Apiospora neogongcheniae C. L. Zhang, 2024

Yan, Xiao-Ni & Zhang, Chu-Long, 2024, Three new endophytic Apiospora species (Apiosporaceae, Amphisphaeriales) from China, MycoKeys 105, pp. 295-316 : 295-316

Apiospora neogongcheniae C. L. Zhang sp. nov.

Fig. 4

Etymology.

Named after its phylogenetic close related to A. gongcheniae .

Type.

China, Yunnan Province: Xishuangbanna, Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve , 21 ° 10 ' N, 99 ° 55 ' E, on the stems of unidentified Poaceae plant, Oct 2018, X. X. Feng, YNE 01248 (holotype GDMCC 3.1047, stored in a metabolically inactive state); ex-type culture YNE 01248 .

Description.

Asexual morph: Hyphae hyaline, branched, septate, smooth, 1.0–2.5 μm diameter (mean = 1.5 μm, n = 30). Conidia not observed. Chlamydospores single, terminal, globose, rare. Sexual morph: Undetermined.

Culture characteristics.

On PDA, colonies flat, rounded, initially white, becoming yellowish-white, cottony, with moderate aerial mycelia, covering the 90 mm plate after 7 days at 25 ° C. On MEA, colonies white, dense aerial mycelia, forming multiple circles around the center, covering the 90 mm plate after 7 days at 25 ° C. Conidiomata were not observed.

Additional specimens examined.

China, Yunnan Province: Xishuangbanna, Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve , 21 ° 10 ' N, 99 ° 55 ' E, on the stems of unidentified Poaceae plant, Oct 2018, X. X. Feng, YNE 001260 .

Note.

Phylogenetic analyses confirmed that A. neogongcheniae formed an independent clade, exhibiting a close evolutionary relationship with A. garethjonesii , A. neogarethjonesii and A. subrosea . Based on a BLASTN search of the GenBank database, it was found that A. neogongcheniae shares high similarities with the following strains: A. garethjonesii strain HKAS 96289 (94.88 % in ITS, 100 % in LSU), strain GZCC 20-0115 (94.88 % in ITS, 99.41 % in LSU, 96.67 % in tef 1), strain SICAUCC 22-0027 (94.88 % in ITS, 100 % in LSU, 96.69 % in tub 2), strain SICAUCC 22-0028 (94.88 % in ITS, 100 % in LSU; 96.79 % in tub 2); A. subrosea strain CGMCC 3.18337 (98.35 % in ITS, 99.80 % in LSU, 94.61 % in tef 1, 94.99 % in tub 2), strain LC 7291 (91.41 % in ITS, 99.80 % in LSU, 94.38 % in tef 1, 94.99 % in tub 2); and A. neogarethjonesii strain HKAS 102408 (93.97 % in ITS, 100 % in LSU). The tef 1 and tub 2 sequence data are currently unavailable for A. neogarethjonesii to compare with A. neogongcheniae .

Due to the absence of sexual and asexual sporulation characters in A. neogongcheniae , a comparison of its culture characteristics with those of A. garethjonesii , A. neogarethjonesii and A. subrosea was conducted. On PDA, A. neogongcheniae exhibits a yellowish-white surface and reverse color, whereas A. garethjonesii displays a white surface with a reddish reverse, A. neogarethjonesii shows a white to black surface coloration, and A. subrosea presents a light pink surface with a peach-puff reverse. Phylogenetically, A. neogongcheniae strains YNE 01248 and YNE 01260 form a distinct branch with 99 % MLBP and 0.95 BIPP. Therefore, we propose A. neogongcheniae as a novel species.

Figures

Figure 4. Apiospora neogongcheniae (YNE 01248, ex-type culture) a colonies after 7 d at 25 ° C on PDA b colonies after 7 d at 25 ° C on MEA c colonies after 7 d at 25 ° C on SNA d colonies after 7 d at 25 ° C on PDA with rice leaves e colonies after 7 d at 25 ° C on MEA with rice leaves f colonies after 7 d at 25 ° C on SNA with rice leaves g – h chlamydospores. Scale bars: 20 μm.