Fissurina isohypocrellina

Fissurina isohypocrellina is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae].[2] Newly described to science in 2022, it is found in the rainforests of Acre, Brazil. This species is notable within the genus Fissurina genus for the presence of isohypocrellin, a rare secondary metabolite (lichen product) that contributes to its unique wine-red apothecia (the fruiting bodies that produce spores).

Fissurina isohypocrellina
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Graphidales
Family: Graphidaceae
Genus: Fissurina
Species:
F. isohypocrellina
Binomial name
Fissurina isohypocrellina
Aptroot (2022)
Map
Holotype: Sena Madureira, Brazil[1]

Taxonomy

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André Aptroot formally described Fissurina isohypocrellina in 2022. The species name reflects the presence of isohypocrellin within its apothecia (fruiting bodies), a characteristic that sets it apart from other Fissurina species. Marcela Cáceres and Aptroot collected the type specimen from the Comunidade Cuidado in the Reserva Extrativista Cazumbá-Iracema [pt] (Acre, Brazil) at an elevation of 150 m (490 ft); there it was found growing on bark in a rainforest.[1]

Description

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The thallus of Fissurina isohypocrellina is crustose, forming a continuous, thinly corticate, slightly shiny pale greenish-brown layer. It covers areas up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter and is under 0.1 mm thick. The lichen does not form a prothallus (a preliminary growth around and underlying the thallus).[1]

The photobiont (the symbiotic algae providing nutrients through photosynthesis) is trentepohlioid. The ascomata (spore-producing structures) are immersed in the bark, linear, often curved, sometimes branched, and feature wine-red discs with carbonised (blackened) tips.[1]

Chemical testing of the thallus shows no reaction to ultraviolet light, nor to the C, K, KC, and P spot tests, but the presence of isohypocrellin can be confirmed through thin-layer chromatography. This pigment reacts to a potassium hydroxide solution (K) by turning a vivid green, a unique feature among lichens.[1]

Habitat and distribution

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This species is exclusively known to grow on tree bark within the primary rainforest of Acre, Brazil.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Aptroot, André; de Souza, Maria Fernanda; dos Santos, Lidiane Alves; Junior, Isaias Oliveira; Barbosa, Bruno Micael Cardoso; da Silva, Marcela Eugenia Cáceres (2022). "New species of lichenized fungi from Brazil, with a record report of 492 species in a small area of the Amazon Forest". The Bryologist. 125 (3): 435–467. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-125.3.433.
  2. ^ "Fissurina isohypocrellina Aptroot". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 26 February 2024.