J. Bot. 67: 3080 (1989)

Class

Sordariomycetes, Subclass Hypocreomycetidae

Order

Phyllachorales

Family

Phyllachoraceae

Synonymy:

Description

Serxual morph: Ascomata 107-228 μm high, 98-199 μm diam., ellipsoidal, globose, subglobose or pyriform, immersed, ostiolate, papillate, membranous, light to dark brown, periphysate, solitary. Necks up to 397.6 μm long, hyaline, but dark at the base. Peridium 8.5-17.4 μm thick, hyaline to brown, composed of angular cells of textura angularis. Paraphyses 1.6-6 μm wide, simple, septate. Asci 88.4-112 × 18.5-22.7 μm, eightspored, clavate, short pedunculate, persistent, unitunicate, not blueing in Melzer’s reagent, treatment with lactophenol reveals a subapical plate through which a faint pore may be observed, developing from ascogenous tissue at the base of the ascoma. Ascospores 25.5-31 × 6-8.5 μm, 2-3 seriate in ascus, broad ellipsoidal to fusiform, non-septate when young, becoming 3-septate in older specimens, hyaline, smooth-walled, hyaline in mass. Asexual morph: Undetermined.

Key references:

Alias SA. (1996) Ecological and taxonomic studies of lignicolous marine fungi in Malaysian mangroves. PhD. Thesis, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.

Hyde KD (1989) Intertidal mangrove from north Sumatra. Canadian Journal of Botany. 67: 3078-3082.

Jones EBG, Suetrong S, Sakayaroj J, Bahkali AH, Abdel-Wahab MA, Boekhout T, Pang KL (2015) Classification of marine Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Blastocladiomycota and Chytridiomycota. Fungal Diversity 73: 1-72.

Image: Marinosphaera mangrovei. (a) Section of immersed ascoma. (b) Ascoma neck with periphyses. (c) One-layered peridium, composed of cells of textura angularis with large lumina. (d) Cylindrical, thin-walled ascus. (e) Immature ascospore. (f) Mature ascospore, 3-septate.
Scale bar: a=50 μm; b, d=20 μm; c, e, f=10 μm. Photo reproduced with the permission of the National Taiwan Ocean University.

Type & Location:

Other Specimens:

Substratum:

dead mangrove wood.

Habitat:

Distribution:

Australia, Brunei, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Philippines, Singapore, Society Island, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, USA.

Pertinent Literature:

Comments:

NOTES: This is an extremely common species in Taiwan, both in mangroves and rocky shores. Hyde (1989) suggested its affinity to the Phyllachorales but members of this order are mainly biotrophic. The characteristic features of the species are the ascus tip that is thickened with a small flattened ocular chamber, and wide paraphyses that are constricted at the septa. Using SSU and LSU rRNA gene sequences, it is placed within the Sordariomycetidae, and groups in the Phyllachoraceae (Phyllachorales) (Jones et al. 2015). It shows similarity with Argentinomyces but in this genus the asci are clavate and paraphyses are absent. Marinosphaera is a monotypic genus and further collections are required to resolve its taxonomic position. Marinosphaera mangroevei is a common tropical ascomycete especially on mangrove wood with Alias (1996) regarding this species as an early colonizer of wood in Malaysia.

Images

Fig 2