Premise of the study Fungi are major decomposers in certain ecosystems and essential associates of many organisms. They provide enzymes and drugs and serve as experimental organisms. In 1991, a landmark paper estimated that there are 1.5 million fungi on the Earth. Because only 70000 fungi had been described at that time, the estimate has been the impetus to search for previously unknown fungi. Fungal habitats include soil, water, and organisms that may harbor large numbers of understudied fungi, estimated to outnumber plants by at least 6 to 1. More recent estimates based on high-throughput sequencing methods suggest that as many as 5.1 million fungal species exist. Methods Technological advances make it possible to apply molecular methods to develop a stable classification and to discover and identify fungal taxa. Key results Molecular methods have dramatically increased our knowledge of Fungi in less than 20 years, revealing a monophyletic kingdom and increased diversity among early-diverging lineages. Mycologists are making significant advances in species discovery, but many fungi remain to be discovered. Conclusions Fungi are essential to the survival of many groups of organisms with which they form associations. They also attract attention as predators of invertebrate animals, pathogens of potatoes and rice and humans and bats, killers of frogs and crayfish, producers of secondary metabolites to lower cholesterol, and subjects of prize-winning research. Molecular tools in use and under development can be used to discover the world's unknown fungi in less than 1000 years predicted at current new species acquisition rates.

The Fungi: 1, 2, 3 … 5.1 million species?

Dothideomycetes comprise a highly diverse range of fungi characterized mainly by asci with two wall layers (bitunicate asci) and often with fissitunicate dehiscence. Many species are saprobes, with many asexual states comprising important plant pathogens. They are also endophytes, epiphytes, fungicolous, lichenized, or lichenicolous fungi. They occur in terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats in almost every part of the world. We accept 105 families in Dothideomycetes with the new families Anteagloniaceae, Bambusicolaceae, Biatriosporaceae, Lichenoconiaceae, Muyocopronaceae, Paranectriellaceae, Roussoellaceae, Salsugineaceae, Seynesiopeltidaceae and Thyridariaceae introduced in this paper. Each family is provided with a description and notes, including asexual and asexual states, and if more than one genus is included, the type genus is also characterized. Each family is provided with at least one figure-plate, usually illustrating the type genus, a list of accepted genera, including asexual genera, and a key to these genera. A phylogenetic tree based on four gene combined analysis add support for 64 of the families and 22 orders, including the novel orders, Dyfrolomycetales, Lichenoconiales, Lichenotheliales, Monoblastiales, Natipusillales, Phaeotrichales and Strigulales. The paper is expected to provide a working document on Dothideomycetes which can be modified as new data comes to light. It is hoped that by illustrating types we provide stimulation and interest so that more work is carried out in this remarkable group of fungi.

Families of Dothideomycetes

In the Earth’s lithosphere, fungi are of fundamental importance as decomposer organisms, animal and plant pathogens and symbionts (e.g. lichens and mycorrhizas), being ubiquitous in sub-aerial and subsoil environments. The ability of fungi to interact with minerals, metals, metalloids and organic compounds through biomechanical and biochemical processes, makes them ideally suited as biological weathering agents of rock and building stone. They also play a fundamental role in biogeochemical cycling of nutrients, (e.g. C, N, P and S) and metals (e.g. Na, Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Co and Ni) essential for the growth of living organisms in the biosphere. In addition they play an integral role in the mobilization and immobilization of non-essential metals (e.g. Cs, Al, Cd, Hg and Pb). Most studies on mineral-microbe interactions and microbial involvement in geological processes have concentrated on bacteria and archaea (Prokaryota): fungi (Eukaryota) have, to a certain extent, been neglected. This article addresses the role of fungi in geomicrobiological processes, emphasizing their deteriorative potential on rock, building stone and mineral surfaces and involvement in the formation of secondary mycogenic minerals. Such roles of fungi are also of importance for the global carbon reservoir and have potential biotechnological applications, e.g. in the bioremediation of xenobiotic-, metal- and/or radionuclide-contaminated soils and wastes, and metal/radionuclide recovery.

Fungal involvement in bioweathering and biotransformation of rocks and minerals

Many fungi, lichens, and bacteria produce xanthones (derivatives of 9H-xanthen-9-one, “xanthone” from the Greek “xanthos”, for “yellow”) as secondary metabolites. Xanthones are typically polysubstituted and occur as either fully aromatized, dihydro-, tetrahydro-, or, more rarely, hexahydro-derivatives. This family of compounds appeals to medicinal chemists because of their pronounced biological activity within a notably broad spectrum of disease states, a result of their interaction with a correspondingly diverse range of target biomolecules. This has led to the description of xanthones as “privileged structures”.(1) Historically, the total synthesis of the natural products has mostly been limited to fully aromatized targets. Syntheses of the more challenging partially saturated xanthones have less frequently been reported, although the development in recent times of novel and reliable methods for the construction of the (polysubstituted) unsaturated xanthone core holds promise for future endeavors. In particular, the fascinating structural and biological properties of xanthone dimers and heterodimers may excite the synthetic or natural product chemist.

