Coniothyrium

Coniothyrium is a genus of fungi in the family Coniothyriaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Czech mycologist August Carl Joseph Corda in 1840.[2] It was formerly placed in the Phaeosphaeriaceae family until 1983 when the family was established.

The genus are diverse geographically,[3] and have a cosmopolitan distribution across the world.[4]

The etymology of Coniothyrium is derived from New Latin, from coni- (from conus) and thyr- (from Greek thyreos meaning oblong shield, from thyra meaning door) and -ium (ending for a genus).[5]

Coniothyrium palmarum is the type species of the genus Coniothyrium. It is characterised by ostiolate pycnidial (asexual fruiting body) conidiomata, annellidic conidiogenous cells, the absence of conidiophores, and brown, thick-walled, 0- or 1-septate, verrucose conidia. Coniothyrium is similar morphologically to some species in the genus Microsphaeropsis. However, Microsphaeropsis is characterised by the production of phialidic conidiogenous cells with periclinal thickening, and thin-walled, pale greenish brown conidia.[3]

Species Coniothyrium glycines (R.B. Stewart) Verkley & Gruyter (2012) is known to cause red leaf blotch on Soyabean.[6] While Coniothyrium fuckelii is also a known plant pathogen (causing stem canker,[7]) that has also been known to cause infections in immunocompromised humans.[8] Coniothyrium phyllachorae Maubl. (1904) with other fungus species such as Phyllachora maydis Maubl. and Monographella maydis Müller & Samuels are the causes of Latin America tar spot complex in places such as Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, and El Salvador.[9]

Species Coniothyrium ferrarisianum has been isolated from leaves of Daphne mucronata Royle in Iran,[10] it was originally isolated from Acer pseudoplatanus L. in Italy in 1958,[11] and it was later found on Vitis vinifera L. in Canada in 2017,[12] as well as Prunus spp. in Germany in 2020,[13] and also from Olea europaea L. in South Africa in 2020.[14]