Ageratinicola Lu L., K.D. Hyde & Tibpromma S., gen. nov.
MycoBank number: MB; Index Fungorum number: IF; Facesoffungi number: FoF 10844;
Etymology: Name refers to the host genus it was isolated from Ageratina.
Saprobic on dead or dying stems, branches. Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Conidiomata pycnidial, globose to subglobose, or irregular, solitary or aggregated, immersed with a short neck. Pycnidial walls multi-layered, cells of textura angularis. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells enteroblastic, doliiform or cylindrical, hyaline. Conidia oval to ellipsoid, or ovoid, muriform, hyaline when young, become pale yellow to brown when mature, multi-septate with or without mucilaginous sheath smooth-walled.
Notes: ITS and LSU sequences of our collection (HKAS 122688, KUMCC 21–0217) showed Foliophoma sp. (MN244200, 94.62% similarity) and Foliophoma sp. (MN244170, 99.31% similarity), as closest matches with NCBI. In the phylogeny based on ITS, LSU and SSU showed that our collections form a distinct subclade in Coniothyriaceae, which is basal to Foliophoma (Fig. xx). Morphologically, our collection (HKAS 122688) is distinct from Foliophoma by having muriform and hyaline to brown conidia while, Foliophoma has hyaline, aseptate and broadly ellipsoidal conidia (Crous and Groenewald 2017). Further, our collection is also distinct from other genera in Coniothyriaceae by having multi-septate and hyaline to brown, oval to ellipsoid, or ovoid, muriform conidia (Sutton 1971; Taylor and Crous 2001; Crous et al. 2007; Crous and Groenewald 2017). Therefore, we introduce our collections as a new genus, Ageratinicola based on phylogeny and morphological comparison.
Type species: Ageratinicola kunmingensis Lu L., K.D. Hyde & Tibpromma S.
Species