Pestalotiopsis phyllostachydis H. J. Zhao & W. Dong 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zhao, Haijun
name: Shu, Yongxin
name: Doilom, Mingkwan
name: Zeng, Xiangyu
name: Zhang, Huang
name: Dong, Wei
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Fungi
Ascomycota
Sordariomycetes
Amphisphaeriales
Pestalotiopsidaceae
Pestalotiopsis
Pestalotiopsis phyllostachydis

description: Pestalotiopsis phyllostachydis H.J. Zhao & W. Dong, sp. nov. (FIGURE 2)
Index Fungorum number: IF900827; Facesoffungi number: FoF 14613.
Etymology: refers to the host genus Phyllostachys, from which the fungus was isolated.
Holotype: MHZU 23-0119
Endophytic in leaves of Phyllostachys sulphurea. Sexual morph: undetermined. Asexual morph: Conidiomata (on PDA) 400–440 μm diam., acervular, saucer-shaped, aggregated or scattered, semi-immersed, superfical, often exuding black conidial masses. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells holoblastic, monoblastic, discrete, subcylindrical, 11–17 × 2–4 μm (x̄ = 14 × 3 μm, n = 10), or ampulliform (6–10 × 1.2–3.8 μm) (x̄ = 8 × 2.5 μm, n = 10), hyaline, smooth. Conidia 18–24 × 5–7 μm (x̄ = 20 × 6 μm, n = 30), fusoid, ellipsoidal, straight to slightly curved, 4-septate, occasionally slightly constricted at septa; basal cell 2.8–4.6 μm long (x̄ = 3.7 μm, n = 30), obconical with a truncate base, hyaline, sometimes with 0–2 short basal appendage 1–7 μm long (x̄ = 4.7 μm, n = 30), tubular, filiform, unbranched or branched, centric; three median cells pale brown to brown, concolorous or sometimes darker at the two upper cells, darker at the septa; apical cell 2.8–5.5 µm long (x̄ = 4.2 μm, n = 30), conical, subcylindrical, hyaline to subhyaline, bearing 2–4 filiform, unbranched tubular apical appendages, 7–26 μm long (x̄ = 17 μm, n = 30).
Culture characteristics: colonies on PDA reaching 77 mm diam. after 10 days at 25 ℃, forming serval circular, floccose to fluffy, white with cottony aerial mycelium on the surface, with smooth edge, producing a few conidiomata exuding black spore masses after a month, white circular, no pigment production in the culture.
Material examined: CHINA, Guangdong Province, Guanghzou City, South China National Botanical Garden, isolated from leaves of Phyllostachys sulphurea (Carrière) Rivière & C. Rivière (Poaceae), 17 June 2021, H. J. Zhao, HNZW 177 (MHZU 23-0119, holotype); ex-type culture ZHKUCC 23-0873.
Notes: in our multi-locus phylogenetic analysis, P. phyllostachydis forms a distinct branch within the genus Pestalotiopsis (FIGURE 1). Pestalotiopsis phyllostachydis exhibits similar morphological characteristics with other species, but it can be distinguished from its relatives by the length of apical appendages. Except for P. thailandica, which has longer apical appendages (5.5–38 μm) as opposed to P. phyllostachydis (7–26 μm), all other species have shorter ones (TABLE 2). Although P. loeiana has a similar length of apical appendages to P. phyllostachydis, it differs in having longer basal appendages (3–13 μm vs. 2–7 μm) (Sun et al. 2023). Based on phylogenetic analysis, nucleotide comparison (TABLE 3), and morphological characteristics, P. phyllostachydis is established as a new species.
description: Published as part of Zhao, Haijun, Shu, Yongxin, Doilom, Mingkwan, Zeng, Xiangyu, Zhang, Huang & Dong, Wei, 2024, Pestalotiopsis phyllostachydis sp. nov. from Guangdong, China, pp. 68-85 in Phytotaxa 633 (1) on page 76, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.633.1.8, http://zenodo.org/record/13879084