Massarinaceae Munk, Friesia 5: 305 (1956).
MycoBank number: MB 80979; Index Fungorum number: IF 80979; Facesoffungi number: FoF 06497, ca. 626 species.
Saprobic on wood or twigs of plants, hemibiotropic or pathogenic on leaves or living leaves in terrestrial habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata sometime covered with pseudoclypeus, uniloculate or multiloculate, solitary, gregarious to clustered, immersed to semi-immersed, becoming erumpent, scattered, globose or subglobose, conical at base, papillate or epapillate, ostiolate. Peridium thin, comprising thin hyaline layers, outer layers fusing with the host substrate. Hamathecium comprising dense, filamentous, broad, septate, branching, hyaline cellular pseudoparaphyses, embedded in mucilage, without anastomosing. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, clavate to cylindrical, short pedicellate, apically rounded, with ocular chamber. Ascospores 2-seriate, partial overlapping, broad fusiform to oblong, hyaline to brown, 1- to multi- septate, constricted at the septa, with or without mucilaginous sheath. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous or hyphomycetous asexual morphs or spermatia characters produced in the culture condition. Conidiomata immersed to nearly superficial, depressed globose with a flattened base and cylindrical neck. Ostiole sometimes papillate or with elongated neck. Conidiomata wall thin, comprising thin hyaline layers. Conidiogenous cells enteroblastic, hyaline. Conidia oblong to globose-ovoid, hyaline to brown, aseptate to multi-septate or dictyosporous, smooth-walled (Chethana et al. 2015, Tanaka et al. 2015, Wijayawardene et al. 2015); hyphomycetous asexual morph. Conidiophores synematous-like, solitary or in small groups, macronematous, mononematous, dark brown, guttulate, multi-septate. Conidiogenous cells in the uppers part of conidiophore, mono- to polytretic, with small pores at the apex. Conidia solitary or in short chains, obclavate, rostrate, pale brown, multi-septate, smooth-walled, with or without guttulate (Tanaka et al. 2015, Zhao et al. 2018); Spermatiogenous cells cylindrical, appearing phialidic. Spermatia globose to subglobose, hyaline, smooth-walled (Tanaka et al. 2015).
Type – Massarina Sacc., Syll. fung. (Abellini) 2: 153 (1883).
Notes – Massarinaceae was established to accommodate fungal taxa having clypeus tissue covering the ascomata. The family originally comprised of Keissleriella, Massarina, Metasphaeria, Pseudotrichia and Trichometasphaeria (Munk 1956). Molecular study has shown that several related genera in Massarinaceae can be classified to different families within the suborder Massarineae (Zhang et al. 2012b, Hyde et al. 2013, Tanaka et al. 2015, Phukhamsakda et al. 2017). The outline of Ascomycota 2017 included Longiostiolum in Massarinaceae, however, the phylogenetic analysis showed its distinct lineages (Li et al. 2016). Currently, eight genera are accepted in Massarinaceae based on both molecular and phylogenetic analyses viz. Byssothecium, Helminthosporium, Massarina, Pseudodidymosphaeria, Pseudosplanchnonema, Semifissispora, Stagonospora and Suttonomyces (Zhang et al. 2012b, Adamčík et al. 2015, Chethana et al. 2015, Tanaka et al. 2015, Thambugala et al. 2015a, Wijayawardene et al. 2015, Crous et al. 2017a). Based on phylogenetic analyses, single strains of Neottiosporina paspali (strain CBS 331.37) clustered along with members of Stagonospora (Massarinaceae). Several studies suggested that the strain should be synonymized under Stagonospora. Molecular data of the type species, Neottiosporina apoda is required for the taxonomic confirmation (Sutton 1974, Quaedvlieg et al. 2013, Thambugala et al. 2015a, Wijayawardene et al. 2015, Crous et al. 2017a).