Additions to Phaeosphaeriaceae (Pleosporales): Elongaticollum gen. nov., Ophiosphaerella taiwanensis sp. nov., Phaeosphaeriopsis beaucarneae sp. nov. and a new host record of Neosetophoma poaceicola from Musaceae.

Dhanushka N. Wanasinghe,Eleni Gentekaki,Danushka S. Tennakoon,Kevin D. Hyde,Itthayakorn Promputtha,Chang-Hsin Kuo,Kasun M. Thambugala

doi:10.3897/mycokeys.70.53674

Abstract

A novel ascomycetous genus, Elongaticollum, occurring on leaf litter of Hedychium coronarium (Zingiberaceae) in Taiwan, is described and illustrated. Elongaticollum is characterized by dark brown to black, superficial, obpyriform, pycnidial conidiomata with a distinct elongate neck, and oval to oblong, hyaline, aseptate conidia. Phylogenetic analyses (maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian) of combined ITS, LSU, SSU and tef1-α sequence data revealed Elongaticollum as a distinct genus within the family Phaeosphaeriaceae with high statistical support. In addition, Ophiosphaerella taiwanensis and Phaeosphaeriopsis beaucarneae are described as new species from dead leaves of Agave tequilana and Beaucarnea recurvata (Asparagaceae), respectively. Neosetophoma poaceicola is reported as a new host record from dead leaves of Musa acuminata (Musaceae). Newly described taxa are compared with other similar species and comprehensive descriptions and micrographs are provided.

Highlights

Plant litter is considered as one of the main contributors to net above-ground primary productivity of terrestrial ecosystems (Swift et al 1979; Berg and McClaugherty 2008; Krishna and Mohan 2017)
The combined dataset of ITS, LSU, SSU and tef1-α sequences comprised 3423 characters, of which 2418 characters are constant, 697 characters are parsimony-informative, while 308 variable characters are parsimony-uninformative in the maximum parsimony (MP) analysis (TL = 6364, Consistency Index (CI) = 0.250, Retention Index (RI) = 0.657, Relative Consistency Index (RC) = 0.164, Homoplasy Index (HI) = 0.750)
Bootstrap support values for maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony ≥70%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities (BYPP) ≥0.95 are given above each branch in that order (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Plant litter is considered as one of the main contributors to net above-ground primary productivity of terrestrial ecosystems (Swift et al 1979; Berg and McClaugherty 2008; Krishna and Mohan 2017). Since plant litter is returned back to the soil, it represents a major source of organic carbon in forest soils (Berg 2003). Plant litter can be defined as a collection of fallen leaves, twigs, seeds and other woody debris that accumulate on the ground as a natural part of the forest ecosystem (Johnson and Catley 2002; Berg and McClaugherty 2008). Leaf litter decomposition is a key process contributing to biogeochemical cycles in any forest ecosystem. Many researchers have been carrying out studies of fungal species inhabiting leaf litter and have described numerous new species in Dothideomycetes (Hyde et al 2019; Phookamsak et al 2019; Tennakoon et al 2019)

Methods

Results

Conclusion