Pestalotiopsis solicola D. H. Li, Z. X. Zhang, J. W. Xia & X. G. Zhang 2024, sp. nov.

Pestalotiopsis solicola D. H. Li, Z. X. Zhang, J. W. Xia & X. G. Zhang sp. nov. Fig. 6 Type. China • Yunnan Province, Kunming, Fumin County, in soil, 20 May 2023, D. H. Li (HMAS 352972, holotype), ex-holotype living culture SAUCC 003804 = CGMCC 3.22681. Etymology. The epithet refers to the substrate “ soil ” from which the holotype was isolated. Description. Conidiomata appear as sporodochial structures in culture, solitary or aggregated, black, erumpent, exuding dark conidial masses. Conidiophores simple or confluent, hyaline, cylindrical to clavate, usually reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells aggregative, smooth, cylindrical to clavate, hyaline, 15.0–40.4 × 2.7–7.2 μm. Conidia fusoid, straight or slightly curved, 4 - septate, smooth, slightly constricted at the septa, 24.3–32.4 × 8.0–10.0 μm; basal cell obconic with a truncate base, 2.0–5.9 μm long, thin-walled, hyaline, basal appendages single, unbranched, tubular, straight or slightly bent, 10.3–13.4 μm long; median cells 3, trapezoid or subcylindrical, thick-walled, pale brown to brown, 18.8–21.3 μm long, specifically, the first median cell from base 3.1–7.5 μm long, the second median cell 6.2–8.2 μm long, the third median cell 4.8–6.9 μm long; apical cell conic with an acute apex, hyaline, thin-walled, 2.1–5.5 μm long; apical appendages 2–5, unbranched, tubular, straight or slightly curved, 25.0–32.0 μm long. Sexual morph unknown. Culture characteristics. The colonies diameter reached 75–80 mm after 7 days of dark culture at 25 ° C on PDA, whitish, flat, with flocculent aerial mycelium forming concentric rings and entire edge; reverse white. Additional material studied. China • Yunnan Province, Kunming, Fumin County, in soil, 20 May 2023, D. H. Li, HSAUP 003806, living culture SAUCC 003806; ibid., HSAUP 003807, living culture SAUCC 003807. Notes. Phylogenetic analyses of three combined sequence (ITS, TEF 1 α and TUB 2) showed that Pestalotiopsis solicola was found to constitute a distinct clade, closely affiliated with P. brassicae (CBS 170.26), P. chinensis (MFLUCC 12-0273), P. hollandica (CBS 265.33), P. italiana (MFLU 14-0214), P. monochaeta (CBS 144.97 and CBS 440.83), P. sequoiae (MFLUCC 13-0399) and P. verruculosa (MFLUCC 12-0274). P. solicola differs from: P. brassicae by 6 / 261 bp in TEF 1 α, P. hollandica by 6 / 273 bp in TEF 1 α and 6 / 769 bp in TUB 2, P. italiana by 9 / 442 bp in ITS, 7 / 266 bp in TEF 1 α and 3 / 446 bp in TUB 2, P. monochaeta by 15 / 282 bp in TEF 1 α, P. verruculosa by 1 / 540 bp in ITS and 2 / 273 bp in TEF 1 α. In addition, a small phylogenetic tree containing the individual genes TEF 1 α and TUB 2 of these species was added (Suppl. materials 3, 4). In morphology, P. solicola is closely related to seven other species, but there are also differences. For more details, see the morphological comparison of the species in Table 3. The differences between P. solicola and other species mainly focus on the number of apical appendages, the size of conidia and the culture characteristics of the PDA medium. (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2012, 2014; Liu et al. 2015; Hyde et al. 2016).