Longicorpus S.N.Zhang, K.D.Hyde & J.K.Liu, gen. nov.

Zhang, Sheng-Nan, D. Hyde, Kevin, Gareth Jones, E. B., Jeewon, Rajesh, Cheewangkoon, Ratchadawan & Liu, Jian-Kui, 2019, Striatiguttulaceae, a new pleosporalean family to accommodate Longicorpus and Striatiguttula gen. nov. from palms, MycoKeys 49, pp. 99-129 : 112

Longicorpus S.N.Zhang, K.D.Hyde & J.K.Liu, gen. nov.

Etymology.

Name refers to the elongated ascomata and ascospores.

Description.

Saprobic on mangrove palms. Sexual morph: Ascomata black, scattered to gregarious, immersed, and erumpent through host epidermis by a papilla or a short to long neck, sometimes visible as a slightly raised, dome-shaped area, with a clypeus comprises host tissue and fungal hyphae, ampulliform, subglobose or conical, uni-loculate, coriaceous to carbonaceous, ostiolate, periphysate, papillate, glabrous or somewhat interwoven pale brown hyphae or setae. Peridium composing of pale brown or brown angular cells. Hamathecium of septate, branched, thin, anastomosing trabeculate pseudoparaphyses, embedded in a gelatinous matrix. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, cylindric-clavate, pedicellate, apically rounded, with an ocular chamber. Ascospores uniseriate to biseriate, hyaline to brown, fusiform, 1-3-septate, the upper middle cell slightly swollen towards the central septum, and the end cells paler and smaller, striate, guttulate, surrounded by a mucilaginous sheath. Asexual morph: Undetermined.

Type species.

Longicorpus striataspora (K.D.Hyde) S.N.Zhang, K.D.Hyde & J.K.Liu.

Notes.

Longicorpus differs from Striatiguttula in having elongate, fusiform ascospores with relatively larger middle cells and paler end cells (Figures 3-5). Multi-gene phylogeny also strongly supports the establishment of two genera. Longicorpus is sister to Striatiguttula but forms a distinct phylogenetic sub-clade (Figure 1). There are noticeable differences (nucleotide substitutions) at specific positions in the large subunit nuclear ribosomal DNA: 51, 428, 436, 465 (T substituted by C); 53, 55, 102, 153, 163, 166, 251, 367, 369, 427, 435, 440, 446, 448, 466, 504, 550, 654 (C substituted by T); 130 (G substituted by A); 362, 406 (G substituted by T); 370 (C substituted by A); 547 (A substituted by C).