Xanthones from Fungi, Lichens, and Bacteria: The Natural Products and Their Synthesis

The lichen family Teloschistaceae is one of the larger families of lichenized fungi. Currently it includes one very large heterogenous genus, Caloplaca, with some 1000 or more species with a vast variation in morphology, anatomy and chemistry. The rest of the family is split into 1015 smaller genera, each with 20 or fewer species. There is no modern classification of the family based on molecular data. Here we attempt a first phylogenetic evaluation of a large part of the family, including a total of 337 species. Of these, 162 were used in a combined phylogenetic analysis of the ribosomal RNA sequence markers nrITS, nrLSU and mrSSU, using Bayesian inference. We also analysed all species using nrITS data, split into four different analyses. As a result we propose a new classification of the family, where a total of 39 genera are recognized, of which 31 are newly described or resurrected. The new genera are: Athallia, Austroplaca, Bryoplaca, Calogaya, Cerothallia, Flavoplaca, Gondwania, Haloplaca, Orientophila, Pachypeltis, Parvoplaca, Rufoplaca, Shackletonia, Scutaria, Sirenophila, Solitaria, Squamulea, Stellarangia, Teloschistopsis, Usnochroma, Variospora, Villophora and Wetmoreana. Resurrected genera are Blastenia, Dufourea, Follmannia, Gyalolechia, Leproplaca, Polycauliona, Pyrenodesmia and Xanthocarpia. The species Orientophila subscopularis is described as new. A third subfamily, Teloschistoideae, is proposed to accommodate the genus Teloschistes and related genera, parallel to the two previously recognized subfamilies Xanthorioideae and Caloplacoideae. We also show the large plasticity in both morphological and anatomical characters between closely related species within genera, indicating the low value of these as evolutionary markers. The secondary chemistry is a better marker in some parts of the family. We recognize a large number of geographically delimited clades with clear centres of evolution, but often showing large variation in morphology and anatomy. (Less)

A new taxonomy of the family Teloschistaceae

Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region

An annotated list of 70 taxa of lichenicolous fungi (56 Ascomycetes, 3 Basidiomycetes, 8 Coelomycetes and 3 Hyphomycetes) from North America is documented. Dactylospora pleiosperma, Endococcus oreinae, Plectocarpon nashii, and Stigmidium epixanthum are new to science. Whereas Dactylospora pleiosperma, Endococcus oreinae, Plectocarpon nashii are so far only known from restricted areas in North America, Stigmidium epixanthum is a widespread species. Each treated taxon represents a new record to either one of the states of the U.S.A. or one of the provinces of Canada or Mexico or Greenland. 25 of these are new records for entire or continental North America. Buelliella inops is a new combination. In addition the lichenized Leucocarpia biatorella, found as admixture in a specimen of Arthonia peltigerea, is reported for the first time from Colorado.

On lichenicolous fungi from North America. II.

La riqueza de especies de liquenes de Mexico no se conoce con certeza. Se estima, por ejemplo, que solo en la porcion tropical del pais puede haber 3 600 especies que es la mitad de las calculadas para todo el neotropico. Si se toma en cuenta que Mexico es tambien diverso en climas y tipos de vegetacion no tropicales, el numero de especies de liquenes quizas alcance las 5 000. De ser asi, el pais ocuparia el segundo lugar en este rubro entre los paises neotropicales, despues de Brasil (4 900 especies, solo en sus partes tropicales) y representaria del 18-37% de las especies de liquenes a nivel mundial, que es estimado entre 13 500 y 20 000. Pero el conocimiento de la flora liquenologica de Mexico esta todavia lejos de completarse. Se estima que a la fecha hay registro de alrededor del 50% de las especies de liquenes del pais. El objetivo es presentar un conteo actualizado de las especies de liquenes conocidas para Mexico. En este trabajo se contabilizaron 2 722 especies y 111 categorias infraespecificas. Estan agrupadas en 2 divisiones, 2 subdivisiones, 6 clases, 21 ordenes, 84 familias y 364 generos. El 90% de las especies son cloroliquenes y el resto cianoliquenes. La mayoria de ellas tienen forma de crecimiento costrosa (62%), les siguen las foliosas (28%) y las fruticosas (11%). El sustrato mas comun donde crecen es la corteza de los arboles (46%), seguido por las rocas (34%), hojas (11%) y suelo (10%). El tipo de vegetacion con mas riqueza de liquenes es el bosque templado (947especies), seguido por el matorral xerofilo (544), el bosque tropical humedo (391), el bosque estacionalmente seco (386) y el bosque humedo de montana (230). Los estados con mas especies de liquenes son Baja California (710), Veracruz (700), Sonora (516), Chihuahua (515) y Baja California Sur (511), y aquellos con menos especies son Campeche (17), Aguascalientes (2) y Tabasco (1), pero esto refleja mas la disparidad de los estudios liquenologicos entre estados que sus diferencias reales en diversidad de liquenes.

http://www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/rmbiodiv/v85sene/v85senea10.pdf

Biodiversidad de líquenes en México

A survey of marine and maritime lichens growing on serpentine rock on the north shore of Washington Park, Fidalgo Island (Skagit Co.), Washington reveals at least 61 species of lichens. Verrucaria sandstedei B. de Lesd. is reported for the first time from North America, and 15 other species are newly recorded for Washington. Of the positively identified species, none were serpentine endemics. A mixture of silicolous and calcicolous species was present.

Marine and maritime lichens on serpentine rock on Fidalgo Island, Washington

New Zealand Lichens

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