Genus

Lautitia

Species

danica

Author

(Berl.) S. Schatz, 1984. Can. J. Bot.., 62: 31.

Class

Dothideomycetes, Subclass Pleosporomycetidae

Order

Pleosporales

Family

Phaeosphaeriace

Synonymy:

Description

Lautitia S. Schatz, Canadian Journal of Botany 62 (1): 31 (1984

Type species:

Lautitia danica (Berl.) S. Schatz, 1984. Can. J. Bot.., 62: 31.

Index Fungorum Number: Faceoffungi number:

= Leptosphaeria danica Berl., Icones Fung., 1: 87 (1892).

= Leptosphaeria chondri Rosenv., Bot. Tidsskr., 27: 35 (1906).

= Leptosphaeria marina Rostr. Bot. Tidsskr., 17: 234 (1889).

≡ Didymosphaeria danica (Berl.) Wilsans & Knoyle, Trans. Br. Mycol.

Soc., 44: 55 (1961).

= Sphaerella chondri H. L. Jones, Oberlin Coll. Lab., 9: 3 (1898).

= Guiganardia chondri (H. L. Jones) Estee, Publ. Staz. Zool. Napoli, 15: 378 (1936).

Sexual morph ascomata: 125-267 mm high, 110-300 mm in diam, ampulliform to subglobose, immersed, confined to cystocarps and tetrasporic pustules of Chondrus crispus, ostiolate, papillate, coriaceous, pale, except for the black pseudoclypeus, gregarious. Peridium: composed of interwoven hyphae, small-celled, indistinct above, particularly in the ostiolar region. Necks: elongate, conical or cylindrical. Pseudoparaphyses: thin, septate, simple or branched, attached at both ends. Asci: 70-94 x 10-15 mm, 8-spored, subcalvate to subcylindrical, short pendunculate, thick-walled, bitunicate, physoclastic; developing at the base and lower side of the ascomata venter. Ascospores: 33-40 x 5-7 mm, irregularly biseriate, elongate fusiform, 1-septate below the center; lower cell cylindrical, rounded; upper cell broad in the lower half and pointed apically; slightly constricted at the septum, hyaline, but also becoming pale yellowish in age, no sheath or appendages. Spermagonia: 100-192 x 63-113 mm. Spermatiophores: 16-18 mm long. Spermatia: 4 x 1 mm, oblong to ellipsoidal, 1-celled, hyaline, originating in mucilaginous, basipetal strings at the apices of the spermatiophores. The genus is monotypic (Jones et al., 2009a). Asexual morph: Undetermined (Description: Based on Kohlmeyer & Kolhmeyer (1979)).

Key references:

Jones EBG, Pang KL, Stanley SJ (2012) Fungi on marine algae. In: Marine Fungi and fungal-like organisms (eds. Jones EBG, Pang KL), De Gruyter, Berlin, pp 329-344.

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.

Kohlmeyer J, Kohlmeyer E (1979) Marine Mycology: The higher fungi. Academic Press, New York.

Maria GL, Sridhar KR (2003) Endophytic fungal assemblage of two halophytes from west coast mangrove habitats, India. Czech mycological 55: 241-251.

Schatz S (1984) The life history, developmental morphology, and taxonomy of Lautitia danica, gen. nov., comb. nov. Canadian Journal of Botany. 62(1):28-32.

Stanley SJ (1992) Observations on the seasonal occurrence of marine endophytic and parasitic fungi. Can J Bot 70: 2089–2096.

Wilson IM, Knoyle JM (1961) Three species of Didymosphaeria on marine algae: D. danica (Berlese) comb. nov., D. pelvetiana Suth. and D. fucicola Suth. Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc. 44: 55-71.

Type & Location:

Other Specimens:

Substratum:

Saprobic on intertidal and mangrove wood.

Habitat:

Distribution:

Denmark, France, India, UK, USA.

Pertinent Literature:

Comments:

NOTES: Lautitia danica is frequently collected on the red alga Chondrus crispus but has not been widely reported geographically (Stanley 1992, Jones et al. 2012). Taxonomically, L. danica has had a chequered history as the above synonymy indicates with Wilson & Knoyle (1961) referring it to Didymosphaeria. Schatz (1984) undertook a two-year study of the ascomycete from living Chondrus plants in Hodgkin Cove, Gloucester MA, USA, detailing its developmental morphology and introducing the new genus Lautitia. Stanley (1992) undertook an ecological study of selected marine endophytic and parasitic fungi of seaweeds in the UK., including L. danica. It occurs on cystocarpic r throughout the year, with older fronds being more likely to have fungal ascomata on them. Despite its relative frequency of occurrence there are no living cultures and no sequence data. A detailed phylogenetic study is required to determine it taxonomic position in the Dothideomycetes. The occurrence of L. danica on intertidal wood of Acanthus ilicifolius as listed by Maria & Sridhar (2003) is unlikely, because the fungus is a parasite on submerged cystocarps and tetracarps of a red alga Ch. crispus (Kohlmeyer & Kohlmeyer 1979, Jones et al., 2015).

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