Aphanodesmium gabretae (Koukol & Kol´aˇrov´a) R´eblov´a & Hern.-Restr., comb. nov.
MycoBank number: MB 832923; Index Fungorum number: IF 832923; Facesoffungi number: FoF 14079;
Basionym: Bactrodesmium gabretae Koukol & Kol´aˇrov´a, Nova Hedwigia 91: 244. 2010.
Description: For description and illustration refer to Koukol & Kol´aˇrov´a (2010).
Habitat and distribution: Aphanodesmium gabretae exhibit an endophytic life style and occurs in needles of Picea abies. The species is so far known in Europe in the Czech Republic (Koukol & Kol´aˇrov´a 2010).
Notes: Given the morphology of sporodochia, fasciculate co- nidiophores, monoblastic conidiogenous cells and pigmented, distoseptate and dictyoseptate conidia seceding rhexolytically, this fungus was originally assigned to Bactrodesmium with affinity to the Helotiales based on the Blast search of ITS and LSU sequences (Koukol & Kol´aˇrov´a 2010). In our phylogeny, the ex-type strain ZK171 of B. gabretae is nested in the Helotiales; it resides in an incertae sedis lineage as a sister taxon to two apothecial species with unknown sexual-asexual connections, i.e. Aquapoterium pinicola (strain ATCC MYA-4213, Raja et al. 2008) and Unguicularia unguiculata (strain NK 322). Therefore, B. gabretae is excluded from Bactrodesmium and segregated into a new genus Aphanodesmium and a new combination is proposed. Aphanodesmium gabretae was isolated from green needles of Picea abies incubated on agar plates. In vitro, the fungus forms effuse colonies (on 2 % malt extract) with abundant whitish, aerial mycelium and sporodochium-like clusters at the margin of the colony.