Neochlamydotubeufia fusiformis

Neochlamydotubeufia fusiformis Y.Z. Lu, Boonmee & K.D. Hyde

Index Fungorum number: IF 554862; Facesoffungi number: FoF 04732

Holotype: MFLU 17–1164

Etymology: “fusiformis” referring to fusiform ascospores of this fungus.

Saprobic on submerged decaying wood in a freshwater stream. Sexual morph: Ascomata 140–180 high × 140–170 μm diameter (x̄ = 155 × 150 μm, n = 10), superficial, solitary or scattered, globose to subglobose, black, setose, coriaceous, with a central ostiole. Ostiole single, central. Setae 50–80 × 3–5 μm, covering the whole ascoma, dark brown to black, taper to an acute apex, unbranched, thick-walled. Peridium 15–25 μm thick, composed of several layers of cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium 1–2 μm wide, branched, hyaline pseudoparaphyses. Asci 80–100 × 15–18 μm (x̄ = 90 × 16 μm, n = 20), 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, saccate, apically rounded, short pedicellate. Ascospores 35–40 × 5–6 μm (x̄ = 38 × 5.5 μm, n = 50), 2–3-seriate, fusiform, slightly curved, tapering toward the ends, enlarged at the 3rd cell, guttulate, 5–6-septate, not constricted at septa, hyaline to pale brown. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous, chlamydosporous. Chlamydospores 60–100 μm long, 40–60 μm diam. (x̄ = 67 × 35 μm, n = 20), holoblastic, sometimes intercalary, broadly oval to ellipsoid, dictyoseptate, pale brown when immature, darkened to black when matured, with terminal cells round and subhyaline. (Lu et al. 2018)

Culture characteristics: Ascospores germinating on water agar and germ tubes produced from ascospores within 12 h. Colonies growing slowly on malt extract agar (MEA), circular, with flat surface, veined and without wrinkle, edge undulate, reaching 21 mm in 4 weeks at 28 °C, brown to dark brown in MEA media. Mycelium superficial and partially immersed, branched, septate, hyaline to pale brown.

Material examined: THAILAND, Uttaradit, Laplae, Mae Phun, Ban Ton Klua, on decaying wood in a freshwater stream, 24 October 2015, Saranyaphat Boonmee, UTD20 (MFLU 17–1164, holotype), ex-type living cultures, MFLUCC 16–0016, TBRC; Ibid., UTD15–3 (MFLU 17–1163, paratype), living culture, MFLUCC 16–0214.

Notes: Morphologically, Neochlamydotubeufia fusiformis resembles N. khunkornensis in ascomata and asci as well as ascospores but can be recognized by its smaller ascomata (140–180 × 140–170 μm vs. 180–250 × 200–250 μm) (Boonmee et al. 2011, as Chlamydotubeufia khunkornensis) and ascospores enlarged at the 3rd cell while N. khunkornensis lacks this characteristic. Phylogenetically, our two new isolates formed a clade which shares a sister relationship to N. khunkornensis with high bootstrap support and supports them as distinct species. The asexual morph of N. fusiformis was found on natural decaying woody substrate, and we linked its asexual-sexual morphs based on their identical molecular data. (Notes from Lu et al. 2018)

Freshwater distribution: Thailand (Lu et al. 2018)