Jenniferia Mongkolsamrit, Noisripoom & Tasanathai, 2022

Mongkolsamrit, Suchada, Noisripoom, Wasana, Tasanathai, Kanoksri, Kobmoo, Noppol, Thanakitpipattana, Donnaya, Khonsanit, Artit, Petcharad, Booppa, Sakolrak, Baramee & Himaman, Winanda, 2022, Comprehensive treatise of Hevansia and three new genera Jenniferia, Parahevansia and Polystromomyces on spiders in Cordycipitaceae from Thailand, MycoKeys 91, pp. 113-149 : 113

Jenniferia Mongkolsamrit, Noisripoom & Tasanathai gen. nov.

Type species.

Jenniferia thomisidarum Mongkolsamrit, Noisripoom & Tasanathai.

Etymology.

In honour of Dr. Jennifer Luangsa-ard, for her support and guidance in arthropod pathogenic fungi research.

Description.

Spider hosts covered with pale yellow to dark greyish-yellow mycelium. Sexual morph: Stromata non-stipitate. Perithecia growing in subiculum, superficial, aggregated in clusters forming a cushion. Asci cylindrical with thickened caps. Ascospores hyaline, septate part-spores alternately connected with thread-like structures along the whole ascospore (Fig. 2d ). Asexual morph: Synnemata arising from all parts of host, numerous, cylindrical to clavate. Conidiogenous cells phialidic, producing along the synnemata or upper part of the synnemata. Phialides flask-shaped with distinct necks. Conidia hyaline, fusiform or cylindrical.

Notes.

Jenniferia is strongly supported as a monophyletic clade by having unique morphological characteristics of perithecia and ascospores. In sexual morph specimens, this genus produces aggregated superficial perithecia forming a cushion with septate part-spores alternately connected with thread-like structures along the whole ascospore (Fig. 2d ), which are not seen in any allied genera of the family.

Figures

Figure 2. The types of ascospores morphologies observed in natural specimens of Cordycipitaceae: a filiform, multiseptate, whole ascospores (square) b filamentous, multiseptate ascospores disarticulating into part-spores (circle) c bola-shaped, whole ascospores (triangle) and d whole ascospores with septate part-spores alternately connected with thread-like structures (star). Scale bars: 10 µm (a, b); 20 µm (c, d).