biology

Phaeotremella

Phaeotremella is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Phaeotremella rather than just read about it. In short: Phaeotremella is a genus of fungi in the family Phaeotremellaceae. All Phaeotremella species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states.

Key takeaways

Phaeotremella belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Phaeotremella to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Phaeotremella from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Phaeotremella is a genus of fungi in the family Phaeotremellaceae. All Phaeotremella species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies), when produced, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi". Fifteen or so species of Phaeotremella are currently recognized worldwide. Tremella sanguinea, shown to be a Phaeotremella species by DNA sequencing, is cultivated in China as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.

Taxonomy

History The genus Phaeotremella was originally created by British mycologist Carleton Rea to accommodate Phaeotremella pseudofoliacea, a fungus that resembled a Tremella species but had brown rather than white basidiospores. Later authors considered this to be a mistaken observation and placed Phaeotremella in synonymy with Tremella and its type species in synonymy with Tremella foliacea. Molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has however shown that Tremella is paraphyletic (and hence artificial). A different generic name was therefore required for a group of species not closely related to Tremella mesenterica (the type species of Tremella) and Phaeotremella was selected as the earliest such name available. As a result, the current definition of Phaeotremella is not the same as Rea's original concept. The type species, P. pseudofoliacea, has been placed in synonymy with Phaeotremella frondosa.

Description Fruit bodies (when present) are gelatinous. In some species they are small (under 5 mm across) and pustular to pulvinate (cushion-shaped). In others they are much larger (up to 150 mm across) and may be variously lobed or foliose (with leaf-like or seaweed-like fronds). Several Phaeotremella species are, however, only known from their yeast states.

Microscopic characters Phaeotremella species produce hyphae that are typically (but not always) clamped and have haustorial cells from which hyphal filaments seek out and penetrate the hyphae of the host. The basidia are "tremelloid" (globose to ellipsoid and vertically or diagonally septate), giving rise to long, sinuous sterigmata or epibasidia on which the basidiospores are produced. These spores are smooth, globose to ellipsoid, and germinate by hyphal tube or by yeast cells. Conidiophores are often present, producing conidiospores that are similar to yeast cells.

Habitat and distribution Most species are parasitic on members of the corticioid fungi, specifically species of Aleurodiscus and Stereum, with one species on the ascomycetous genus Lophodermium. Those on Aleurodiscus, including Phaeotremella mycophaga, parasitize the fruit bodies of their hosts; those on Stereum, such as Phaeotremella foliacea, P. frondosa, and P. fimbriata, parasitize the host mycelium within the wood. As a group, Phaeotremella species occur worldwide, though individual species may have a more restricted distribution.

Species and hosts Only species producing basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are listed. Not all hosts are known.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Phaeotremella

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Phaeotremella claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Phaeotremella before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Phaeotremella ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Phaeotremella

In research: Phaeotremella appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Phaeotremella in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Phaeotremella is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Basidiomycota genera, Taxa described in 1912, Tremellomycetes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Phaeotremella outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Phaeotremella in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Phaeotremella means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Phaeotremella out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Phaeotremella in simple terms?

Phaeotremella is a genus of fungi in the family Phaeotremellaceae. All Phaeotremella species are parasites of other fungi and produce anamorphic yeast states.

Why does Phaeotremella matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Phaeotremella?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Phaeotremella.