Paucispora xishanensis Aluth., Wanas. & K. D. Hyde 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Aluthmuhandiram, Janith V. S.
name: Wanasinghe, Dhanushka N.
name: Chethana, K. W. Thilini
name: Gafforov, Yusufjon
name: Saichana, Natsaran
name: Li, Xing Hong
name: Yan, Jiye
name: Mamarakhimov, Oybek M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Fungi
Ascomycota
Dothideomycetes
Pleosporales
Lophiostomataceae
Paucispora
Paucispora xishanensis

description: Paucispora xishanensis Aluth., Wanas. & K.D. Hyde, sp. nov.
Index Fungorum number: IF 558818; Facesoffungi number: FoF 10529; FIGURE 3.
Etymology: The epithet reflects the district where the specimen was collected.
Saprobic on dead twigs of an unknown host. Sexual morph: Ascomata 200–340 μm high, 370–400 μm diam. (x̅ = 291 × 379 μm, n = 10), scattered to gregarious, immersed to semi-immersed, papilla erumpent through host surface, conical, flattened at the base, uni-loculate, coriaceous, black, ostiolate. Ostioles 120–140 μm high × 40–50 μm wide (x̅ = 131 × 44 μm, n = 5), slit-like, central, with a crest-like apex, broadly papillate, with a pore-like opening, filled with hyaline periphyses. Peridium 20–60 μm wide (x̅ = 39 μm, n = 20) at sides, wider at the apex, and thinner at the base, multi-layered, composed of 10–12 layers, outer layers composed of dark brown to black cells of textura angularis, indistinguishable from the host tissues, inner layer composed of hyaline cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium 1.2–1.7 µm (x̅ = 1.4 µm, n = 30) wide, composed with numerous dense, filiform, transversely septate, branched, anastomosing, cellular pseudoparaphyses situated between and above the asci, embedded in a gelatinous matrix. Asci 60–90 × 9–13 μm (x̅ = 77×11 μm, n = 30), 2–4-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindric-clavate, apically rounded, with an ocular chamber. Ascospores 16–22 × 7–9 μm (x̅ = 20 × 8 μm, n = 50), uniseriate, partially overlapping, initially hyaline and turn dark brown at maturity, except pale end cells, ellipsoidal, straight, 1–3 septate, constricted at the central septum, widest at the region above or below the central septum, smooth-walled, guttulate, lacking a mucilaginous sheath. Asexual morph: Undetermined.
Material examined: Xishan, Kunming, Yunnan, China, Woody litter of unknown host plant, 19 July 2019. DN Wanasinghe, DW1344-4_1 (HKAS 115905, holotype); ibid. DW1344-4_2 (HKAS 115906, paratype)
Notes: In our phylogenetic analysis, Paucispora xishanensis (HKAS 115905) groups basal to P. versicolor (MAFF 244508). Paucispora xishanensis (HKAS 115905) is morphologically similar to P. versicolor (MAFF 244508) and P. kunmingense (MFLU 17-0558). However, P. xishanensis (HKAS 115905) has depressed conical-shaped ascomata while P. versicolor (MAFF 244508) consists of globose to subglobose ascomata (Hirayama et al. 2014; Thambugala et al. 2015) and P. kunmingense (MFLU 17-0558) consists of globose to depressed globose ascomata (Hyde et al. 2017). Paucispora xishanensis (HKAS 115905) and P. versicolor (MAFF 244508) both consist of 2-4 spored asci (Hirayama et al. 2014; Thambugala et al. 2015), while P. kunmingense (MFLU 17-0558) consists of 4-spored asci (Hyde et al. 2017). Paucispora xishanensis (HKAS 115905) consists of initially hyaline ascospores, which turn dark brown at maturity, while P. versicolor (MAFF 244508) consists of brown to reddish-brown ascospores (Hirayama et al. 2014; Thambugala et al. 2015) and P. kunmingense (MFLU 17-0558) consists of hyaline ascospores (Hyde et al. 2017). In addition, the multilocus phylogenetic analyses also confirmed the phylogenetic placement of Paucispora xishanensis isolates HKAS 115905 and HKAS 115906 within the Paucispora clade as a phylogenetically distinct species with good statistical support (100 % ML-BS/1.00 BI-PP) (FIGURE 1).
description: Published as part of Aluthmuhandiram, Janith V. S., Wanasinghe, Dhanushka N., Chethana, K. W. Thilini, Gafforov, Yusufjon, Saichana, Natsaran, Li, Xing Hong, Yan, Jiye & Mamarakhimov, Oybek M., 2022, Lophiostomataceae (Dothideomycetes): Introducing Lophiostoma khanzadakirgizbaeva sp. nov. and Paucispora xishanensis sp. nov., pp. 247-262 in Phytotaxa 559 (3) on page 255, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.559.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/7021719