Laboulbeniomycetes

Alex Weir, SUNY‐ESF (SUNY College Environmental Science & Forestry), Syracuse, New York, USA

Published online: July 2017

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0027214

Abstract

Fungi belonging to class Laboulbeniomycetes are a diverse group that utilise arthropods for nutrition and/or dispersal. This enigmatic group has been studied by very few researchers since their original discovery in the mid‐nineteenth century. Salient features of the general biology of these organisms include information on host range, transmission, host specificity, position specificity, pathogenicity, thallus development and classification and phylogeny.

Key Concepts

  • Class Laboulbeniomycetes are a diverse group of Ascomycete fungi.
  • These understudied organisms utilise arthropods for nutrition and/or dispersal.
  • General biological features of Laboulbeniomycetes are outlined.
  • Results from the latest research on the group are summarised.
  • Areas for future research are defined.

Keywords: Laboulbeniomycetes; Arthropoda; parasites; specificity; phylogeny

Figure 1. Thin section through the femur of Harmonia axyridis (Coccinellidae) showing infection with thalli of Hesperomyces virescens. The dark brown ovoid structures on the surface of the femur are the foot cells of the fungus and beneath these it is possible to see narrow penetration pegs, and small circular haustoria from which rhizoidal hyphae ramify within the body cavity of the host.
Figure 2. Diagrammatic representation of species of Chitonomyces on Laccophilus maculosus showing five pairs and one triplet of (colour coded) morphospecies on corresponding body parts of male and female hosts. Blue a and b – C. simplex, a – the alternate form (previously known as C. uncinatus) found only on male beetles, b – C. simplex – the typical form found on male and female beetles. Orange a and b – C. affinis a – the alternate form (previously known as C. lichanophorus) found only on male beetles, b – C. affinis – the typical form found on male and female beetles. Red a and b – C. hyalinus, a – the typical form found only on male beetles, b – C. hyalinus – the alternate form (previously known as C. marginatus) found on male and female beetles. Purple a–c – C. appendiculatus, a – C. appendiculatus a typical form previously known as C. distortus, found only on male beetles and sharing the same position as, b – C. appendiculatus a typical form found only on male beetles, c – C. appendiculatus the alternate form (previously known as C. dentifer) found on male and female beetles. Yellow a and b – C. rhyncostoma, a – the alternate form (previously known as C. spiniger) found only on male beetles, b – C. rhyncostoma – the typical form found on male and female beetles. Green a and b – C. paradoxus, a – the alternate form (previously known as C. unciger) found only on male beetles, b – C. paradoxus – the typical form found on male and female beetles. Reproduced from Goldmann and Weir 2012 with permission from Taylor & Francis Group.
Figure 3. Thalli of Ceratomyces mirabilis showing basal attachment foot, receptacle, appendage and perithecium.
close

References

Applebaum SW, Kfir R, Gerson U and Tadmor U (1971) Studies on the summer decline of Chilocorus bipustulatus in citrus groves of Israel. Entomophaga 16: 433–444.

Benjamin RK and Shanor L (1952) Sex of host specificity and position specificity of certain species of Laboulbenia on Bembidion picipes. American Journal of Botany 39: 125–131.

Benjamin RK (1971) Introduction and supplement to Roland Thaxter's contribution towards a monograph of the Laboulbeniaceae. Bibliotheca Mycologica 30: 1–155.

Blackwell M and Kimbrough JW (1976) Ultrastructure of the termite associated fungus Laboulbeniopsis termitarius. Mycologia 68: 541–550.

Blackwell M, Bridges JR, Moser JC and Perry TJ (1986) Hyperphoretic dispersal of a Pyxidiophora anamorph. Science 232: 993–995.

Blackwell M and Malloch D (1989) Pyxidiophora: Life histories and arthropod associations of two species. Canadian Journal of Botany 67: 2552–2562.

Blackwell M (1994) Minute mycological mysteries: the influence of arthropods on the lives of fungi. Mycologia 86: 1–17.

Bro Larsen E (1952) On subsocial beetles from the salt‐marsh, their care of progeny and adaptation to salt and tide. Transactions of the IXth International Congress of Entomology, Amsterdam 1: 502–506.

De Kesel A (1995) Relative importance of direct and indirect infection in the transmission of Laboulbenia slackensis (Ascomycetes, Laboulbeniales). Belgian Journal of Botany 128: 124–130.

De Kesel A (1996) Host specificity and habitat preference of Laboulbenia slackensis. Mycologia 88: 565–573.

Frank JH (1982) The parasites of the Staphylinidae (Coleoptera). Agricultural Experimental Station, Florida, Bulletin 824, i–vii, pp. 1–118.

Goldmann LM and Weir A (2012) Position specificity in Chitonomyces (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniomycetes) on Laccophilus (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae): a molecular approach resolves a century‐old debate. Mycologia 104: 1143–1158.

Goldmann LM (2015) Investigations into Position Specificity and the Molecular Systematics of the Laboulbeniomycetes. PhD thesis, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.

Hammond PM (1995) Described and estimated species numbers: an objective assessment of current knowledge. In: Allsopp D, Hawksworth DL and Colwell RR (eds) Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Function. Wallingford: CABI.

Henk DA, Weir A and Blackwell M (2003) Laboulbeniopsis termitarius, an ectoparasite of termites newly recognized as a member of the Laboulbeniomycetes. Mycologia 95: 561–564.

