Neoleptosporella yunnanensis C.F. Liao & Doilom sp. nov. Fig. ###

MycoBank number: MB 559275; Index Fungorum number: IF 559275; Facesoffungi number: FoF 10584;

Etymology: ‘yunnanensis’ referring to the species was collected from Yunnan province, China.

Holotype: KUMCC 21-0014 (112879)

Saprobic on stem of Heteropanax fragrans. Sexual morph: Ascomata 220 – 377 × 162 – 325 μm (  = 303 × 267 μm, n = 30), solitary, erumpent or immersed beneath small clypeus, show with a disc around the neck, comparing black, coriaceous, uni-loculate, subglobose to depressed globose, dome-shaped, flatted at the base, ostiole central. Ostioles 74 – 195 × 17 – 66 μm (  = 125 × 32 μm, n = 30), black cylindrical. Peridium 7 – 19 μm (  = 12 μm, n = 30) thin, comprised of an inner layer of hyaline textura angularis cell and an outer layer of brown flatten cell, outer cells merging with the host epidermal cells. Paraphyses 1.2 – 2.8 μm wide (  = 1.8 μm, n = 30), hyaline, unbranched, septate, border at the base, tapering to the end, longer than asci. Asci 58 – 127 × 8 – 15 μm (  = 98 × 12 μm, n = 30), 8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical, apex rounded with a wedge-shaped, J-, apical ring. Ascospores 29 – 36 × 3.5 – 7.5 μm (  = 32 × 5 μm, n = 30), filiform, straight or curved, hyaline, aseptate, ends rounded, with polar mucilaginous appendage at the apex, guttulate or verrucose. Asexual morph: undetermined.

Material examined: CHINA, Yunnan Province, Kunming, on dead stem of Heteropanox fregans, 12 August 2020, C.F. Liao (KUN–HKAS 112879, holotype), ex-type culture KUMCC 21-0014.

GenBank number: SSU: ######, LSU: ######, ITS: ######, TEF: ######.

Notes: In the phylogenetic analysis, Neoleptosporella yunnanensis is related to the Neoleptosporella camporesiana (MFLUCC 15-1016) and Neoleptosporella clematidis (MFLUCC 17-2074) (Fig###). In morphology, our strain was resembling Neoleptosporella genus in having immersed ascomata which are globose to depressed globose, asci with wedge-shaped, and J-, with fusiform, aseptate ascospores. However, Neoleptosporella yunnanensis differs from N. camporesiana by its smaller ascomata (303 × 267 μm vs 250 × 800 μm), asci (98 × 12 μm vs 187 × 10 μm) and ascospores (32 × 5 μm vs 126 × 3 μm); Neoleptosporella yunnanensis different N. clematidis in having big ascomata (170 × 115 μm), asci (75 × 8 μm) and shorter ascospores. Neoleptosporella yunnanensis differentiated from N. camporesiana by 22 and 9 nucleotides (totally have 483 of ITS, 849 of LSU) in ITS and LSU; Neoleptosporella yunnanensis differentiated from N. clematidis by 89 nucleotides nucleotides (totally 858 of LSU, N. clematidis ITS was unavailable) in LSU. Hence, we introduced Neoleptosporella yunnanensis as a new species based different morphology and available phylogenetic analysis supported.