Fungalpedia – Note 902, Neolentithecia
Neolentithecia. C. Phukhams., K.D. Hyde & Y. Li.
Citation when using this data Hyde KD et al. 2021 (in prep.) – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank., Fig 1
Classification: Lentitheciaceae, Pleosporales, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Saprobic on dried twigs. Sexual morph: Ascomata solitary, gregarious, scattered, immersed, as shiny, black, dots visible on the host surface, uniloculate, coriaceous, ostiolate. Ostioles central, black. Peridium thick, multilayered, of cells arranged in textura angularis, brown to dark brown, inner layer lined with sub-hyaline cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium composed of numerous, cellular pseudoparaphyses, with distinct septa, anastomosing at the apex. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, clavate, with furcate pedicel, apically rounded, with well-developed ocular chamber. Ascospores biseriate, hyaline to yellowish-brown, oval or obovoid, ends rounded, dictyosporous, constricted at the septa, with or without a mucilaginous sheath. Asexual morph: Undetermined.
Notes – Muriform ascospores are polyphyletic throughout the Ascomycota (Hongsanan
et al. 2020, Wijayawardene et al. 2020). The new genus Neolentithecia is typified by N. changchunensis, which is similar to Lentithecium in having globose, ostiolate ascomata with peridium cells of textura angularis, clavate asci and muriform ascospores (Wanasinghe et al. 2014). A multi-marker phylogenetic analysis of LSU, ITS, SSU and tef-1 show that Neolentithecia formed a clade with Lentithecium aquaticum (CBS 123099) (64% ML/1.00 BPP). Lentithecium is typified with L. fluviatile (Aptroot & Van Ryck.) K.D. Hyde, J. Fourn. & Ying Zhang, which formed a strong statistic support clade sister to Halobyssothecium and Darksidea. However, L. aquaticum strain CBS 123099 does not cluster within Lentithecium sensu stricto (Calabon et al. 2021b), but formed an individual lineage. Thus, we assign another genus for the strain CCMJ10012 which clustered with L. aquaticum based on phylogenetic analysis, but is distinct from
L. aquaticum by having well-developed ostioles and brown muriform ascospores (Zhang et al. 2009a, Tanaka et al. 2015). Lentithecium aquaticum (CBS 123099) was described from submerged wood in an aquatic habitat, while Neolentithecia has been found associated with woody substrate on terrestrial habitats (Zhang et al. 2009b). The two strains share similar climates in terms of weather and humidity (Jilin Province, China and France). This suggests that the strains may be limited by geographic barriers. We therefore, introduce a new genus based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence for a fungal collection on Sorbus species.
Type species: Neolentithecia changchunensis C. Phukhams., K.D. Hyde, W.X. Su & Y. Li.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Neolentithecia.
Figure 1 – Neolentithecia changchunensis (HMJAU 58777, holotype). a, b Ascomata scattered on the surface of Sorbus sp. c Section through ascoma. d Peridium. e Pseudoparaphyses. f–h Asci. i–l Ascospores. m Germinated ascospores. n, o Culture characters on PDA. Scale bars: b = 500 μm, c = 200 μm, d–h = 50 μm, i–l = 20 μm.
References
Entry by
Kevin David Hyde, Innovative Institute for Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510225, China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, Research Center of Microbial Diversity and Sustainable Utilization, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University 50200, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Published online 14 December 2021
Published online 25 April 2022