Haelewaters D, Gorczak M, Kaishian P, De Kesel A, Blackwell M. 2021. Laboulbeniomycetes, Enigmatic Fungi With a Turbulent Taxonomic History. pp. 263-283. In: Zaragoza Ó, Casadevall A (eds.) Encyclopedia of Mycology, Volume 1. Elsevier, Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819990-9.00049-4 [pdf]
Phylogenetic studies of Laboulbeniomycetes support recognition of three orders (Herpomycetales, Laboulbeniales, Pyxidiophorales) and two unnamed clades containing conidial, arthropod-associated fungi and a poorly known perithecial genus,
Subbaromyces. Herpomycetales and Laboulbeniales include obligate arthropod-associated biotrophs characterized by a parenchymatous thallus of several thousand cells. Pyxidiophorales are hyphal mycoparasites with an unusual three-morph life cycle. The two-celled ascospore with a distinctive apparatus for attachment to arthropods ties together all Laboulbeniomycetes. The complex morphologies and life histories of these fungi are described as a background for research directions that will rely heavily on molecular methods, including phylogenomics, with emphasis on host–parasite relations.
Keywords: Arthropod dispersal; Ascomycota; Biotrophic; Chantransiopsis; Coreomycetopsis; Herpomycetales; Laboulbeniales; Laboulbeniopsis; Perithecial Fungi; Pyxidiophorales; Subbaromyces; Systematics; Tetromeronycha; Thaxteriola
Quandt CA, Haelewaters D. 2021. Phylogenetic Advances in Leotiomycetes, an Understudied Clade of Taxonomically and Ecologically Diverse Fungi. pp. 284-294. In: Zaragoza Ó, Casadevall A (eds.) Encyclopedia of Mycology, Volume 1. Elsevier, Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819990-9.00052-4 [pdf]
The class Leotiomycetes encompasses many fungi that were historically classified as inoperculate discomycetes. Molecular phylogenetics has changed our perception of the diversity of higher taxonomic lineages and morphologies in the class as well as our understanding of how these clades are related to one another. Leotiomycetes are found in all environments where researchers have explored and have myriad ecological strategies – including economically important pathogens (e.g., powdery mildews on various plants and the causal agent of the white-nose syndrome of bats), endophytes, saprobes, and mycorrhizae. In this article, we provide a summary of the morphological and ecological diversity of Leotiomycetes, and an overview of the taxonomic diversity and systematics. Major challenges in studying this group include historical biases in sampling outside of temperate Europe and North America and a lack of sequence data for many taxa especially in the sprawling mega-order Helotiales. With the help of environmental sequencing and genomic-scale data, researchers are beginning to reveal new perspectives on Leotiomycetes ecology, evolution, and systematics.
Keywords: Ascomycota; Discomycetes; Erysiphaceae; Helotiales; Leotiales; Phacidiales; Rhytismatales; Sampling Bias; Systematics; Thelebolales
Haelewaters D, Dick CW, Cocherán Pittí KP, Dittmar K, Patterson BD. 2021. Chapter 21. Bats, Bat Flies, and Fungi: Exploring Uncharted Waters. pp. 349-371. In: Lim BK, Fenton MB, Brigham RM, Mistry S, Kurta A, Gillam EH, Russell A, Ortega J (eds.) 50 Years of Bat Research. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54727-1_21 [pdf]
Bats serve as hosts to many lineages of arthropods, of which the blood-sucking bat flies (Nycteribiidae and Streblidae) are the most conspicuous. Bat flies can in turn be parasitized by Laboulbeniales fungi, which are biotrophs of arthropods. This is a second level of parasitism, hyperparasitism, a severely understudied phenomenon. Four genera of Laboulbeniales are known to occur on bat flies,
Arthrorhynchus on Nycteribiidae in the Eastern Hemisphere,
Dimeromyces on Old World Streblidae,
Gloeandromyces on New World Streblidae, and
Nycteromyces on Streblidae in both hemispheres. In this chapter, we introduce the different partners of the tripartite interaction and discuss their species diversity, ecology, and patterns of specificity. We cover parasite prevalence of Laboulbeniales fungi on bat flies, climatic effects on parasitism of bat flies, and coevolutionary patterns. One of the most important questions in this tripartite system is whether habitat has an influence on parasitism of bat flies by Laboulbeniales fungi. We hypothesize that habitat disturbance causes parasite prevalence to increase, in line with the “dilution effect.” This can only be resolved based on large, non-biased datasets. To obtain these, we stress the importance of multitrophic field expeditions and international collaborations.
Keywords: Ectoparasitic Fungi; Fieldwork; Hippoboscoidea; Hyperparasites; Multitrophic Interactions; Parasitism