Endomycete-Like Genera of Mycoparasitic Fungi: Helicogonium W.L. White (1942) and Phialoascus Redhead & Malloch (1977)

Publisher Summary Gene sequences are not determined for any of the species assigned to Helicogonium. The taxonomic relationships of Helicogonium are not known, and until sequence data can be obtained, its position within the ascomycetes is open to speculation. The grouping of Helicogonium species with Hemiascomycetes, based mainly on their structural simplicity and yeast-like budding of the ascospores, may not be justified. The literature abounds with well-documented examples of structurally simplified members of otherwise complex taxa. Relationships within Helicogonium are also unclear. Axenic cultures are not obtained for any of the species and genetic sequences have yet to be elucidated. The production of secondary spores from ascospores is widespread among ascomycetes. Species of Helicogonium and many other fungi can also produce such spores directly in the ascus through processes resembling conidiogenesis. Species of Helicogonium are most commonly collected on hosts growing in dry situations, such as dead branches still attached to the tree, or on drying herbaceous stems.