Geejayessia sinica Z.Q. Zeng & W.Y. Zhuang

Zeng, Zhao-Qing & Zhuang, Wen-Ying, 2018, Two new species of Geejayessia (Hypocreales) from Asia as evidenced by morphology and multi-gene analyses, MycoKeys 42, pp. 7-19 : 7

Geejayessia sinica Z.Q. Zeng & W.Y. Zhuang sp. nov. Figures 4, 5

Type.

CHINA, Hubei Province, Shennongjia, 31°29'17"N, 110°20'58"E, alt. 2800 m, on bark of Buxus sp., 15 September 2014, Z.Q. Zeng, H.D. Zheng, W.T. Qin & K. Chen 9606 (holotype: HMAS 254520), dried ex-type culture HMAS 248726.

Etymology.

Specific epithet refers to the type locality China.

Description.

Mycelium not visible around ascomata or on host. Ascomata perithecial, solitary or in groups of 5 to 40, with a basal stroma, pyriform or subglobose to globose, smooth, collapsing laterally when dry, red to bright red with a dark red ostiolar region, turning dark purple red in KOH and light yellow in LA, 255-343 × 176-314 μm (n = 14). Perithecial wall of a single layer, 18-38 μm thick, of textura prismatica, cells 8-23 × 2-6 μm, walls 1.2-1.5 μm thick. Asci subcylindrical to clavate, with a rounded apex, 6(-8)-spored, 88-123 × 7 –10(– 12.5) μm. Ascospores ellipsoidal, hyaline or pale brown, smooth or finely warted, bicellular, slightly constricted at septum, obliquely uniseriate, 10 –18(– 20) × 5-7.5 μm.

Culture characteristics.

Colony on PDA 42 mm diam. after 7 d at 25 °C, surface cottony, with whitish aerial mycelium, forming concentric rings, with pale vinaceous pigment produced in medium. Colony on SNA 26 mm diam. after 7 d at 25 °C, surface slightly velvet, with sparse whitish aerial mycelium. Colony on CMD 40 mm diam. after 7 d at 25 °C, surface radial, slightly floccose, with sparse whitish aerial mycelium. Conidiophores with short simple branches. Conidiogenous cells monophialidic, cylindrical, slightly tapering toward the tip, indefinite in length. Macroconidia falcate, with an arcuate tip and a pedicellate foot cell, hyaline, (3 –4–)5-septate, 3-septate: 30-53 × 4-5 μm, 4-septate: 50-60 × 4.5-5.2 μm, 5-septate: 53-80 × 4.6-5.3 μm. Microconidia and chlamydospores not observed.

Notes.

Geejayessia sinica is phylogenetically related to and morphologically similar to G. cicatricum and G. desmazieri in perithecial gross morphology, subcylindrical to clavate asci, ellipsoidal to broadly ellipsoidal, uniseptate ascospores, falcate macroconidia ( Schroers et al. 2011). Geejayessia cicatricum differs from G. sinica in having smaller perithecia (160-260 × 125-250 μm) and ascospores [(9.5 –)11.5–13(– 14.5) × (4.5 –)5.0–6(– 6.5) μm], thinner perithecial wall [(12 –)13.5–18(– 21) μm thick), shorter asci [(65.5 –)73–92.5(– 103) μm long), macroconidia with more septa [(2 –)5–7(– 8)] and slow growth on PDA (15-20 mm diam. after 7 d at 25 °C) ( Schroers et al. 2011). Geejayessia desmazieri is distinguished by shorter asci [(75.5 –)85(– 100) μm long], smaller ascospores [(9.5 –)11–12.5(– 15) × (4.5 –)5.5–6(– 7) μm] and slow growth on PDA (20 mm diam. after 7 d at 25 °C) ( Schroers et al. 2011). The ITS sequence of G. sinica differs from that of the other two species by 29 bp and 29 bp divergences in total length of 521 bp. The protein-encoding gene sequences of G. sinica differ from those of G. cicatricum ( G. desmazieri ) by 59 (66) bp differences of 815 bp long ACL1 fragment and 34 (35) bp differences of the 672 bp long RPB2 region.