Erioscyphella paralushanensis Tochihara and Hosoya, 2022

Tochihara, Yukito & Hosoya, Tsuyoshi, 2022, Examination of the generic concept and species boundaries of the genus Erioscyphella (Lachnaceae, Helotiales, Ascomycota) with the proposal of new species and new combinations based on the Japanese materials, MycoKeys 87, pp. 1-52 : 1

Erioscyphella paralushanensis Tochihara and Hosoya sp. nov.

Figs 13 , 14

Diagnosis.

Characterized by throughout red apothecia occurring on bamboo sheaths. Similar to E. lushanensis in macro- and micromorphology and habitats, but has larger asci and ascospores.

Holotype.

Japan, Shizuoka, Atami, Izusan, 35.128834, 139.051194, ca 620 m, 8 Jun. 2015, on fallen sheaths of Pleioblastus argenteostriatus , M.Nakajima (TNS-F-61920).

GenBank/UNITE no. ex holotype.

LC669463/UDB0779075 (ITS), LC533141 (LSU), LC533267 (mtSSU), LC533220 (RPB2).

Etymology.

Referring to the similarity with E. lushanensis .

Japanese name.

Akage-hina-no-chawantake.

Description.

Apothecia scattered, superficial, 0.7-1.5 mm in diameter, long-stipitate, up to 2.0 mm high, externally covered with dark-red hairs. Disc concave, cream to pale yellow. Ectal excipulum well-developed textura prismatica and partly t. angularis, 6-13 × 2.0-2.5 µm, hyaline, relatively thick-walled, with smooth walls. Medullary excipulum textura intricata of hyaline hyphae up to 2 µm wide. Hairs straight, cylindrical, up to 160 µm long, 2.0 -3.0 µm wide, pale brown but hyaline near the bases; hair cells narrowly septate,> 7 µm long, covered by big and amber-colored granules; granules big and dense near the apices and smaller and sparse near the bases, up to 2 µm in diameter near the apices, equipped with amber-colored resinous materials that dissolves in CB/LA at any position of hairs; apices with amber-colored apical amorphous materials, lacking any crystals. Asci (59-)61.4-70.2(-73) × (4.5-)4.7-5.6(-6) µm (av. 65.8 ± 4.4 × 5.2 ± 0.4 µm, n = 15), Q = (11.5-)12-13.6(-14.6) (av. 12.8 ± 0.8, n = 15), 8-spored, cylindrical-clavate; pore faintly blue in MLZ without 3% pretreatment, clear blue in MLZ with 3% KOH pretreatment and IKI without 3% KOH pretreatment. Ascospores (14-)15.8-20.7(-22) × (1.5-)1.7-2.0 µm (av. 18.2 ± 2.5 × 1.8 ± 0.2 µm, n = 15), Q = (7.5-)8.7-11.2(-12.6) (av. 9.9 ± 1.3, n = 15), septate, sometimes bent to U-shaped or S-shaped, containing conspicuous guttules; guttules hyaline but sometimes red. Paraphyses straight, up to 2 µm wide, septate, exceeding the asci 5-10 µm, initially cylindrical to clavate, later becoming narrowly lanceolate.

Culture characteristics.

Colony of NBRC 114468/ TNS-F-61920 on PDA flat, sparse, dendritically spread. Context wooly, ocher to pale buff, dark buff from the reverse. Sectors and zonation absent. Aerial mycelium ocher to pale buff, dense cottony, developed near the center, forming white mycelium strands; margin distinct, flat and partly immersed into the agar. Asexual morph absent. Soluble pigments present, buff, dyeing agar without colony pale buff.

Distribution.

Japan (Shizuoka). Currently known only from the type locality.

Notes.

Erioscyphella paralushanensis is closely related to E. lushanensis in having red hairs (Fig. 13I ) and the ectal excipulum composed of well-developed rectangular cells in common (Fig. 13H , Fig. 14C , and Fig. 14F ) ( Zhuang and Wang 1998a). Compared with E. lushanensis , E. paralushanensis has slightly larger asci, ascospores and hairs. Red guttules in ascospores were observed only in E. paralushanensis (Fig. 13F ). In this study, we proposed the present fungus as a new species, because species delimitation analyses based on ITS sequences strongly supported that E. paralushanensis is different from E. lushanensis (Fig. 3 ).

Figures

Figure 3. Species delimitation analyses using ITS sequences of Erioscyphella and its potential members. Clusters based on UNITE SH at 3 % and 1.5 % threshold values at UNITE v 8.2, VSEARCH at 97 % and 98.5 % threshold values, ASAP, GMYC, and PTP are displayed. Schematic phylogenetic relationships are shown using the ultrametric tree constructed for the GMYC analysis. The taxon names shown on the tree branches follow the results of the present study.

Figure 13. Erioscyphella paralushanensis TNS-F- 61920 (Holotype) A apothecia B pure culture on PDA (NBRC 114468) C ascus D ascal pore iodine reactions D 1 MLZ (faintly +) without 3 % KOH pretreatment D 2 MLZ (+) with 3 % KOH pretreatment D 3 IKI (+) without 3 % KOH pretreatment E paraphysis F ascospores G ectal excipular cells H marginal section of an apothecium generating hairs I hairs with red resinous materials J apical amorphous materials of hairs. Mounted in CB / LA (C, E-J), MLZ (D 1, D 2), IKI (D 3). Scale bars: 0.5 mm (A); 10 µm (C-J).

Figure 14. Erioscyphella paralushanensis TNS-F- 61920 (Holotype) A apothecia B vertical section of an apothecium C expansion of an vertical section of an apothecium D asci E hairs F ectal excipulum G paraphyses H ascospores.