Genus

Aniptodera

Species

chesapeakensis

Author

Shearer & M. Mill., Mycologia 69: 894 (1977)

Class

Sordariomycetes, Subclass Hypocreomycetidae

Order

Microascales

Family

Halosphaeriaceae

Synonymy:

Description

Sexual morph: Ascomata 130-(186)-300 μm high, 170-(221)-325 μm diam., globose to subglobose, hyaline greyish brown to dark brown, membranous, superficial or partially immersed, ostiolate. Necks 81-(204)-326 μm long, 36-(39)-76 μm diam., apical or subapical portion of the neck becoming dark, forming a ring around the neck, periphysate. Peridium two-layered, with an outer layer of cells of textura angularis and an inner layer of elongated cells. Asci 64-(94)-116 × 14-(28)-38 μm, unitunicate, 8-spored, clavate, deliquescing at maturity, with an apical pore, plasmalemma retracted below the apex, short pedicel. Catenophyses present. Ascospores 21-(32)-37 × 7-(11)-15 μm, hyaline, ellipsoidal, thick-walled, 1-septate, not constricted at the septum, appendaged or not. Appendages bipolar, thin, hamate extending over the mid-septum, unfurling into fine thread in water. Asexual morph: Undetermined. (Description based on Pang et al. (2011)).

Key references:

Campbell J, Anderson JL, Shearer CA. (2003) Systematics of Halosarpheia based on morphological and molecular data. Mycologia 95: 530-552.

Hyde KD (1990) A new marine Ascomycete from Brunei. Aniptodera longispora sp. nov. from intertidal mangrove wood. Botanica Marina 33: 335-338.

Hyde, KD (1992) Tropical Australian freshwater fungi. I. Some ascomycetes. Australian Systematic Botany 5: 109–116.

Jones EBG, Ju WT, Lu CL, Guo SY, Pang KL (2017) The Halosphaeriaceae revisited. Botanica Marina (In press).

Maharachchikumbura SSN, Hyde KD, Jones EBG, Mckenzie EHC, Huang SK, Abdel-Wahab MA et al. (2015) Towards a natural classification and backbone tree for Sordariomcyetes. Fungal Diversity 72: 199-299.

Pang KL, Jheng JS, Jones EBG. (2011) Marine mangrove fungi of Taiwan. National Taiwan Ocean University Press, Keelung. pp. 131.

Sakayaroj J, Pang KL, Jones EBG (2011) Multi-gene phylogeny of the Halosphaeriaceae: its ordinal status, relationships between genera and morphological character evolution. Fungal Diversity 46: 87-109.

Key to marine Aniptodera species:

Ascospores with bipolar appendages 2

Ascospores lacking polar appendages 3

Ascospores 37-45 x 12-14 μm, on mangrove wood A. mangrovei

Ascospores 14-20 x 4-7 μm, on mangrove bark A. salsuginosa

Ascospores mainly in freshwater A. aquadulcis

Ascospores thick-walled 4

Ascospores thin-walled 6

Ascospores with a very thick wall, on a variety of substrata A. chesapeakensis

Ascospores with a less thick wall 5

Ascospores 20-25 x 14-18 μm, on mangrove wood A. haispora

Ascospores 24-31 x 8-12 μm, on Juncus roemerianus A. juncicola

Ascospores 10.5-13 x 7-8 μm A. intermedia

Ascospores 16-22 x 5-7 μm A. nypae

Ascospores 29-25 x 8-10 μm A. limnetica

Image: Aniptodera chesapeakensis. (a) Section of immersed, globose ascoma. (b) Section of ascoma neck with periphyses. (c) Two-layered peridium, outer layer of cells of textura angularis, inner layer of elongated cells. (d) Mature, clavate, thin-walled ascus with eight ascospores. (e)Thick-walled ascospore with bipolar hook-like appendages. Scale bar: a=50 μm; b, c=30 μm; d, e=10 μm. Photo reproduced with the permission of the National Taiwan Ocean University.

Type & Location:

Other Specimens:

Substratum:

dead mangrove wood, senescent mangrove leaves, dead marsh grasses, fern rachis.

Habitat:

Distribution:

Andaman Island, Australia, Belize, Brunei, China, Egypt, England, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, Venezuela.

Pertinent Literature:

Comments:

NOTES: The genus Aniptodera comprises both marine and freshwater species and is widely distributed in the tropics and temperate waters, although some species are rarely reported. Some species appear to be cosmopolitan in their distribution, e.g. A. chesapeakensis. Aniptodera chesapeakensis grows on a wide range of woody tree species to leaves of seagrasses. The monophyly of the genus is in doubt and warrants a major revision with wider taxon sampling. It is a genus that shares many characteristics with members of the Halosarpheia complex and it is surprising that so few species have been sequenced (Sakayaroj et al. 2011). There is some confusion over the identity of this species, originally described as ascospores with a thick wall and lacking appendages. Subsequently, Shearer (1989) broadened the concept of the species to include ascospores with bipolar unfurling appendages. Consequently, the genus currently comprises species with appendages and without appendages. However, some Aniptodera species have been transferred to other genera based on sequence data A. lignatilis (Hyde 1992) to Aniptosporopsis and A. longispora (Hyde 1990) to Paraaniptodera (Jones et al. 2017, in press). Currently, 21 species are assigned to Aniptodera (MycoBank) of which nine are marine species, but only Aniptodera chesapeakensis has been sequenced. Campbell et al. (2003) transferred Halosarpheia aquadulcis (primarily a freshwater species) to Aniptodera based on morphological similarities to Aniptodera chesapeakensis but this needs re-evaluation. Other species need to be recollected, isolated and sequenced. Aniptodera sensu stricto (based on A. chesapeakensis) groups in the Halosphaeriaceae with strong statistical support (Jones et al. 2015, Maharachchikumbura, Jones et al. 2017). Aniptodera species occur on a wide range of substrata, such as decayed mangrove wood and drift wood, leaves, grasses and fern rachis (Pang et al. 2011). They are world-wide in their distribution.

Images

Fig 1