Fungalpedia – Note 15 Crassiperidium

 

Citation: Bhunjun et al. 2023 – Fungalpedia, genera described in 2018, Mycosphere (in press)

 

Crassiperidium M. Matsum. & Kaz. Tanaka

Index FungorumFacesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig. 1

Crassiperidium was established by Matsumara et al. (2018) to accommodate two new species isolated from dead twigs of Fagus crenata in Japan. Based on the combined SSU, LSU, and rpb2 sequence analysis, Crassiperidium formed a sister clade with Cyclothyriella rubronata and Massariosphaeria phaeospora, but this relationship was not well-supported (Matsumara et al. 2018). Moreover, morphological characteristics of the ascospores and the conidiogenesis of Crassiperidium species differ from those of the two genera. This was resolved by Phukhamsakda et al. (2020) who introduced the family Longiostiolaceae (Pleosporales), to accommodate Crassiperidium species and Longiostiolum tectonae.  Longiostiolaceae formed a well-supported clade with Cyclothyriellaceae as a sister clade based on LSU, SSU, ITS, tef1 and rpb2 sequences (Phukhamsakda et al. 2020)Crassiperidium species also clustered with Shearia formosa and Longostiolum tectonae within Longiostiolaceae in an isolated and well-supported clade using LSU, SSU, rpb2 and tef sequences  (Wanasinghe et al. 2020). Morphologically, the species in this genus are characterized by thick ascomatal wall; thus, its name is derived from the Latin word crassi – meaning thick. The ascospores are broadly fusiform, straight, and thick-walled with a submedian septate, while the conidia are cylindrical, truncate at the base, multiseptate, hyaline, smooth, and without a sheath. These morphological characteristics of the sexual and asexual morphs resemble Pseudoasteromasssaria; however, the latter has pigmented ascospores and phialidic conidiogenesis (Matsumara et al. 2018). An interesting observation not in the original publication is that the ascomata of C. octosporum developed in the ascomata/conidiomata of another fungal species. It is, however, not clear if Crassiperidium is lignicolous or fungicolous. 

Type species: Crassiperidium octosporum M. Matsum. & Kaz. Tanaka

Other accepted species: 

Crassiperidium quadrisporum M. Matsum. & Kaz. Tanaka

 

 

Fig 1. Crassiperidium octosporum (a-d, f, h, i HHUF 30080. e, g, j HHUF 30603. k MAFF 246407. l, m MAFF 246402. n MAFF 246406. o-q MAFF 246404). a, b Ascomata on host surface. c Ascomata in longitudinal section. d Ascomatal wall. e Pseudoparaphyses. f Asci. g-i Ascospores. j Germinating spore. k Conidiomata formed in culture. l Conidioma in longitudinal section. m Conidiomatal wall. n Conidiogenous cells. o-q Conidia. Scale bars: a,k = 1 mm, b = 500 μm, c, l = 100 μm, d,f,m = 20 μm, e, g-j, n-q = 10 μm. Photo plate used with permission from Kaz Tanaka.

 

References

Matsumara M, Kato W, Hashimoto A, Takahashi Y, Shirouzu T, Tanaka K 2018 – Crassiperidium (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes), a new ascomycetous genus parasitic on Fagus crenata in Japan. Mycosphere 9(6), 1256–1267. https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/9/6/13

Phukhamsakda C, McKenzie EHC, Phillips AJL, Gareth Jones EB, Jayarama Bhat D, Stadler M, Bhunjun CS, Wanasinghe DN, Thongbai B, Camporesi E, Ertz D, Jayawardena RS, Perera RH, Ekanayake AH, Tibpromma S, Doilom M, Xu J, Hyde KD 2020 – Microfungi associated with Clematis (Ranunculaceae) with an integrated approach to delimiting species boundaries. Fungal Diversity, 102(1), 1–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-020-00448-4

Wanasinghe DN, Wijayawardene NN, Xu J, Cheewangkoon R, Mortimer PE 2020 – Taxonomic novelties in Magnolia-associated pleosporalean fungi in the Kunming Botanical Gardens (Yunnan, China). PLoS ONE 15(7), e0235855. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235855

 

Entry by

Carlo Chris S. Apurillo and Chayanard Phukhamsakda, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Mueang Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, Thailand

 

(Edited by Chitrabhanu S. Bhunjun and Kevin D. Hyde)