Abstract
In a survey of microfungi from plant debris collected in Vietnam, two new hyphomycetous species were found, which belong to the genera Heliocephala and Pseudopenidiella and the family Microthyriaceae (Microthyriales, Dothideomycetes). Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) of the ribosomal DNA barcodes allowed assessing the phylogenetic relationships of the new species with other species of the respective genera. Heliocephala variabilis sp. nov. was closely related to Heliocephala elegans, Heliocephala gracilis, and Heliocephala zimbabweensis, from which it was morphologically distinguished by its smaller conidiophores and non-rostrate conidia of up to four septa on the natural substratum. Pseudopenidiella vietnamensis sp. nov. was related to Pseudopenidiella piceae and Pseudopenidiella podocarpi and differed from the former principally by its lack of microcondiophores and from P. podocarpi by having larger macroconidiophores and smooth conidia. Key morphological features to distinguish the accepted species in Heliocephala and Pseudopenidiella are also provided. In addition, Pseudopenidiella pini was excluded from the genus on the basis of its morphological features.
Highlights
Vietnam is one of the twenty most bio-diverse countries in the world [1,2,3]
Despite DNA data not being available for all species of the mentioned genera, the novel species, H. variabilis and P. vietnamensis, showed morphological traits that clearly allowed their distinction from the other species of the respective genera (Tables 2 and 3)
Heliocephala variabilis was phylogenetically close to H. elegans, H. gracilis, and H. zimbabweensis
Summary
Vietnam is one of the twenty most bio-diverse countries in the world [1,2,3]. During a survey of asexual microfungi from plant debris carried out in the Northeast of Vietnam, two interesting specimens, belonging to the genera Heliocephala and Pseudopenidiella (Microthyriaceae, Microthyriales, Dothideomycetes) [7] were isolated and deposited in the culture collection at the Medicine Faculty of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Reus, Spain) for subsequent studies. Based on DNA data and morphological features, the genus was emended by Heredia-Abarca et al [9] to include the species of Holubovaniella [10], the latter subsequently being considered a synonym of Heliocephala. Heliocephala comprises seven species, most of them isolated from plant material, with the exception of Heliocephala natarajanii, which was found along with a basidiocarp of Pisolithus tinctorius [11]
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