Fungalpedia – Note 3044, Ageratinicola

 

Ageratinicola Lu L., K.D. Hyde & Tibpromma.

Citation when using this data: Senanayake IC et al. 2023 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.

Classification: Ageratinicolaceae, Pleosporales, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.

Saprobic on dead or dying stems and branches. Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Conidiomata pycnidial, globose to subglobose, or irregular, solitary or aggregated, immersed with a short neck. Pycnidial walls multi-layered, cells of textura angularis. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells enteroblastic, doliiform or cylindrical, hyaline. Conidia oval to ellipsoid, or ovoid, muriform, hyaline when young, becoming brown when mature, multi-septate with or without mucilaginous sheath, smooth-walled.

Notes: ITS and LSU sequences of our collection (HKAS 122688) are highly similar to Foliophoma species. The phylogenetic analyses based on ITS, LSU and SSU showed that our collection and Foliophoma species formed a distinct clade with ML/BI = 100%/1.00 statistical support (Senanayake IC et al. 2023). However, morphologically, our collection is distinct from Foliophoma species by having brown, muriform conidia, while Foliophoma has hyaline, aseptate and broadly ellipsoidal conidia (Crous and Groenewald 2017). In addition, our collection is also distinct from other genera in Coniothyriaceae by having initially hyaline, oval to ellipsoid, or ovoid conidia becoming brown, multi-septate and muriform at maturity (Sutton 1971; Taylor and Crous 2001; Crous et al. 2007; Crous and Groenewald 2017). Therefore, our collection represents a new monotypic genus and it is introduced here as Ageratinicola gen. nov. and we accommodated Ageratinicola and Foliophoma in new family Ageratinicolaceae. 

Type species: Ageratinicola kunmingensis Lu L., K.D. Hyde & Tibpromma.

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Ageratinicola.

 

Figure 1 – Ageratinicola kunmingensis (HKAS 122688, holotype). a Examined material. b–c Close view of conidiomata. d–e Cross sections of conidioma. f Pycnidial wall. g–h Conidia attached to conidiogenous cells. i–k Conidia. l Germinated conidium. m–n Culture on PDA from surface and reverse. Scale bars: d = 100 µm, e = 80 µm, f–i, l = 20 µm, j–k = 5 µm.

 

References

Crous PW, Wingfield MJ, Burgess TI, Hardy GE et al. 2017 – Fungal planet description sheets: 558-624. Persoonia Mol Phylogeny Evol Fungi 38: 240–384. 

Crous PW, Braun U, Schubert K, Groenewald JZ. 2007 – Delimiting Cladosporium from morphologically similar genera. Stud Mycol 58: 33–56.

Senanayake IC, Rossi W, Leonardi M. et al. 2023 – Fungal diversity notes 1611–1716: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on fungal genera and species emphasis in south China. Fungal Diversity 122, 161–403.

Sutton BC. 1971 – Coelomycetes. IV. The genus Harknessia and similar fungi on Eucalyptus. Mycol Pap 123: 1–46.

Taylor JE, Crous PW. 2001 – Morphological variation and cultural characteristics of Coniothyrium leucospermi associated with leaf spots of Proteaceae. Mycoscience 42: 265–271.

 

Entry by

Indunil C. Senanayake, Innovative Institute for Plant Health/ Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control on Fruits and Vegetables in South China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510225, Guangdong, China., Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand., Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, College of Life Science and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, 3688, Nanhai Avenue, Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China., University of L’Aquila, Department MeSVA, sect. Environmental Sciences, Via Vetoio, 67100 Coppito (AQ), Italy.

 

Published online 28 August 2026

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