Mycetophagites
Encyclopedia
Mycetophagites is an extinct
monotypic genus
of mycoparasitic fungus
in the order Hypocreales
. At present it contains the single species
Mycetophagites atrebora.
The genus is solely known from the Lower Cretaceous
, Upper Albian
stage (about 100 Ma), Burmese amber deposits in Myanmar. Mycetophagites is one of only two known instances of hyperfungal species known in the fossil record, and is the oldest to be described.
, number "AB-368", hypha
e parasitizing a single partial fruiting body
specimen. When described the mushroom
is part of in the private collection of Ron Buckley of Florence, Kentucky
, USA
. The collection has been sold and is now owned by Deniz Erin of Istanbul, Turkey
. AB-368 was collected from one of the amber mines in the Hukawng Valley
area southwest of Maingkhwan, Kachin Region
, Northern Myanmar. It was first studied studied by a pair of researchers lead by Dr George Poinar
from Oregon State University
who worked with Ron Buckley. Poinar and Buckley published their 2007 type description in Mycological Research, journal of The British Mycological Society
. The genus has been assigned the MycoBank
number MB510323, with the species being assigned number MB510324.
The generic epithet Mycetophagites is Greek
in derivation and is a combination of the words myketos meaning "fungus" and phagein which means "to eat" referencing the mycoparasitic nature of the species.
When published, Mycetophagites atrebora was the first known instance of hyperparasitism on mycoparasitism to be described in the fossil record, and the oldest. The fossil shows that this type of fungal parasitic relationship had been established by the Albian, 100 million years ago. An earlier instance of mycoparasitism is known from the extinct species Palaeoserenomyces allenbyensis and Cryptodidymosphaerites princetonensis described in 1998 from chert
s found in British Columbia
, Canada
.
in a lone, partly decomposed fruiting body without any associated structures. The fungi are preserved in a rectangular piece of yellow amber approximately 3.25 cm (1.3 in) by 1.25 cm (0.492125984251969 in) by 1 cm (0.393700787401575 in). The pileus
is 2.2 millimetre (0.0866141732283465 in) in diameter and possess a convex shape with the flesh a bluish gray color and hairy. The mycelium is composed of thick, septate, hyphae 4-6 μm
in diameter. The hyphae sport septate dark conidiophores that are simple or sparsly branched. Each of the conidiophores are born singly or as sparse clusters and are upright or almost upright. The 8–10 μm long conidia
on the conidiophores are oriented in short chains or singally on the ends of conidiophores. The condia are generally simple and oviod.
Mycetophagites presents the oldest evidence of fungal parasitism by other fungi in the fossil record. The fossil displays a complex interrelationship between three different fungal genera. The preserved Palaeoagaracites antiquus
cap is host to both the mycoparasitic fungus and a hypermycoparasitic fungus. The surface of the gilled fungus
Palaeoagaracites specimen hosts the Mycetophagites atrebora mycelia
. The mycelia of Mycetophagites are found across the surface of the P. antiquus pileus, and the hypha
e penetrate into the P. antiquus tissues themselves forming necrotic areas. Mycetophagites is in turn host to a hypermycoparasitic necrotrophic fungus species Entropezites patricii
. Hyphae of Entropezites are preserved penetrating the Mycetophagites hyphae forming areas of decomposing tissues. Entropezites also displays a range of growth stages for probable zygospore
s.
The combined distinguishable characters of Mycetophagites were not enough for Poinar and Buckley to place the genus further than Hypocreales incertae sedis
. Where the hyphae of Mycetophagites penetrate into the Palaeoagaracites cap
, distinct areas of cell lysis
appear to be present. The necrotrophic
nature of the interaction is similar to the modern genus Sepedonium. However the details of the condia and mycelium are distinct from those found in Sepedonium.
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
monotypic genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of mycoparasitic fungus
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
in the order Hypocreales
Hypocreales
The Hypocreales are an order of fungi within the class Sordariomycetes, consisting of 7 families, 237 genera, and 2647 species.Species of Hypocreales are usually recognized by their brightly colored, perithecial ascomata, or spore-producing structures...
. At present it contains the single species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
Mycetophagites atrebora.
The genus is solely known from the Lower Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...
, Upper Albian
Albian
The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch/series. Its approximate time range is 112.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 99.6 ± 0.9 Ma...
stage (about 100 Ma), Burmese amber deposits in Myanmar. Mycetophagites is one of only two known instances of hyperfungal species known in the fossil record, and is the oldest to be described.
History and classification
The genus is known only from the single holotypeHolotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
, number "AB-368", hypha
Hypha
A hypha is a long, branching filamentous structure of a fungus, and also of unrelated Actinobacteria. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium; yeasts are unicellular fungi that do not grow as hyphae.-Structure:A hypha consists of one or...
e parasitizing a single partial fruiting body
Basidiocarp
In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome or basidioma , is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not produce such structures...
specimen. When described the mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
is part of in the private collection of Ron Buckley of Florence, Kentucky
Florence, Kentucky
Florence is a city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,951 at the 2010 census.-History:The Florence area was originally known as Crossroads, because of the convergence of several roads from Burlington and Union at Ridge Road...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The collection has been sold and is now owned by Deniz Erin of Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. AB-368 was collected from one of the amber mines in the Hukawng Valley
Hukawng Valley
The Hukawng Valley is an isolated valley in Burma, roughly in area. It is located in Tanaing Township in the Myitkyina District of Kachin State in the northernmost part of the country.-Rivers:...
area southwest of Maingkhwan, Kachin Region
Kachin
Kachin or Kakhyen may refer to:*Kachin State, in northern Burma*Kachin people, a generalised term for six non-Shan ethno-linguistic groups in Kachin State...
