Hippopotamyces phragmitis Crous, sp. nov.
MycoBank number: MB 832880; Index Fungorum number: IF 832880; Facesoffungi number: FoF 11155;
Etymology. Name refers to the host genus Phragmites from which it was isolated.
Conidiomata pycnidial, globose, 180 – 200 µm diam, brown, opening via irregular rupture; wall of 6–8 layers of brown textura angularis. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells lining the inner cavity, hyaline, smooth, but green olivaceous in mass, ampulliform to doliiform, phialidic, 3 – 4 × 3 – 4 µm. Conidia solitary, hyaline, smooth, guttulate, thick-walled, acicular to sub- cylindrical with taper in upper region to subobtuse apex, base truncate, irregularly curved, 3(– 5)-septate, (25 –)32 – 37(– 45) × 2.5(– 3) µm.
Culture characteristics — Colonies erumpent, spreading, with sparse aerial mycelium and smooth, lobate margin, reach- ing 6 mm diam after 2 wk at 25 °C. On MEA, PDA and OA surface and reverse olivaceous grey.
Typus. SOUTH AFRICA, KwaZulu-Natal Province, St Lucia, on leaves of Phragmites australis (Poaceae), 2010, P.W. Crous, HPC 2570 (holotype CBS H-24165, culture ex-type CPC 36385 = CBS 146086, ITS, LSU and rpb2 sequences GenBank MN562122.1, MN567630.1 and MN556803.1, MycoBank MB832880).
Notes — Hippopotamyces is septoria-like in morphology (Quaedvlieg et al. 2013, Verkley et al. 2013), but is phylogenetically distinct, and represents a new genus in the Mycosphaerellaceae (Videira et al. 2017).
Based on a megablast search of NCBIs GenBank nucleotide database, the closest hits using the ITS sequence had highest similarity to Xenosonderhenia eucalypti (strain CBS 138858, GenBank NR_137937.1; Identities = 494/550 (90 %), 19 gaps (3 %)), Uwemyces elaeidis (strain CPUwZC-01, GenBank KX228299.1; Identities = 494/551 (90 %), 19 gaps (3 %)), and Paramycosphaerella wachendorfiae (strain CBS 129579, GenBank MH865448.1; Identities = 493/551 (89 %), 17 gaps (3 %)). Closest hits using the LSU sequence are Paramycosphaerella marksii (strain CBS 110693, GenBank DQ204758.1; Identities = 792/807 (98 %), 1 gap (0 %)), Paramycosphaerella brachystegiae (strain CBS 136436, GenBank NG_058048.1; Identities = 791/807 (98 %), 1 gap (0 %)), and Pseudozasmidium vietnamense (as Mycosphaerella vietnamensis, strain AGI099A, GenBank EU882134.1; Identities = 783/799 (98 %), 1 gap (0 %)). Closest hits using the rpb2 sequence had highest similarity to Zasmidium syzygii (strain CBS 133580, GenBank MF951730.1; Identities = 690/888 (78 %), 22 gaps (2 %)), Zasmidium cellare (strain CBS 892.85, GenBank KT356875.1; Identities = 719/930 (77 %), 28 gaps (3 %)), and Zasmidium musigenum (strain CBS 190.63, GenBank MF951718.1; Identities = 699/911 (77 %), 14 gaps (1 %)).
Species