Curvularia kenpeggii Y.P. Tan & R.G. Shivas

Tan, Yu Pei, Crous, Pedro W. & Shivas, Roger G., 2018, Cryptic species of Curvularia in the culture collection of the Queensland Plant Pathology Herbarium, MycoKeys 35, pp. 1-25 : 1

Curvularia kenpeggii Y.P. Tan & R.G. Shivas sp. nov. Fig. 3 H–J

Type.

Australia, Queensland, from mouldy grain of Triticum aestivum , 26 Oct. 1984, J.L. Alcorn (holotype BRIP 14530, includes ex-type culture), (isotype IMI 290719).

Description.

Colonies on PDA 3-4 cm diam. after 7 d at 25 °C, surface funiculose, margin fimbriate, floccose and olivaceous black at the centre with white patches, velutinous with some aerial mycelium. Hyphae hyaline, asperulate, branched, septate, 4−5 µm in width. Conidiophores erect, straight to flexuous, slightly geniculate in the upper part, pale brown to brown, sometimes paler towards the apex, verrucose, septate, up to 360 µm long, 4−5 µm wide, basal cell sometimes swollen, up to 8 µm. Conidiogenous cells integrated, terminal or intercalary, with sympodial proliferation, pale brown to brown, smooth, mono- or polytretic, with darkened scars. Conidia ellipsoidal to clavate to obovoid, asymmetrical, third cell from the base is unequally enlarged, brown, end cells paler, verruculose, (31-) 35-39 (-42) × (10-) 13-14 (-15) µm, 3-distoseptate, hila protuberant, thickened and darkened, 1-2 µm wide.

Etymology.

Named after Dr Kenneth G. Pegg AM (member of the Order of Australia), in celebration of his 60 years of dedication to plant pathology in Australia and to thank him for his generous mentorship.

Notes.

Curvularia kenpeggii is only known from the holotype specimen and is genetically distinct from all other Curvularia species (Fig. 1). Curvularia kenpeggii is basal to a clade comprised of C. australis , C. beerburrumensis , C. crustacea , C. miyakei , C. ovariicola , C. ravenelii and C. ryleyi . These species are mostly reported as pathogens of Eragrostis and Sporobolus spp. and not known to be associated with wheat ( Triticum aestivum ). Curvularia species associated with T. aestivum in Australia are C. brachyspora , C. harveyi , C. hawaiiensis , C. lunata , C. perotidis , C. ramosa and C. spicifera , ( Shivas 1989, Farr and Rossman 2018), although not all the reports have been verified by molecular phylogenetic analyses.