Paracryptophiale

Fungalpedia – Note 2852, Paracryptophiale

Paracryptophiale. Kuthub. & Nawawi.

Citation when using this data: Wenping W et al. 2022 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1

Classification: Incertae sedis, Incertae sedis, Incertae sedis, Incertae sedis, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

Colonies effuse, hairy, inconspicuous. Mycelium partly superficial and partly immersed, sparse, composed of branched, septate, brown, smooth hyphae. Teleomorph: unknown. Anamorph: Setae erect or slightly curved at base, simple, brown to dark brown, septate, smooth, tapering towards acute apex. Conidiophores setiform, solitary, erect, curved towards the apices, unbranched, dark brown, smooth, thick-walled, septate, bulbous to irregular at the base, tapered gradually towards the fertile region but becoming slightly wider in the fertile region, finally abruptly tapered to an acute apex. Fertile region apical, cylindrical, the conidiogenous cells obscured by a shield of sterile, flat, lobed, pale brown cells. Conidiogenous cell monophialidic, obscured by a shield of sterile, flat, lobed, pale brown cells. Conidia hyaline, smooth, dictyospores with both transversely and longitudinal septa, constricted at transverse septa, ellipsoid, apical cell with a single, apical appendage.

Known distribution: China, Malaysia.

Description and illustration: Kuthubutheen and Nawawi (1994a,b,c); Wu and McKenzie (2003); Seifert et al. (2011).

Notes: The genus Paracryptophiale was erected by Kuthubutheen and Nawawi (1994a,b,c) for a dematiaceous hyphomycete, P. kamaruddinii, which is similar to Cryptophiale in setiform conidiophores and lateral ‘phialidic’ conidiogenous cells shielded by a plate of modified cells. It, however, differs from Cryptophiale by its appendaged dictyospores. Two species have been known in the genus (Kuthubutheen and Nawawi 1994a,b,c; Wu and Sutton 2004). The striking feature of this fungus, the shield–like outgrowth of cells associated with the conidiogenous apparatus, is found in only one other genus, Cryptophiale (Pirozynski 1968; Ellis 1971 1976; Carmichael et al. 1980; Seifert et al. 2011). Development of conidiophores and conidiogenous cells in Cryptophiale were described by Pirozynski (1968), and the very similar development pattern was found in Paracryptophiale. The LSU and ITS sequences of P. pirozynskii were obtained and its phylogenetic affinity to Cryptophiale in Chaetosphaeriaceae was confirmed.

Key to known species of Paracryptophiale

1.Conidia 15–20 × 8.5–11.5 μm; apical appendage up to 12.5 μm long……………P. pirozynskii

1.Conidia 28–35 × 14–16 μm; apical appendages 4–6 μm long……………………P. kamaruddin

Type species: Paracryptophiale kamaruddinii Kuthub. & Nawawi, Mycol. Res. 98(1): 125 (1994)

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Paracryptophiale.

Figure 1 – Paracryptophiale pirozynskii (Holotype). a Upper part of conidiophore with fertile region and conidia. b–d, h Upper part of conidiophores. e–g, I Setiform conidiophores with fertile region, conidiogenous cells and developing conidia. Scale bar: e g, i 40 μm, b μm, d, h 20 μm, a 10 μm.