Hill TW (1977) Ascocarp ultrastructure of Herpomyces sp. (Laboulbeniales) and its phylogenetic implications. Canadian Journal of Botany 55: 2015–2032.

Hughes MB (2008) The Systematics, Biogeography, and Host Utilization of New Zealand Laboulbeniales (Fungi, Ascomycota). PhD thesis, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.

Hulden L (1983) Laboulbeniales (Ascomycetes) of Finland and adjacent parts of the USSR. Karstenia 23: 31–136.

Kamburov SS, Nadel DJ and Kenneth R (1966) The fungus Hesperomyces virescens Thaxter parasitic on Chilocorus bipustulatus L. in Israel. Ktavim 16: 135–136.

Kamburov SS, Nadel DJ and Kenneth R (1967) Studies on the fungus Hesperomyces virescens attacking Chilocorus bipustulatus, pp 635–636. In: Research Report, 1965, 1966, Plant Pathology, Hebrew University, Faculty of Agriculture, Jerusalem, pp 623–642.

Kaur S and Mukerji KG (1994) Soil in Transmission of Laboulbeniales. Conference Abstract 106. 5th International Mycological Congress, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Lindroth CH (1948) Notes on the ecology of Laboulbeniaceae infesting carabid beetles. Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 42: 34–41.

Majerus ME (1997) Interspecific hybridization in ladybirds (Col.: Coccinellidae). Entomologist's Record 109: 11–23.

Majewski T (2003) Distribution and ecology of Laboulbeniales (Fungi, Ascomycetes) in the Bialowieza forest. Supplementum Cartographiae Geobotanicae 16. Phytocoenosis 15: 1–144.

Nalepa CA and Weir A (2007) Infection of Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) by Hesperomyces virescens (Ascomycetes: Laboulbeniales): Role of mating status and aggregation behavior. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 94: 196–203.

Richards AG and Smith MN (1955) Infection of cockroaches with Herpomyces (Laboulbeniales). I. life history studies. Biological Bulletin of the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole 108: 206–218.

Riddick EW and Schaefer PW (2005) Occurrence, density, and distribution of parasitic fungus Hesperomyces virescens (Laboulbeniales: Laboulbeniaceae) on multicolored Asian ladybeetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 98: 615–624.

Schoch CL, Sung GH, Lopez‐Giraldez F, et al. (2009) The Ascomycota tree of life: a phylum‐wide phylogeny clarifies the origin and evolution of fundamental reproductive and ecological traits. Systematic Biology 58: 224–239.

Strandberg JO and Tucker LC (1974) Filariomyces forficulae: occurrence and effects on the predatory earwig, Labidura riparia. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 24: 357–364.

Tavares II (1981) Validation of the Herpomycetineae and Herpomycetaceae in the Laboulbeniales. Mycotaxon 13: 469–470.

Tavares II (1985) Laboulbeniales (Fungi, Ascomycetes). Mycologia Memoirs 9: 1–627.

Thaxter R (1896) Contribution towards a monograph of the Laboulbeniaceae. Part I. Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 12: 187–429, Pls. I‐XXVI.

Thaxter R (1920) Second note on certain peculiar fungus‐parasites of living insects. Botanical Gazette (Crawfordsville) 69: 1–27.

Thaxter R (1926) Contribution towards a monograph of the Laboulbeniaceae. Part IV. Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 15: 427–580, Pls. I‐XXIV.

Weir A and Beakes GW (1995) An introduction to the Laboulbeniales: a fascinating group of entomogenous fungi. Mycologist 9: 6–10.

Weir A (1996) A preliminary host‐parasite list of British Laboulbeniales (Fungi, Ascomycotina). Entomologist 115: 50–58.

Weir A and Beakes GW (1996) Correlative light‐ and scanning electron microscope studies on the developmental morphology of Hesperomyces virescens. Mycologia 88: 677–693.

Weir A and Hammond PM (1997) Laboulbeniales on beetles: host utilization patterns and species richness of the parasites. Biodiversity and Conservation 6: 701–719.

Weir A and Blackwell M (2001a) Extraction and PCR amplification of DNA from minute ectoparasitic fungi. Mycologia 93: 802–806.

Weir A and Blackwell M (2001b) Molecular data support the Laboulbeniales as a separate class of Ascomycota, Laboulbeniomycetes. Mycological Research 105: 1182–1190.

Whisler HC (1968) Experimental studies with a new species of Stigmatomyces (Laboulbeniales). Mycologia 60: 65–75.

Further Reading

Benjamin RK (1973) Laboulbeniomycetes. In: Ainsworth GC, Sparrow FK and Sussman AS (eds) The Fungi – An Advanced Treatise, Volume IVA, A Taxonomic Review with Keys: Ascomycetes and Fungi Imperfecti, pp. 223–245. New York: Academic Press.

Weir A (2002) The Laboulbeniales – an enigmatic group of arthropod associated fungi. In: Sechbach J (ed) Enigmatic Organisms and Life in Extreme Environments, pp. 611–620. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Weir A and Blackwell M (2005) Fungal biotrophic parasites of insects and other arthropods. In: Vega FE and Blackwell M (eds) Insect‐fungal Associations: Ecology and Evolution, pp. 119–145. New York: Oxford University Press.

Related Sub-Topics:

Fungi
Contact Editor close
Submit a note to the editor about this article by filling in the form below.

* Required Field

Article Title: Laboulbeniomycetes
 
How to Cite close
Weir, Alex(Jul 2017) Laboulbeniomycetes. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0027214]