Knufia aspidiotus F. He & X. Z. Liu, 2013

He, Fan, Lin, Bin, Sun, Jing-Zu & Liu, Xing-Zhong, 2013, Knufia aspidiotus sp. nov., a new black yeast from scale insects, Phytotaxa 153 (1), pp. 39-50 : 43-44

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/phytotaxa.153.1.2
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03AA87C5-5A69-FF83-FF01-FB88FE4FF808
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Knufia aspidiotus F. He & X. Z. Liu
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Knufia aspidiotus F. He & X. Z. Liu , sp. nov. ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ) MycoBank MB 805432

Differs from related Knufia species mainly by its holoblastic conidia with less septa and being isolated from Aspidiotus sp. (scale insect).

Type: — China, Beijing: Yanqing, Song Mountain , on the branches of the buckthorn trees, Rhamnus parvifolia , 18 August 2011, F . He ( CGMCC3.15211 View Materials , holotype!)

Knufia aspidiotus grows slowly on PDA, MEA, CMA and OA at 10, 20, 25, 30 and 37 ° C, and the optimum temperature is 25 ° C. Colonies on PDA reaching 13–16 mm diam, initially black, hard, later moist and cauliflower-like, and subcircular to irregular, raised, with even margin after 2–3 months at 25 ° C ( Fig. 1a View FIGURE 1 and 2a View FIGURE 2 ). Colonies on MEA black, moist, reaching 14–16 mm diam at 42 days at 25 ° C, with scarce aerial hyphae, furrows, circular to subcircular, raised, margin even ( Fig. 1b View FIGURE 1 ). Colonies on CMA brown to dark brown, effuse, velvety, with irregular margin, reaching 18–21 mm diam after 42 days at 25 ° C, and hyphae at margin submerged ( Fig. 1c View FIGURE 1 ). Colonies on OA pale gray to gray, effuse, velvety, circular to subcircular, with 25–26 mm diam at 42 days at 25 ° C, and have the appressed hyphae at margin ( Fig. 1d View FIGURE 1 ).

Mycelium consisting of smooth undifferentiated hyphae and moniliform hyphae, dark brown, catenulate, septate, branched at nearly right angles ( Fig. 2b View FIGURE 2 ). Undifferentiated hyphae formed by subspherical and cylindrical cell with thick wall, 3–5.5 × 8–13 µm ( Fig. 2e, f and h View FIGURE 2 ), and becoming moniliform and disarticulating into multicellular segments with age. Conidiogenous cell lateral or terminal, hyaline to subhyaline, borne on undifferentiated hyphae, forming the conidia chain and gradually moniliform hyphae. Yeast-like cell, ellipsoidal to spherical, producing several spherical, blastic conidia by multilateral budding ( Fig 2j View FIGURE 2 ). Conidia holoblastic, acropetal or sympodial, terminal or lateral, hyaline to subhyaline, smooth and thin-walled, ellipsoidal to pyriform, aseptate to multiseptate, 1.5–4 × 2.5–6 µm (aseptate), 4–7 × 12.5–15 µm (1-septate), 5–8 × 14–18 µm (2-septate) ( Fig. 2g and i View FIGURE 2 ). Endoconidia observed in some undifferentiated hyphae, subglobose, ellipsoidal to reniform, 2–4 × 3–4 µm ( Fig. 2d View FIGURE 2 ). The hyphal cell in old portions of colony swollen, forming darkly pigmented multicellular bodies, thick-walled, subglobose to globose, 7–12 × 9–12 µm, transversely, longitudinally and obliquely septate ( Fig 2c View FIGURE 2 ).

Etymology: — aspidiotus refers that the scale insect, Aspidiotus sp., from which the species was isolated.

Distribution: —Song Mountain, Yanqing, Beijing, China.

Host: — Aspidiotus sp., Armoured scale insects ( Hemiptera Diaspididae ) living on the branches of the buckthorn trees, Rhamnus parvifolia .

Other material studied: — China, Beijing: Yanqing, Song Mountain , on the branches of the buckthorn trees, Rhamnus parvifolia , 18 August 2011, F.He ( CGMCC3.15246 View Materials isotype!) ; China, Beijing: Yanqing, Song Mountain , on the branches of the buckthorn trees, Rhamnus parvifolia , 18 August 2011, F. He ( CGMCC3.15247 View Materials isotype!) .