Alternosema bostrichidis sp. nov.
MycoBank number: MB 646504; Index Fungorum number: IF 646504; Facesoffungi number: FoF;
Life cycle: The species diagnosis corresponds to that of the genus. Spores are ovoid. Unfixed spores measure 3.7–4.2 × 2.0–2.6 μm, fixed and stained spores 3.5–5.0 × 2.4–2.8 μm (average 3.8 × 2.5 μm). The spore wall is 250–280 nm thick, with a 49–55 nm thick exospore, exhibiting two distinct layers. The anisofilar polar filament arranged in 11–17 (usually 13) 113–122 nm wide coils in one row, The row of coils is approximately half the length of the spore. The angle of tilt is approximately 550. The polaroplast is bipartite, the anterior and posterior parts composed of dense lamellae and rare lamellae, respectively. Diplokaryon is in the center of the spore. Tissue localization: Infection is predominant in the musculature, and frequently seen in gonads of both genders, midgut epithelium, Malpighian tubules vessels, and in the fat body. Infected tissues are hypertrophic without production of syncytia.
Type host: the lesser grain borer Prostephanus truncates (Horn, 1878) (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae).
Additional hosts: Dinoderus bifoveolatus Wollaston, 1858, Dinoderus porcellus Lesne, 1923, and Dinoderus minutus Fabricius, 1775 (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae).
Type locality: Mexico.
Type slides: the syntype slides are deposited at the Collection of Microsporidia, which is a part of the State Collection of Entomopathogenic and Phytopathogenic Microorganisms and their Metabolites affiliated to the All- Russian Institute of Plant Protection RAAS (Podbelsky sh. 3, 196,608 St. Petersburg, Pushkin, Russian Federation) under deposition numbers 931,115-A-2 (Giemsa-stained smears), 931,115-A-4 (hematoxylin-stained smears), and 931,115-A- 5 and 931,115-A-6 (methylene blue-stained semithin sections).
Genbank Accession number: KP455651 for partial small subunit rRNA gene sequence.
Etymology: The species name alludes to the previous taxon designation, Nosema bostrichidis (Zepeda-Rodriguez and Ibarra 1991), which is considered as nomen nudum, conserved for nomenclatural stability.