Semifissispora Tooloomensis Fungal Planet Description Sheets 435

434 Persoonia – Volume 39, 2017

Semifissispora tooloomensis Fungal Planet description sheets 435

Fungal Planet 701 – 20 December 2017 Semifissispora tooloomensis Crous, sp. nov.

Etymology. Named after the area where it was collected, close to Tooloom Notes — Semifissispora was established by Swart (1982) for National Park, Australia. a group of ascomycetes occurring on leaf litter of Eucalyptus in Classiﬁcation — Massarinaceae, Pleosporales, Dothideo- Australia, and was recently shown to belong to Massarinaceae, mycetes. Dothideomycetes (Crous et al. 2015c). Although assumed to be saprobic, ascomata have also been observed on bleached leaf Ascospores shot onto MEA. Ascospores fusoid-ellipsoid, hya- areas, suggesting taxa could be weakly pathogenic, though no line, smooth, guttulate, medianly 1-septate, prominently con- inoculation experiments have been conducted to conﬁrm this. stricted at septum, tapering towards subobtuse apices, apical The genus is presently known from four species, namely S. fusi- cell (22–)25–27(–30) × 6(–7) µm, basal cell (22–)27–32(–33) formis (apical cells 10–18 × 5–6 µm, basal cells 14–19 × 4–6 × 6 µm. No mature ascomata could be located in the leaf tis- µm), S. rotundata (apical cells 15–20 × 7–9 µm, basal cells sue. On OA forming pale brown sporodochial conidiomata, 15–10 × 5.5–7 µm), S. elongata (apical cells 18–25 × 4–6 µm, with slimy conidial masses of hyaline conidia. Conidiophores basal cells 22–26 × 3.5–5 µm), S. natalis (apical cells 22–28 × hyaline, smooth, subcylindrical, branched, up to 50 µm tall, 3–4 7–10 µm, basal cells 23–31 × 6.5–7.5 µm) (Swart 1982, Crous µm diam. Conidiogenous cells terminal and intercalary, hyaline, et al. 2015c). Semifissispora tooloomensis can be distinguished smooth, subcylindrical, phialidic, 10–20 × 2.5–3 µm. Conidia from these species based on its ascospore dimensions (apical solitary, aseptate, hyaline, smooth, subcylindrical, guttulate, cells 22–30 × 6–7 µm, basal cell 22–33 × 6 µm). apex obtuse, base truncate, 3–6 × 2 µm. Based on a megablast search using the ITS sequence, the Culture characteristics — Colonies flat, spreading, with sparse closest matches in NCBIs GenBank nucleotide database were aerial mycelium and feathery, lobate margins, reaching 60 mm S. rotundata (GenBank KT950847; Identities 517/544 (95 %), diam after 2 wk at 25 °C. On MEA surface dirty white, reverse 10 gaps (1 %)), S. natalis (GenBank NR_145195; Identities sienna. On PDA surface dirty white, reverse pale luteous. On 513/548 (94 %), 14 gaps (2 %)) and Stagonospora pseudo- OA surface dirty white. paludosa (GenBank NR_137840; Identities 488/558 (87 %), 23 Typus. Australia, New South Wales, close to Tooloom National Park, gaps (4 %)). The highest similarities using the LSU sequence on leaves of Eucalyptus dunnii, 20 Jan. 2016, A.J. Carnegie (holotype CBS were S. rotundata (GenBank KT950859; Identities 853/858 H-23314, culture ex-type CPC 31680 = CBS 143431, ITS, LSU and gapdh (99 %), no gaps), S. natalis (GenBank KT950858; Identities sequences GenBank MG386071, MG386124 and MG386136, MycoBank 837/846 (99 %), no gaps) and Stagonospora tainanensis MB823420). (GenBank AB807580; Identities 824/850 (97 %), 2 gaps (0 %)). The highest similarities using the gapdh sequence were with S. natalis (GenBank KT950875; Identities 486/526 (92 %), 10 gaps (1 %)), Curvularia spicifera (GenBank KT351793; Identities 386/462 (84 %), 6 gaps (1 %)) and Curvularia trifolii (GenBank KP645345; Identities 383/461 (83 %), 7 gaps (1 %)).

Colour illustrations. Tooloom National Park; germinating ascospores, ascospores, conidiophores and conidia. Scale bars = 10 µm.

Pedro W. Crous & Johannes Z. Groenewald, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 85167, 3508 AD Utrecht, The Netherlands; e-mail: [email protected] & [email protected] Michael J. Wingﬁeld, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; e-mail: [email protected] Angus J. Carnegie, Forest Health & Biosecurity, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Level 12, 10 Valentine Ave, Parramatta, NSW 2150, Locked Bag 5123, Parramatta, NSW 2124, Australia; e-mail: [email protected]