Albacillium hingganense M.M. Ding & L.J. Xu.

Ding, Mengmeng, Li, Yupeng, Bai, Yang, Gai, Pingzhuo, Wang, Jian, Jiang, Zizhu, Hu, Yanfeng & Xu, Lijian, 2024, Albacillium hingganense gen. et sp. nov. (Clavicipitaceae) from forest litters in Northeast China, Phytotaxa 650 (2), pp. 157-168 : 163-165

Albacillium hingganense M.M. Ding & L.J. Xu. sp. nov. ( FIGURE 2 )

Mycobank No.: 850889

Type — CHINA. HEILONGJIANG: Greater Hinggan Mountains, 52.33°N, 124.7°E, Ex leaves ( Betula platyphylla , Larix gmelinii . and Pinus sylvestris ) litter ( MEFL706 ), 28 Sep, 2018, Z. Li, B. Liu, & L.J. Xu, HMPHU 1246 (holotype). Ex-type living culture CCTCC M 20232069 ( SGSF339 ). GenBank : ITS = OR740562; LSU = OR740566; rpb1 = OR769082; rpb2 = OR769081; SSU = MN055707; tef1 = MN065771.

Colonies on MEA, reaching 25.6 ± 0.8 mm after 14 d, white, smooth, velvet, margin entire; reverse pale yellow to brown. Colonies on OA reaching 26.6 ± 0.03 mm after 14 d, white, smooth, felty, margin entire; reverse white to pale yellow. Colonies on PDA, reaching 23.7 ± 0.7 mm after 14 d, white, smooth, velvet, nearly round to round, margin entire; reverse pale yellow.

Hyphae hyaline, smooth, branched, septate, 0.8–2.5 μm in diameter. Phialides arising from aerial hyphae, hyaline, solitary, lateral, smooth, short to slender, straight to flexuous, tapering towards the apex, 8.6–60.1 × 0.9–1.5 µm (= 23.0 × 1.2 μm, n = 100). Conidia ellipsoidal to cymbiform, straight to slightly curved, hyaline, aseptate, smooth-walled, eguttulate or with 1–2 small guttulae, arranged in mucoid globose heads at the apices of the phialides, 2.0–4.3 × 0.8–1.3 μm (= 3.2 × 1.1 μm, n = 100). Sexual morph absent.

The optimal medium and temperature for the colony growth were OA and 25 ℃ where the colony reached around 26.6 mm in diameter in 14 d ( TABLE 3 ). And the optimal pH on OA for growth is 7.

Diagnosis: — Colonies white, velvet, margin entire; phialides arising from aerial hyphae, hyaline, solitary, lateral, tapering towards the apex; Conidia ellipsoidal to cymbiform, hyaline, aseptate, eguttulate or with 1–2 guttulae, arranged in mucoid globose heads at the apices of the phialides.

Etymology: —Rreferring to the location where the type material was collected.

Habitat: —Forest litters (fallen leaves and soil).

Known Distribution: —Greater Hinggan mountains, Heilongjiang province, China.

Notes: —The ITS, LSU, rpb2, and SSU sequences of A. hingganense showed 89.11%, 97.73%, 82.07%, and 99.57% similarity to C. griseum . The rpb1 and tef1 of A. hingganense showed 81.26% and 91.79% similarity to Regiocrella sinensis ( Clavicipitaceae ) and Rotiferophthora angustispora ( Cordycipitaceae ). In addition, The ITS sequence of A. hingganense showed 83.77% and 86.67% similarity to Metarhizium flavoviride ( Clavicipitaceae ) and Purpureocillium lilacinum ( Ophiocordycipitaceae ). The pairwise sequence similarities of A. hingganensis with its closest taxa are shown in TABLE 2 . According to the multi-gene phylogenetic analysis, A. hingganense and Chlorocillium formed a monophyletic group. Albacillium hingganense is distinct from Chlorocillium spp. and other similar taxa by having conidia arranged in mucoid globose heads at the apices of the phialides arising from aerial hyphae. In addition, A. hingganense showed higher optimal temperature 25 ℃ for the colonial growth as compared to C. griseum ( Zare & Gams 2016) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Albacillium hingganense. A, The front of colony in MEA. B. The reverse of colony in MEA. C. The front of colony in OA. D. The reverse of colony in OA. E. The front of colony in PDA. F. The reverse of colony in PDA. G. The front of colony in YMA. H. The reverse of colony in YMA. I. Conidia. J–Q. Hyphae, phialides, and conidia. J–P. Bars = 10 μm. Q. Bar = 50 μm.