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Danny’s DNA Discoveries – Dothideomycetes of the PNW
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Introduction
The Dothideomycetes can sometimes be similar to the Sordariomycetes, producing some black crusts, but the sexual stage is usually not as pimpled (the asci do form in pockets like pimples, but they are not as pronounced). The fungal tissue is also often intermingled with the wood tissue. If you've never heard of this class, you're not alone. It wasn't long before this writing that there were no official records of anything in this class in the PNW. Around 2015 at a Key Council foray, somebody set out to prove they were here and just overlooked and found 6 species in one morning. Were they just lucky? No, they had just been ignored. I don't have the record of those species to include them here, so expect this page to expand as more people start looking for them. It may actually be the largest and most diverse class in the Ascomycotina (although many species don't produce significant fruiting bodies). abundant common uncommon rare - colour codes match my Pictorial Key and are my opinions and probably reflect my bias of living in W WA. Rare species may be locally common in certain places at certain times. |
Dothideomycetes Fewer groups are more understudied than this class, so expect to find many more than these. Apiosporina cf morbosa ENA - black knot of cherry. We need local collections. Venturia cf inaequalis EU - apple scab disease. We need local collections. Leptopeltis sp. - class actually unknown. These are tiny, stemless cups growing on fern debris and salal that start out translucent and end up "chamois" (pale yellow and leathery). Leptopeltis aquilina EU (=Leptopeltis pteridis EU?) has been reported from the PNW, supposedly in this class, but this is doubtful. Leptopeltis litigiosa may likely be in the Leotiomycetes. The type species of the genus, Leptopeltis filicina, is thought to be in neither class. This means this fungus likely needs a new name and to be placed in the proper class. We need local collections. Glyphium PNW01 - black carbonaceous cylinders on wood. We have one OR collection. EU sequences of Glyphium elatum UK may differ from each other by a couple % in ITS2, but our OR collection is different in both ITS1 and ITS2 by a couple percent, so I'm using a provisional code for it. It also appears to be close to Glyphium grisonense EU. Seifertia azalae NY - grey fuzzy balls with black stems growing from Rhododendron and Azalea. Not known from the PNW until sequenced from WA. This is the type species of the genus, which seems to have good support for being in this class, and our sequence matches EU sequences and what may be ENA type area sequences. unsequenced Venturia inaequalis © Michael Beug, Glyphium PNW01 © Roo Vandergrift (2 images) Seifertia azalae © Matthew Koons (2 images) |