Crassiparies yunnanensis L. Lu, K.D. Hyde & Tibpromma, 2022

Lu, Li, Karunarathna, Samantha C., Hyde, Kevin D., Bhat, D. Jayarama, Dai, Dong-Qin, Jayawardena, Ruvishika S. & Tibpromma, Saowaluck, 2022, Crassiparies yunnanensis sp. nov. (Neohendersoniaceae, Pleosporales) from dead twigs of Coffea arabica in China, Phytotaxa 543 (4), pp. 244-254 : 248

Crassiparies yunnanensis L. Lu, K.D. Hyde & Tibpromma , sp. nov. ( Figs. 2 , 3 )

Index Fungorum number: IF558827, Facesoffungi number: FoF10578

Etymology:— Refers to the place where the type species was collected.

Type:— CHINA. Yunnan Province: Pu’er , on dead twigs of coffee, 23 December 2020, Li Lu, MJ-C7 (HKAS 121977, holotype); ex-type KUMCC 21-0215; living culture, isotype KUMCC 21-0348 .

Saprobic on dead and decaying twigs of Arabica coffee. Sexual morph: Ascomata 90–360 × 130–330 µm (x̅ = 198 × 242 µm, n = 10), scattered, solitary, semi-immersed to immersed, irregular in shape, some globose to subglobose, uni-loculate, with short central ostiole, oozing out orange secretion on the substrate. Peridium 15–35 µm thick, thickwalled, of equal thickness, outer layers hyaline, composed of cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium 1–2.5 µm wide, composed of numerous, septate, branched, long, hyaline pseudoparaphyses anastomosing at the apex, embedded in a gelatinous matrix. Asci 110–300 × 20–30 µm (x̅ = 182 × 23 µm, n = 20), 8-spored, fissitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, hyaline, sometimes with long pedicels up to 110 μm. Ascospores 20–35 × 8–14 µm (x̅ = 28 × 11 µm, n = 30), 1–2 seriate, hyaline, broadly fusiform, smooth-walled, conical at both ends, 1-septate, with upper cell bigger than the lower cell, septum prominent when immature, each cell with a single large guttule when mature. Asexual morph: Mycelium 1.5–3 µm broad (x̅ = 2.2 µm, n = 20), hyaline to pale brown, septate, branched. Chlamydospores apical or intercalary, produced after 120 days of growth on PDA at 28 °C, 6–14 × 6–16 µm (x̅ = 9.8 × 10.8 µm, n = 20), subglobose or elliposidal, thick-walled, colorless when young, light-brown when mature.

Culture characteristics:— Ascospores germinated within 12 hours on PDA, colonies grown on PDA at room temperature (20–25 °C), reaching about 35 mm diam. after one month. Colonies circular to irregular, dull surface and wrinkled, yellow-green to brown, aerial hyphae at the edge. Dark green on the reverse, producing a yellow-orange pigment on PDA.

Notes:— Based on BLAST search results of ITS, LSU, SSU, rpb 2 and tef sequence data, our collection is closely related to Crassiparies quadrisporus , with similarity rates of NR_148185: 95.2%, LC271241 : 97.7%, NG_061267: 99.57%, LC271251 : 93.3%, LC271247 : 93.5%. Phylogenetic analyses show C. yunnanensis is well-separated from C. quadrisporus with 100% ML, 1.00 BYPP statistical supports ( Fig.1 ). Crassiparies yunnanensis shares morphological similarities with C. quadrisporus but the two species can be distinguished by asci characteristics. Crassiparies quadrisporus has only 2–4 ascospores per ascus, while C. yunnanensis has 8 ascospores and the asci have a long stipe ( Li et al. 2016, Tanaka et al. 2017). Hence, based on both morphology and phylogeny, we introduce our collection as a new species of Crassiparies .

Figures

FIGURE 1. RAxML tree based on a combined dataset of SSU, LSU, ITS, rpb2, and tef genes sequences. Bootstrap support values for ML equal to or greater than 75% and BYPP equal to or greater than 0.95 are given above the nodes. Strains of the newly described species are in red, while type strains are in bold.

FIGURE 2. Crassiparies yunnanensis (HKAS 121977, holotype).a, b.Ascomata on coffee twig surface (arrow indicates orange secretion). c, d. Vertical section of ascomata. e. Peridium. f. Hamathecium. g–k. Asci. l–q. Ascospores. r. Germinating ascospore. s. Colony on PDA medium. Scale bars: c = 100 µm, d = 50 µm, e, r = 20 µm, f = 50 µm, g–k = 30 µm, l–q = 10 µm.

FIGURE 3. Crassiparies yunnanensis (KUMCC 21-0215, ex-type) on PDA. a. Germinating ascospore. b, c. Growth of asexual morph on plant tissues on PDA. d–g. Chlamydospores growing from hyphae. h. Chlamydospores. Scale bars: a, d–h = 20 µm.