Nemania camelliae Y.H. Pi & Q.R. Li, 2021

Pi, Yin Hui, Long, Si Han, Wu, You Peng, Liu, Li Li, Lin, Yan, Long, Qing De, Kang, Ji Chuan, Kang, Ying Qian, Chang, Chu Rui, Shen, Xiang Chun, Wijayawardene, Nalin N., Zhang, Xu & Li, Qi Rui, 2021, A taxonomic study of Nemania from China, with six new species, MycoKeys 83, pp. 39-67 : 39

Nemania camelliae Y.H. Pi & Q.R. Li sp. nov.

Fig. 2

Etymology.

Refers to the host genus name, camellia.

Material examined.

China, Guizhou Province, Tongren City, Fanjingshan Nature Reserve (27°47'11.41"N, 108°43'43.90"E, altitude: 515 m), on dead wood of Camellia sp., 15 October 2020, Y.H. Pi, 2020FJS26 (GMB0068, holotype; GMBC0068, ex-type living culture; KUN-HKAS 112689, isotype) .

Description.

Saprobic on the surface of decaying wood of Camellia sp. Sexual morph: Stromata pulvinate to effused-pulvinate, rarely perithecioid, orbicular to irregularly elongated, often coalescent; single distribution or confluent into irregularly elongated compound stromata, 1.5-4 mm long × 1-2 mm wide × 0.5-1 mm high, surface dull black, hard-textured, with inconspicuous to moderately exposed perithecial contours and usually sloping margins, internally black between ascomata, carbonaceous; subperithecial tissue black, conspicuous; does not release a coloured pigment in 10% KOH. Perithecia 0.65-0.95 mm diam. × 0.65-0.7 mm high, subglobose to depressed-spherical. Ostioles finely papillate, black, conspicuously sunken in a shallow discoid depression; ostiolar area blackish, shiny, frequently flattened. Asci 180-290 × 6-11 μm (av. = 230 × 7.5 μm, n = 30), 8-spored, unitunicate, long-cylindrical, long-stipitate, the spore-bearing parts 80-95 µm long, apically rounded with a J+, apical apparatus, 2-3 × 2.5-4 µm (av. = 2.5 × 3 µm, n = 30), jar shape. Ascospores 10-14 × 4.5-7 μm (av. = 12 × 5.5 μm, n = 30), uniseriate, unicellular, ellipsoid to slightly fusoid, inequilateral, with slightly narrow rounded ends, smooth, brown to dark brown, with a fairly conspicuous, straight, almost spore-length germ slit on the least convex side; lacking a sheath and appendage; perispore indehiscent in 10% KOH. Asexual morph: Undetermined.

Culture characteristics.

The colony grows on PDA medium with a diameter of 6 cm after one week at 25 °C; white, cottony, circular, flocculent or velvety, with light yellow to slightly yellow at the centre. Not sporulating on OA nor on PDA.

Other examined material.

CHINA, Guizhou Province, Tongren City, Fanjingshan Nature Reserve (27°42'10.26"N, 108°31'35.34"E, altitude: 426 m), on dead wood of Camellia sp., 16 October 2020, Y.H. Pi, 2020FJS54-1 (GMB0067), living culture, GMBC0067 .

Notes.

Phylogenetic analyses showed that Nemania camelliae form a distinct clade with N. bipapillata (82% ML, 0.97 BYPP, Fig. 1 ). Morphologically, N. camelliae is similar to N. immersidiscus Van der Gucht et al. in having a small discoid depression around the ostiolar papilla. However, the stromata of N. camelliae are entirely carbonaceous, whereas those of N. immersidiscus contain white soft tissue between and beneath the perithecia ( Ju and Rogers 2002). Moreover, N. immersidiscus has slightly thinner ascospores [(10-)11-14(-16) × (4-)4.5-5.5 µm)].

Figures

Figure 1. RAxML tree based on analysis of a combined dataset of ITS, α-actin, rpb 2 and β-tubulin sequences from taxa of Nemania and related genera. Bayesian posterior probability (PP) ≥ 0.90 is marked at the node and the maximum likelihood bootstrap support (BS) values greater than ≥ 75 %; a dash (" - ") indicates a value <0.90 (PP) or <75 % (BS). The strain number is indicated after the species name. The here-studied strains are in bold and new species are indicated in red.

Figure 2. Nemania camelliae (GMB 0068, holotype) A type material B, C stromata on the surface of host D transverse section of stroma E longitudinal section of stroma F-H asci with ascospores I pigments in 10 % KOH J ascospore with indehiscent perispore in 10 % KOH K ascus apical apparatus (stained in Melzer's Reagent) L, M ascospores N, O colonies on PDA (N - upper, O - lower). Scale bars: 0.5 mm (C-E); 10 μm (F-H, J-M).