Leotiomycetes
Uncinula tulasnei, a representative of the Erysiphaceae
The Leotiomycetes are a class of Ascomycota. It does not Flechtenbildner.
Features
Morphologically the Leotiomycetes are very diverse. A large part has small apothecia as fruiting body with an exposed hymenium and inoperculate, unitunicaten asci, which open with an apical Perforationspore and so release the spores. The Erysiphales, Myxotrichaceae and Thelebolales however, feature simple, kleistothecische fruiting bodies. The shape of the fruiting body, a colorful ping pong ball -sized ball to be (golf ball mushrooms - Cyttaria ), or small dark dots on conifer needles ( cleft lip - Lophodermium ). The consistency of the fruit body ranging from gelatinous (dirt cup warmers - Bulgaria), on hairy and fleshy to fragile ( Hyaloscyphaceae ). The Mildew Fungus ( Erysiphales ) and the Thelebolales have very small, closed fruiting body partly with only one ascus. The majority of the species forms achtsporige asci, some representatives, such Thelebolus stercoreus form up to 2,000 spores per ascus.
The spores are not or transversely septate, translucent ( hyaline ) or pigmented, and slightly asymmetrical in the longitudinal direction.
In some groups occur Anamorphic, these can be hyphomycetisch or coelomycetisch.
Ecology
The life is as diverse as the morphology. In many cases, the fungi, however, are bound in some kind of plants: there are plant pathogens ( Sklerotienbecherlinge - Sclerotinia ), endophytes ( Phacidium ) Saprobionten, mycorrhiza - formers ( Hymenoscyphus ), root rot pathogens and also nematophagous fungi.
System
Despite their great morphological and ecological diversity Leotiomycetes are well covered as a monophyletic group in the illustrated extent due to DNA sequence comparisons. The sooner this counted Geoglossaceae they are no longer made here. Hibbett et al. (2007) divided the class as follows:
- Order gold ball Fungal ( Cyttariales )
- Order Mildew Fungus ( Erysiphales )
- Order Helotiales: The Helobiales are clearly not monophyletic. The other orders are in Kladogrammen within the Helobiales. A restructuring of the Helotiales, probably a division into several orders, is still pending.
- Order Runzelschorfartige ( Rhytismatales )
- Order Thelebolales: are hardly represented until now in phylogenetic studies, placement in the class are considered provisional.
In addition, include the Myxotrichaceae and Pseudeurotiaceae in this class.