Neodictyocheirospora sichuanensis – Facesoffungi number: FoF16276

Neodictyocheirospora sichuanensis W.H. Tian, K.D. Hyde & Maharachch., in Tian, Liu, Jin, Chen, Zhou, Wu, Su, Guo, Wanasinghe, Hyde, Liu & Maharachchikumbura, Mycosphere 15(1): 1836 (2024)

Index Fungorum number: IF 851882; MycoBank number: MB 851882; Facesoffungi number: FoF16276

Etymology – Named after the Sichuan Province, China, where the holotype was collected.

Holotype – HKAS 131278.

Saprobic on the dead twigs of Cryptomeria fortunei. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Colonies punctiform, superficial, scattered, solitary, and pale brow. Conidiophores micronematous, synnematous, reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells holoblastic, integrated, terminal, sometimes flat at the base, smooth, and pale brown to brown. Conidia 25–120 × 17–77 μm (x̅ = 46 × 27 μm, n = 40), solitary, irregular-shaped, mostly oval to ellipsoid, complanate, with an inconspicuous, consisting of 6–12 vertical rows of subglobose cells, each row with 8–12 cells, rows not separating, smooth, with a basal connecting cell, pale brown, without appendages or mucilaginous sheath. Sexual morph: Undetermined.

Material examined – China, Sichuan Province, Ya’an City, Longcanggou National Forest Park, N 29°37’36”, E 102°53’13”, elevation 628 m, 28 July 2022, within dead twigs of Cryptomeria fortunei, W.H. Tian LCGS08_3 (HKAS 131278, holotype).

GenBank numbers – ITS: OR887392, LSU: OR887103

Notes – The phylogenetic analyses showed that Neodictyocheirospora appendiculata clustered as sister to Neodictyocheirospora sichuanensis with 98% ML, 1.00 BYPP statistical support. However, they differ in morphology, i.e., conidia of N. appendiculata and N. sichuanensis vary in size (25–45 × 15–28 μm vs. 25–120 × 17–77 μm), shapes (cheiroid and oval to ellipsoid vs. irregular-shaped), cell composition (5–9 vertical rows of cells and each row of 7–13 cells vs. 6–12 vertical rows of subglobose cells and each row with 8–12 cells) and appendages (subglobose and cap-like appendage vs. without appendages). In addition, the colonies of N. appendiculata are velvety, pulvinate, and dark brown to black, while the colonies of N. sichuanensis are scattered, solitary, and pale brow. Based on pairwise nucleotide comparisons, N. appendiculata differs from N. sichuanensis by 33/488 bp (gaps: 11/488 bp) in ITS; 20/794 bp (gaps: 3/794 bp) in LSU.

Figure 1 – Neodictyocheirospora sichuanensis (HKAS 131278, holotype). a Specimen. b, c Solitary conidia on dead twigs of Cryptomeria fortunei. d–e Immature conidia. f–j Mature conidia. Scale bars: d–j = 10 μm. The scale bar of d applies to d–j.