Home • Lasiosphaeriaceae sp. AZ0830 v1.0
Lasiosphaeriaceae sp. AZ0830 on 2% malt extract agar (MEA). photo credit: J. M. U’Ren.
Lasiosphaeriaceae sp. AZ0830 on 2% malt extract agar (MEA). photo credit: J. M. U’Ren.

Lasiosphaeriaceae sp. AZ0830 was isolated in culture from a surface-sterilized thallus of a crustose lichen, Diploschistes muscorum, in the Chiricahua Mountains of southern Arizona as part of a study examining endophytic and endolichenic fungal communities across North America (U’Ren et al., 2012). We classified this isolate as an unidentified species of Lasiosphaeriaceae (Pezizomycotina, Sordariomycetes, Sordariales) via ITS-partial LSU rDNA sequencing. Lasiosphaeriaceae sensu lato is the largest and most morphologically diverse family in the Sordariales (Huhndorf et al., 2004), but the family as currently circumscribed is paraphyletic and includes members of the Sordariaceae and Chaetomiaceae (Kruys et al., 2015). Species of Lasiosphaeriaceae are primarily saprobes inhabiting wood, dung, soil, and rotting vegetation in temperate forests (Cannon & Kirk, 2007). Isolated as an endolichenic fungus, AZ0830 is particularly useful for comparative genomic analyses to examine nutrient acquisition and substrate use in this diverse family.

References:

Cannon, P.F. & P.M. Kirk. 2007. Fungal families of the world. Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK: CAB International. pg. 182.

Huhndorf, S.M., A.N. Miller & F.A. Fernández (2004). Molecular systematics of the Sordariales: the order and the family Lasiosphaeriaceae redefined. Mycologia 96: 368–387.

Kruys, Å., S. M. Huhndorf & A. N. Miller (2015). Coprophilous contributions to the phylogeny of Lasiosphaeriaceae and allied taxa within Sordariales (Ascomycota, Fungi). Fungal Diversity 70: 101–113.

U’Ren, J. M., F. Lutzoni, J. Miadlikowska, A. Laetsch & A.E. Arnold. 2012. Host- and geographic structure of endophytic and endolichenic fungi at a continental scale. American Journal of Botany. 99: 898–914.