Blastosporium Z. F. Yu & H. Zheng

Zheng, Hua, Zhang, ZhenNa, Wen, ZhiJia, F. Castaneda-Ruiz, Rafael & ZeFen Yu,, 2019, Blastosporiumpersicolor gen. et sp. nov., a new helotialean fungus, MycoKeys 51, pp. 55-64 : 59

Blastosporium Z. F. Yu & H. Zheng gen. nov.

Etymology.

Latin, Blasto-, referring to the blastic conidial ontogeny, + Latin, sporium, referring to the conidia.

Type species.

Blastosporium persicolor Z. F. Yu & H. Zheng

Diagnosis.

Characterised by mono- and polyblastic, integrated or discrete conidiogenous cells, solitary or blastocatenate, unicellular, obovoid, oblong, ellipsoidal, allantoid conidia (5-8 × 2.3-4.1 μm). Differs from the genus Tetracladium De Wild. by macronematous or semi-macronematous conidiophores and mono- and polyblastic conidiogenous cells.

Description.

Mycelium partly superficial and partly immersed, composed of branched, septate, smooth, hyaline hyphae. Conidiophores macronematous or semi-macronematous, erect or prostrate, smooth, hyaline, sometimes reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells mono- and polyblastic, terminal, integrated or discrete, determinate, sometimes with sympodial elongations, smooth, hyaline. Conidia solitary or blastocatenate, acrogenous, unicellular, obovoid, oblong, ellipsoidal, allantoid, broad fusiform to irregular, smooth, hyaline.

Distribution.

China.

Notes.

Blastosporium is superficially similar to the genera, Acaromyces Boekhout et al. and Meira Boekhout et al. Their conidiophores are reduced to conidiogenous cells, which produce solitary or sometimes blastocatenate, unicellular, hyaline conidia by blastic conidial ontogeny. These genera are yeast-like hyphomycetes that have been connected phylogenetically with Exobasidiomycetidae ( Ustilaginomycetes, Basidiomycota) ( Boekhout et al. 2003, Seifert et al. 2011).

Hyphozyma de Hoog & M.T.Sm. also superficially resembles Blastosporium , but Hyphozyma is a typical yeast-like hyphomycete, characterised by undifferentiated conidiophores and conidia are unicellular, hyaline, solitary or produced in basipetal chains ( de Hoog and Smith 1981, Seifert et al. 2011).