Diaporthe litsease Y. R. Sun, Yong Wang bis & K. D. Hyde

Diaporthe litsease Y. R. Sun, Yong Wang bis & K. D. Hyde, Phytotaxa 665 (3): 248 (2024) Fig. 5 Description. Saprobic on decaying branch of Phellodendron chinense. Sexual morph: Not observed. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous. Conidiomata 298–341 × 207–257 μm (x ̄ = 316 × 228 μm, n = 10), solitary, scattered, dark brown to black, discoid to elliptical, unilocular. Conidiomatal wall 13–48 μm wide, parenchymatous consisting of multi-layers of brown, thick-walled cells of textura angularis or textura globulosa. Conidiophores hyaline, smooth, straight to flexural, basally branched or unbranched. Conidiogenous cells 12–23 × 1.7–2.8 μm (x ̄ = 16 × 2.3 μm, n = 20) for producing alpha-conidia, 11–15 × 1.2–2.5 μm (x ̄ = 12.6 × 1.7 μm, n = 20) for producing beta-conidia, terminal, enteroblastic, monophialidic, cylindrical, slightly tapering towards the apex. Alpha-conidia 6–10 × 2.3–3.3 μm (x ̄ = 8.4 × 2.7 μm, n = 50), hyaline, aseptate, ellipsoid to fusiform, smooth-walled, containing 1–5 guttules, base subtruncate. Beta-conidia 27–36 × 1.1–1.8 μm (x ̄ = 32 × 1.4 μm, n = 50), hyaline, aseptate, filiform, curved, tapering towards both ends. Gamma-conidia not observed. Culture characteristics. Alpha-conidia germinated in sterile water within 24 h at 25 ° C. Colonies on PDA reached 55–60 mm in diameter after 7 d at 25 ° C. Colony circular to slightly lobate, distinctly zonate, with a darker olivaceous-brown central disc surrounded by a thick pale buff to grey-green annulus of floccose tufts and an outer olivaceous ring. Surface uneven, numerous punctiform pycnidia, densest in the central disc. Aerial mycelium dense and cottony-floccose, forming small fasciculate tufts, margin entire to slightly lobate, with a thin band of submerged hyaline mycelium at the extreme edge. Reverse blackish to dark brown in the centre, becoming olivaceous-brown and then light brown towards the margin, with a conspicuous diffusing olivaceous-brown pigment in the PDA. Sporulation observed after approximately 20 d in culture, producing abundant alpha-conidia. Material examined. • China, Sichuan Province, Leshan City, Jinkouhe County, Jixing Village, 29°16'58.10"N, 103°13'7.42"E, 1599 m elev., from branches of Phellodendron chinense, 1 May 2024, X. Y. Li, LXY 202405031 A (SICAU 25-0161), culture (SICAUCC 25-0133); ibid., LXY 202405031 B (SICAU 25-0162), culture (SICAUCC 25-0134). Notes. Diaporthe litseae was described as an endophyte on healthy leaves of Litsea kobuskiana from Guizhou Province, China (Sun et al. 2024). In our phylogenetic analysis, two isolates obtained from branches of Phellodendron chinense grouped within the D. litseae clade with strong statistical support (100 % MLBS / 1.00 BYPP; Fig. 1). Morphologically, the new isolates exhibit characteristics consistent with D. litseae, particularly in having ellipsoid to fusiform, multiguttulate alpha conidia (6–10 × 2.3–3.3 μm vs. 5–9 × 2–3.5 μm). Pairwise sequence comparisons between our representative strain SICAUCC 25-0133 and the ex-type strain of D. litseae (GUCC 23-0055) revealed high similarity, viz. 99.61 % in ITS (508 / 510 bp, 1 gap), 97.98 % in tef 1 - α (291 / 297 bp, 0 gap), 100 % in his 3 (422 / 422 bp, 0 gap) and 99.33 % in cal (446 / 449 bp, 0 gap). Therefore, we identify the new collections as D. litseae, marking the first record on P. chinense as saprobe in Sichuan, China.