, Northern Myanmar. It was first studied studied by a pair of researchers lead by Dr George Poinar
George Poinar, Jr.
George O. Poinar, Jr. is an entomologist and writer. He is known for popularizing the idea of extracting DNA from insects fossilized in amber, an idea which received widespread attention when adapted by Michael Crichton for the book and movie Jurassic Park.Poinar earned a B.S. and M.S. at Cornell...
from Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
who worked with Ron Buckley. Poinar and Buckley published their 2007 type description in Mycological Research, journal of The British Mycological Society
British Mycological Society
The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi.-Formation:The Society was formed based on the efforts of two local societies, the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club of Hereford and the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. The curator of the Hereford...
. The genus has been assigned the MycoBank
MycoBank
MycoBank is an online database, documenting new mycological names and combinations, eventually combined with descriptions and illustrations. It is run by the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures fungal biodiversity center in Utrecht....
number MB510323, with the species being assigned number MB510324.
The generic epithet Mycetophagites is Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
in derivation and is a combination of the words myketos meaning "fungus" and phagein which means "to eat" referencing the mycoparasitic nature of the species.
When published, Mycetophagites atrebora was the first known instance of hyperparasitism on mycoparasitism to be described in the fossil record, and the oldest. The fossil shows that this type of fungal parasitic relationship had been established by the Albian, 100 million years ago. An earlier instance of mycoparasitism is known from the extinct species Palaeoserenomyces allenbyensis and Cryptodidymosphaerites princetonensis described in 1998 from chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
s found in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Description
The holotype of Mycetophagites consists of myceliumMycelium
thumb|right|Fungal myceliaMycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelia are found in soil and on or within many other...
in a lone, partly decomposed fruiting body without any associated structures. The fungi are preserved in a rectangular piece of yellow amber approximately 3.25 cm (1.3 in) by 1.25 cm (0.492125984251969 in) by 1 cm (0.393700787401575 in). The pileus
Pileus (mycology)
The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...
is 2.2 millimetre (0.0866141732283465 in) in diameter and possess a convex shape with the flesh a bluish gray color and hairy. The mycelium is composed of thick, septate, hyphae 4-6 μm
Micrometre
A micrometer , is by definition 1×10-6 of a meter .In plain English, it means one-millionth of a meter . Its unit symbol in the International System of Units is μm...
in diameter. The hyphae sport septate dark conidiophores that are simple or sparsly branched. Each of the conidiophores are born singly or as sparse clusters and are upright or almost upright. The 8–10 μm long conidia
Conidium
Conidia, sometimes termed conidiospores, are asexual, non-motile spores of a fungus and are named after the greek word for dust, konia. They are also called mitospores due to the way they are generated through the cellular process of mitosis...
on the conidiophores are oriented in short chains or singally on the ends of conidiophores. The condia are generally simple and oviod.
Mycetophagites presents the oldest evidence of fungal parasitism by other fungi in the fossil record. The fossil displays a complex interrelationship between three different fungal genera. The preserved Palaeoagaracites antiquus
Palaeoagaracites
Palaeoagaracites is an extinct monotypic genus of gilled fungus in the order Agaricales. At present it contains the single species Palaeoagaracites antiquus....
cap is host to both the mycoparasitic fungus and a hypermycoparasitic fungus. The surface of the gilled fungus
Agaricales
The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms , or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13000 described species, along with five extinct genera known only from the fossil record...
Palaeoagaracites specimen hosts the Mycetophagites atrebora mycelia
Mycelium
thumb|right|Fungal myceliaMycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelia are found in soil and on or within many other...
. The mycelia of Mycetophagites are found across the surface of the P. antiquus pileus, and the hypha
Hypha
A hypha is a long, branching filamentous structure of a fungus, and also of unrelated Actinobacteria. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium; yeasts are unicellular fungi that do not grow as hyphae.-Structure:A hypha consists of one or...
e penetrate into the P. antiquus tissues themselves forming necrotic areas. Mycetophagites is in turn host to a hypermycoparasitic necrotrophic fungus species Entropezites patricii
Entropezites
Entropezites is an extinct monotypic genus of hypermycoparasitic fungus in the order Hypocreales. At present it contains the single species Entropezites patricii....
. Hyphae of Entropezites are preserved penetrating the Mycetophagites hyphae forming areas of decomposing tissues. Entropezites also displays a range of growth stages for probable zygospore
Zygospore
A zygospore is a diploid reproductive stage in the life cycle of many fungi and protists. Zygospores are created by the nuclear fusion of haploid cells. In fungi, zygospores are termed chlamydospores and are formed after the fusion of hyphae of different mating types...
s.
The combined distinguishable characters of Mycetophagites were not enough for Poinar and Buckley to place the genus further than Hypocreales incertae sedis
Incertae sedis
, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
. Where the hyphae of Mycetophagites penetrate into the Palaeoagaracites cap
Basidiocarp
In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome or basidioma , is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not produce such structures...
, distinct areas of cell lysis
Lysis
Lysis refers to the breaking down of a cell, often by viral, enzymic, or osmotic mechanisms that compromise its integrity. A fluid containing the contents of lysed cells is called a "lysate"....
appear to be present. The necrotrophic
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
nature of the interaction is similar to the modern genus Sepedonium. However the details of the condia and mycelium are distinct from those found in Sepedonium.