Freshwater Ascomycetes - Species Monograph

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Genus	Species	Author
Kirschsteiniothelia	elaterascus	Shearer
Class	Order	Family
Dothideomycetes	Pleosporales	Pleosporaceae

Genbank ID: 85917 MycoBank ID: 361451

Synonymy:

Description

Habit:

Saprobic, ascomata solitary or clustered, immersed to partly immersed in submerged wood.

Ascomata:

Ascomata 284-518 x 324-850 µm, solitary or clustered, immersed to superficial, when superficial, base immersed in substratum, mammiform, globose to flattened globose, black, ostiolate, with papillate beak.

Peridium:

Peridium 60-70 µm wide, composed of thin-walled, pseudoparenchymatous cells, walls of outer cells deeply pigmented and covered and partially occluded withorange-brown amorphous material, in face view, forming a textura angularis in the upper regions and a textura prismatica at sides and angles of base.

Beak:

Beaks cylindrical, periphysate, 100-297 x 100-284 µm.

Hamathecium:

Hamathecium of abundant cellular pseudoparaphyses, coated with gelatinous material.

Ascus:

Asci 95-149 x (14-) 18-25 (-38) µm, clavate, covered with gel, thick-walled, with a cylindrical apical chamber; fissitunicate with endoascus separating from ectoascus at time of ectoascus dehiscence, base of endoascus long, narrow and coiled within ectoascus, comprised to two layers, the inner one narrow and cotton blue positive, the outer one, thicker and cotton blue negative, endoascus uncoiling at time of ectoascus dehiscence to reach lengths of 293-557 µm; with eight biseriate ascospores.

Ascospore:

Ascospores ellipsoid, rounded at apices, 1-(2- or 3-) septate, constricted at midseptum, apical cell usually longer than basal cell, (14.5-) 22-33 (-33.6) x 6- 13.5 µm, verruculose, brown, surrounded by a gelatinous sheath.

Sheath:

Gelatinous sheath which enlarges in water.

Appendage:

Culture:

Colonies on cornmeal agar hyaline, becoming greyish brown, floccose; on filter paper, grey, floccose, producing a salmon pink pigment up to 5 mm from the leading edge of the colony.

Anamorph:

Possible coelomycete.