Nanostictis
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| Nanostictis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Ostropales |
| Family: | Stictidaceae |
| Genus: | Nanostictis M.S.Christ. (1954) |
| Type species | |
| Nanostictis peltigerae M.S.Christ. (1954) | |
Nanostictis is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi in the family Stictidaceae.[1] These tiny fungi produce minute fruiting bodies that remain embedded within their host lichens and are characterised by very slender, thread-like ascospores divided by multiple cross-walls. The genus contains nine species that parasitise various lichen hosts, though its relationship to similar genera remains uncertain due to the lack of molecular studies on any Nanostictis species.
The genus was circumscribed in 1954 by the Danish lichenologist Mogens Skytte Christiansen, with Nanostictis peltigerae assigned as the type species.[2]
The generic limits of Nanostictis remain unsettled. Its type species was separated from the superficially similar genus Cryptodiscus mainly because it produces very slender, thread-like ascospores and lives exclusively on lichens, usually those in the order Peltigerales. Molecular analysis of two elongated-spored, lichenicolous fungi (C. epicladonia and C. galaninae) showed that they sit firmly within Cryptodiscus, even though they share several outward features with Nanostictis. Their inclusion broadens the morphological concept of Cryptodiscus and blurs the once-clear distinction between the two genera. Because no species of Nanostictis has yet been sampled for DNA, its monophyly and exact placement in the Stictidaceae remain untested; a thorough molecular study will be needed to decide whether Nanostictis should be maintained or merged with related lineages.[3]
