Beltraniella danzhouensis D. H. Li, J. W. Xia & X. G. Zhang 2025, sp. nov.

Beltraniella danzhouensis D. H. Li, J. W. Xia & X. G. Zhang sp. nov. Fig. 4 Etymology. The epithet “ danzhouensis ” denotes the geographical origin of the strains, namely Danzhou City. Holotype. HMAS 354001. Description. Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Setae numerous, erect, arising from radially lobed basal cells, straight or flexuous, unbranched, single or in small groups, thick-walled, smooth, pale brown, paler towards apex, 140–208 μm long, 4–7.4 μm wide, tapering to a pointed apex, or arising from a pale brown, swollen, radially lobed basal cell, 12–25 μm in diameter. Conidiophores macronematous, simple or branched, septate, smooth-walled, swollen at the base, subhyaline to pale brown, thin-walled, arising from basal cells of setae or from separate, 22–47 μm long, 3–7 μm wide. Conidiogenous cells holoblastic, integrated, determinate, terminal, cylindrical, oblong, hyaline to subhyaline, smooth, 11–21 × 5.7–6.0 μm (av. = 15.91 ± 4.31 × 5.30 ± 0.53 μm). Separating cells clavate, thin-walled, smooth, hyaline, 1 - denticulate at each end, 12.18–13.59 × 3.7–3.9 μm (av. = 12.90 ± 0.99 × 3.84 ± 0.01 μm). Conidia arise directly from conidiogenous cells or from separating cells, aggregated, acrogenous, simple, dry, straight, thin-walled, turbinate to obpyriform, rostrate to pointed at proximal end, rounded at distal end, hyaline to subhyaline, aseptate, 17.6–22.6 × 5.1–7.8 μm (av. = 20.48 ± 1.26 × 5.96 ± 0.71 μm). Culture characteristics. Colonies on PDA at 25 ° C in darkness, occupying an entire 90 mm Petri dish in 14 d. Surface greyish white, granular, dense. Reverse cream-colored in the center and pale brown margin. Material examined. China • Hainan Province, Danzhou City, Hainan Tropical Botanical Garden, on decaying leaves, 10 April 2023, Q. Y. Liu, (HMAS 354001, holotype), ex-type living culture CGMCC 3.28827 = SAUCC 6679-1; Ibid., (HSAUP 6834-2, paratype), living culture SAUCC 6834-2. GeneBank numbers. SAUCC 6679-1: ITS = PQ 351221, LSU = PQ 351437, RPB 2 = PV 420888, TEF 1 - α = PV 420895, TUB 2 = PV 420903; SAUCC 6834-2: ITS = PV 577717, LSU = PV 570361, RPB 2 = PV 420889, TEF 1 - α = PV 420896, TUB 2 = PV 420904. Notes. Based on the phylogenetic analyses using sequences of two genes (ITS and LSU), Beltraniella danzhouensis belongs to the large clade, where it shows a relationship with Be. brevis and Be. jianfengensis. Be. danzhouensis differs from Be. brevis (MFLU 19-2254, ex-type strain) by its production of shorter separating cells (12.18–13.59 × 3.7–3.9 µm vs. 11–18 × 3.4–4.1 µm) and distinct morphological features. Specifically, Be. danzhouensis (SAUCC 6679-1) produced thin-walled, turbinate to obpyriform conidia lacking a hyaline supraequatorial transverse band, with clavate separating cells, whereas Be. brevis (MFLU 19-2254) has conidia with a hyaline supraequatorial transverse band and fusiform separating cells, and the presence of 14 distinct nucleotide positions (11 / 548 in ITS, 3 / 766 in LSU) (Hyde et al. 2020 a). Be. danzhouensis differs from Be. jianfengensis (SAUCC 639001, ex-type strain) by its production of shorter conidiophores (22–47 μm vs. 171.8–254.9 μm and 20.1–57.2 μm) and bigger conidiogenous cells (11–21 × 5.7–6.0 µm vs. 9.2–15.3 × 2.2–5.0 μm) and the presence of 14 distinct nucleotide positions (8 / 567 in ITS, 6 / 781 in LSU) (Liu et al. 2025). Consequently, Be. danzhouensis was classified as a new species within the genus Beltraniella through a combination of phylogenetic analysis and morphological comparisons.