Coniochaeta mongoliae H. L. Si & Y. M. Su, 2021

Si, Hong-Li, Su *, Yue-Min, Zheng, Xiao-Xiao, Ding, Meng-Yao, Bose, Tanay & Chang, Run-Lei, 2021, Phylogenetic and morphological analyses of Coniochaeta isolates recovered from Inner Mongolia and Yunnan revealed three new endolichenic fungal species, MycoKeys 83, pp. 105-121 : 105

Coniochaeta mongoliae H. L. Si & Y. M. Su sp. nov.

Figure 4

Holotype.

China, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Chifeng City, 44°13'46"N, 118°44'57"E, ca. 1500 m elev., isolated from the medulla of Ramalina sinensis , 11 Oct 2019, H. L. Si, CS-09 (HMAS 350270, holotype), ex-type living culture, CGMCC 3.20250.

Etymology.

The lichen was collected in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, thus the name.

Description.

Colony on PDA after 8 d, hyphae hyaline, multi-guttulate, septate, smooth-walled, often with hyphal strands consolidating to form bundles; conidiophores short or absent; conidiogenous cells hyaline, flask or acicular in shape, measuring 3.3-12.5 × 1.6-5.1 μm (x̅ = 6.6 × 2.9 μm, n = 50) (Fig. 4c, d ); conidia hyaline, smooth-walled, ellipsoidal, 3.3-8.4 × 0.6-1.9 μm (x̅ = 4.8 × 1.3 μm, n = 50) (Fig. 4g and h ); chlamydospore solitary or in short chains, hyaline, thick-walled, elongate ellipsoidal or almost globose in shape, measuring 2.7-6.7 × 2.6-5.4 μm (x̅ = 4.6 × 3.8 μm, n = 50) (Fig. 4e, f ). Sexual morph unknown.

Culture characteristics.

The optimal temperature for growth is 25 °C. No growth was detected at 5 °C and 35 °C. Colonies on PDA after 8 d at 25 °C were white to light pink in colour, circular, flat, dense, partially immersed in the medium, the centre of the colony is rough, forming radial grooves.

Notes.

In the phylogenetic tree using the concatenated dataset, Coniochaeta mongoliae sp. nov. clustered in a clade that included C. sinensis sp. nov., C. vineae and C. fasciculata , but with low statistical support. Moreover, these four species have substantial morphological differences (for details, see the notes for C. sinensis sp. nov.).

Figures

Figure 4. Morphological characters of Coniochaeta mongoliae sp. nov. (HMAS 350270) a, b cultures on PDA from the surface and reverse, c, d conidiogenous cells e, f chlamydospores g, h conidia. Scale bars: 10 μm.