Simplicillium formicae D.P. Wei & K.D. Hyde, MycoKeys

Chen, Wan-Hao, Li, Dan, Shu, Hui-Lin, Liang, Jian-Dong & Han, Yan-Feng, 2024, Taxonomic and phylogenetic characterizations reveal two new species and a new record of Simplicillium (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) from the Mayao River Valley, Guizhou, China, Phytotaxa 677 (3), pp. 278-288 : 284-285

Simplicillium formicae D.P. Wei & K.D. Hyde, MycoKeys 60: 78 (2019) ( Fig. 4 )

Colonies on PDA reaching a diameter of 50–51 mm in 14 days at 25 ℃, convex, with white velutinate aerial mycelium, reverse yellowish to brownish, especially in the middle, margin entire, soluble pigment not produced. Vegetative hyphae branched, hyaline, smooth-walled, septate, 0.8–1.7 μm wide. Phialides produced on aerial hyphae, always solitary, aseptate, hyaline, smooth-walled, relatively slender, and tapering toward the tip, 16.9–28.4 × 1.1–1.3 μm. Conidia hyaline, cylindrical, ellipsoidal to fusiform, aseptate, smooth-walled, 1-celled, 1.7–2.2 × 1.0–1.5 μm. Octahedral crystals absent. Sexual state not observed.

Strains examined: — CHINA. Guizhou: Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Duyun City, Mayao River Valley (26°22'8.3748"N, 107°23'16.96"E), on a dead spider (Araneae), 4 September 2021, Wanhao Chen, DY09641 and DY09642.

Note: —Strains DY09641 and DY09642 were easily identified as Simplicillium based on the blast result in NCBI and the phylogenetic analysis of combined datasets (ITS, LSU, TEF) ( Fig. 1 ), and clustered with S. formicae D.P. Wei & K.D. Hyde in a clade (100/1). Pairwise dissimilarities of ITS sequences show only 3 bp differences within 518 bp between strains DY09641, DY09642 and S. formicae (0.58%). Thus, the molecular phylogenetic results strongly supported that strains DY09641 and DY09642 were S. formicae , which is a new species record in China.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Phylogenetic relationships among the new strains and species of Simplicillium based on a multigene dataset (ITS, LSU and TEF). Statistical support values (≥ 50%/0.5) are shown at the nodes for maximum likelihood bootstrap support/Bayesian inference posterior probabilities.

FIGURE 4. Simplicillium formicae A infected spider B, C PDA-containing culture plate showing B the front and C reverse sides of the colony D–H phialides, conidia in chains and conidia. Scale bars: 10 mm (B, C); 10 μm (D–H).