Samsoniella fusiformispora T. Wang, Ming J. Chen & B. Huang, 2024

Wang, Ting, Li, Jun, Chang, Xiaoyun, Li, Zengzhi, Hywel-Jones, Nigel L., Huang, Bo & Chen, Mingjun, 2024, Morphology and multigene phylogeny reveal three new species of Samsoniella (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) from spiders in China, MycoKeys 101, pp. 329-346 : 329

Samsoniella fusiformispora T. Wang, Ming J. Chen & B. Huang sp. nov.

Fig. 4

Etymology.

Referring to the typical fusiform conidia.

Typification.

China. Gansu Province: Tianshui City, Maiji National Forest Park, on a spider, underside of tree leaf, 22 September 2010, Wang Liming, holotype MJS20100922-21. Sequences from strain RCEF5406 and RCEF2588 submitted to GenBank with accession numbers. RCEF5406: SSU = OM268843; LSU = OM268848; TEF = OM483864; RPB1 = OM751890. RCEF2588: SSU = OR978312; LSU = OR978315; TEF = OR966515.

Description.

Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Isaria -like. Synnemata multiple, unbranched, arising from the whole body of spider, 3-6 mm long, Stipes cylindrical or clavate, 0.5-1.0 mm wide, pale yellowish, white conidia produced from the synnemaya and hyphal layer (Fig. 4A ). Phialides verticillate, in whorl of 2-5, 5.0-12.0 × 1.9-2.8 μm, with basal portion swollen to ellipsoidal, tapering into a distinct neck, 2.3 -3.8 × 0.5-1.2 μm. Conidia in chains, fusiform, aseptate, hyaline, 2.1-3.5 × 1.6-2.2 μm.

Culture characteristics.

Colonies on 1/4 SDAY fast-growing, 39.5-44 mm diameter in 14 d at 25 °C, colonies white edge to yellowish center, cottony (Fig. 4B ), reverse yellow to orange-yellow, hyphae smooth - walled, branched, hyaline, septate, 1.7-2.6 μm wide. Conidiophores smooth-walled, cylindrical, verticillate. Phialides in whorls of three to five, usually solitary on hyphae, basal portion cylindrical, tapering to a distinct neck; 7.6-15 μm long, 1.9-2.6 μm wide at the base, and 0.7-1.2 μm wide at the apex (Fig. 4D ). Conidia in chains, smooth-walled, hyaline, fusiform, 2.1-3.6(-4.4) × 1.8-2.2 μm (Fig. 4F ). Chlamydospores and synnemata not observed. Size and shape of phialides and conidia similar in culture. Sexual state not observed.

Colonies on PDA, attaining a diam of 36.5-39 mm in 14 d at 25 °C, floccose, colonies white to yellowish, with high mycelial density at the centrum (Fig. 4C ). Reverse pale yellowish edge to orang center. Hyphae smooth- walled, branched, hyaline, septate, 1.5-2.5 μm wide. Conidiophores smooth - walled, cylindrical, verticillate. Phialides in whorls of two to five, usually solitary on hyphae, basal portion cylindrical, tapering to a distinct neck; 7.4-16(-26) μm long, 1.3-1.9(-2.4) μm wide at the base, and 0.5-1.0 μm wide at the apex (Fig. 4E ). Conidia 1-celled, in chains, smooth-walled, hyaline, fusiform, 1.9-3.4 × 1.2-2.4 μm (Fig. 4G ).

Habitat.

Occurring on spider attached to the underside of tree leaf.

Notes.

Samsoniella fusiformispora was unequivocally identified as a member of the Samsoniella genus through phylogenetic analyses (Fig. 1 ) and was found to share a close relationship with S. coleopterorum . However, upon further investigation and comparison of the morphological characteristics of the three new species with other related Samsoniella species (Table 2 ), distinct differences emerged. Colonies of S. fusiformispora were noted to be white to yellowish, with a pale yellowish edge transitioning to an orange center in reverse. In contrast, colonies of S. coleopterorum were observed to be white, with a yellowish reverse.

Figures

Figure 1. Phylogenetic relationships between the genus Samsoniella and closely-related species, based on multigene dataset (SSU, LSU, TEF, RPB 1 and RPB 2) for maximum likelihood / Bayesian method. Note: The ML tree presented here, and the node support rate of the two methods is displayed on the branches. The maximum likelihood support values / Bayesian posterior probabilities value (≥ 75 % / 0.75) are shown, and bold lines mean support for the two analyses were 98 %. The typical strain of the species is marked with the superscript " T "

Figure 4. Samsoniella fusiformispora A fungus on spider B colony on SDAY / 4 C colony on PDA D, F conidiophores structure and conidia on SDAY / 4 E, G conidiophores structure and conidia on PDA. Scale bars: 15 mm (B, C); 10 μm (D-G).