Montagnula chromolaenicola Mapook & K.D. Hyde, Fungal Diversity 101: 35 (2020)

Wanasinghe, Dhanushka N., Nimalrathna, Thilina S., Qin Xian, Li, Faraj, Turki Kh., Xu, Jianchu & Mortimer, Peter E., 2024, Taxonomic novelties and global biogeography of Montagnula (Ascomycota, Didymosphaeriaceae), MycoKeys 101, pp. 191-232 : 191

Montagnula chromolaenicola Mapook & K.D. Hyde, Fungal Diversity 101: 35 (2020)

Descriptions and illustrations.

See Mapook et al. (2020).

Habitat and distribution.

This species was observed in terrestrial habitats in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, specifically on dead stems of Chromolaena odorata ( Mapook et al. 2020). Additionally, it has also been found in terrestrial habitats in Yunnan, China, where it inhabits dead wood of deciduous hosts (this study).

Material examined.

China, Yunnan Province, Honghe County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture , Dayangjiexiang (23.389965°N, 102.225552°E, 1201 m), on a dead woody climber of an unidentified host, 13 March 2023, D.N. Wanasinghe, DWHH23-17A (HKAS 130321), living culture KUNCC 23-14426 . ibid. 23.389295°N, 102.224780°E, 1200 m, on dead twigs of Lagerstroemia sp. DWHH23-33-2 (HKAS 126543), living culture KUNCC 23-14427 ; ibid. DWHH23-33-3 (HKAS 130320), living culture KUNCC 23-14558 .

Notes.

Through our phylogenetic analyses, we have determined that the newly isolated strains HH33 and HH17A exhibit a monophyletic relationship with the ex-type strain of Montagnula chromolaenicola (MFLUCC 17-1469). Upon conducting further investigations and morphological comparison of our collection with the type species, we have discovered several similarities. These include the size range of the ascomata, asci, and ascospores, as well as the ascospore septation ( Mapook et al. 2020). Consequently, we hereby document our new collections (i.e. HKAS 130321, HKAS 126543 and HKAS 130320) as new records of Montagnula chromolaenicola in China. In a recent study by Sun et al. (2023), Montagnula chromolaenicola , M. puerensis , M. saikhuensis , and M. thailandica were synonymized under the name M. donacina due to the absence of obvious branches in their phylogenetic tree and the close morphological resemblance between these species. However, it is important to note that most of these strains lack informative sequence data for tef 1-α or rpb 2. Our observations, on the other hand, have revealed that the inclusion of protein data in this group leads to the formation of distinct branches and independent lineages. Therefore, we propose retaining the older names for these species, except for Montagnula thailandica , until further research resolves this group using all available sequence data.