Mastigosporellaceae C.M. Tian, N. Jiang & Crous

MycoBank number: MB 831778; Index Fungorum number: IF 831778; Facesoffungi number: FoF14477;

Etymology: Name derived from its type genus, Mastigosporella.

Type genus: Mastigosporella Höhn.

Sexual morph: Ascomata immersed, scattered, solitary, globose to subglobose, pale brown, coriaceous, ostiolate, papillate. Ostiolar canal narrowing toward base, internally lined with hyaline periphyses, cells around base small, thick-walled, dark brown. Hamathecium aparaphysate. Peridium composed of thick-walled, compressed, brown cells of textura angularis. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, fusoid, short-stalked, apex rounded with J- apical ring. Ascospores ellipsoid to fusoid with pointed ends, unicellular, hyaline, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: Conidiomata immersed, pycnidial, yellowish on host tissue, with central ostiole, which can become papillate, exuding a yellow conidial cirrhus; wall of 6–10 layers of hyaline to subhyaline textura globulosa to textura angularis. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells hyaline, smooth, lining inner cavity, subcylindrical to ampulli-form or doliiform, proliferating percurrently near apex. Conidia solitary, aseptate, fusoid-ellipsoid, hyaline or brown, smooth, thick-walled, granular, developing a solitary apical appendage, basal hilum truncate, with minute marginal frill; apical appendage developing as continuation of conidium body.

Notes: Mastigosporella was included in Cryphonectriaceae by Crous et al. (2013) based on 28S sequence data. However, all five Mastigosporella species, M. anisophylleae, M. georgiana, M. hyaline, M. nyssae, and M. pigmentate, are different from cryphonectriaceous species by having apical conidial appendages (Nag Raj 1993; Crous et al. 2013, 2018; Rossman et al. 2015). From the phylogeny (FIG. 1), Mastigosporella species form a clade distinct from Cryphonectriaceae with high support values (ML/BI = 100/0.99). Hence, we established a new family, Mastigosporellaceae, to accommodate the genus Mastigosporella.

Figure 9. Morphology of Mastigosporella anisophylleae (CBS 136421). a. Conidiomata formed on OA. b. Conidiogenous cells with attached conidia. c, d. Conidia. Bars: b–d = 10 μm.

Species