Lalaria R.T: Moore emend. á. Fonseca (2004)

This chapter studies the genus Lalaria. In the asexual reproduction budding cells are present and budding is unipolar or bipolar, with some similarities to that observed in basidiomycetous yeasts. Cells are globose, ovoid, ellipsoidal, or short-cylindrical. No true or pseudohyphae are formed. Colonies are cream, yellowish, or pinkish-cream, but old cultures may become more intensely pigmented. In sexual reproduction it is found that the Lalaria is the anamorphic genus of Taphrina. The chapter also discusses physiology/biochemistry and phylogenetic placement of the genus in which Lalaria species display a somewhat unusual combination of biochemical/physiological characteristics: production of urease, production of extracellular amyloid compounds, assimilation of nitrate, and negative diazonium blue reaction. Growth on common culture media may be slow. The type species taken is Lalaria populina. Moore created Lalaria in 1990 to accommodate yeast-phase anamorphs of the Taphrinales. Twenty-three species were then included in the genus, all represented by yeast states of previously recognized Taphrina species. The authenticity of many of the extant Taphrina cultures has been verified in recent molecular studies. © 2011