Ochraceocephala foeniculi Voglmayr & Aiello, 2020

Aiello, Dalia, Vitale, Alessandro, Polizzi, Giancarlo & Voglmayr, Hermann, 2020, Ochraceocephala foeniculi gen. et sp. nov., a new pathogen causing crown rot of fennel in Italy, MycoKeys 66, pp. 1-22 : 1

Ochraceocephala foeniculi Voglmayr & Aiello sp. nov. Figure 3

Etymology.

referring to its host genus, Foeniculum ( Apiaceae ).

Colonies fast-growing, at room temperature (22 ± 1 °C) on CMD reaching 80 mm after 7 d; on MEA 38 mm after 7 d; with dull white to cream surface, upon conidiation becoming beige to olive yellow from the centre, reverse cream with greyish to dark brown centre; cottony, with abundant surface mycelium; sporulation abundant on aerial hyphae. Aerial hyphae hyaline, 2-6 µm wide. Conidiophores hyaline, produced terminally or laterally on aerial hyphae, variable in shape and branching, unbranched, loosely or densely branched up to two times; branching commonly irregularly verticillate. Phialides arising singly or in whorls of 2-5, (3.8-)5.8-13.5(-21.0) × (2.5-)3.0-4.3(-5.5) µm (n = 100), cylindrical, lageniform or ampulliform, often with a distinct collarette, producing basipetal conidial chains; polyphialides rarely present. Conidia (3.2-)3.5-6.0(-8.5) × (2.5-)3.0-4.2(-6.0) µm, l/w (1.0-)1.1-1.5(-2.1) (n = 155), hyaline to yellowish, in masses sand to olive yellow, smooth, mostly globose to subglobose, rarely broadly ellipsoid to pip-shaped, thick-walled.

Distribution.

Italy (Sicily).

Host and substrate.

Pathogenic on crown, roots and stems of living Foeniculum vulgare .

Holotype.

Italy, Sicily, Catania province, Adrano, May 2017 (WU 40034); ex-holotype culture CBS 145654; ex holotype sequences MN516753 (ITS), MN516774 (LSU), MN516743 (SSU), MN520145 (RPB2), MN520149 (TEF1), MN520147 (TUB2).

Figures

Figure 3. Ochraceocephala foeniculi, holotype a culture on CMD (7 d, 22 ° C) b culture on MEA (21 d, 22 ° C) c conidiophores on aerial hyphae producing yellowish brown conidial masses in chains d-j, l, m unbranched (g-i) and verticillately branched (d-f, j, l, m) conidiophores (MEA, 21 d, 22 ° C) with phialides; in f with polyphialide (arrow) k, n, o phialides with collarettes (arrows) and young conidia p conidia. All microscopic preparations from MEA (21 d, 22 ° C) and mounted in water. Scale bars: 200 µm (c); 10 µm (d-j, l, m, p); 5 µm (k, n, o).