Upretia zeorina Li J. Li & Printzen, 2023

Li, Lijuan, Zhang, Yanyun, Printzen, Christian, Wang, Lisong & Wang, Xinyu, 2023, The phylogeny and taxonomy of Upretia (Caloplacoideae, Teloschistaceae), reveal three new species from Southwestern China, MycoKeys 100, pp. 233-243 : 233

Upretia zeorina Li J. Li & Printzen sp. nov.

Fig. 2A-F

Diagnosis.

Thallus epilithic, brown to blackish brown, areolate to squamulose, partly pruinose; apothecia zeorine type, disc black; ascospores polarilocular, 11.5-18.0 × 6.5-11.0 μm; conidia narrowly bacilliform, 4.0-6.0 × 0.5 μm. Containing gyrophoric acid.

Type.

China. Sichuan Prov.: Huili Co., on the way from Huili to Jiaopingdu , elev. 1880 m, 26°21′N, 102°23′E, on rock, 11 Apr 2019, Wang Lisong et al. 19-63056 (KUN-L-66526- Holotype, FR-0183125- Isotype ); GenBank No.: ITS-MW798796, mtSSU- MW798794 .

Description.

Thallus areolate to squamulose, irregular in outline, squamules plane, adnate, rarely raised and free from substrate at edges, entire or rarely incised, 0.5-2.5 mm in diam. Upper surface brown to blackish brown, smooth or sparingly fissured, partly weakly shiny, ± white pruinose, mostly at the edges. Lower surface dark on the rising edge, without rhizines. Upper cortex brown, ca. 20 μm high; algal layer continuous, ca. 50-60 μm high, photobiont trebouxioid; medulla grey, ca. 120-160 μm high; lower cortex lacking.

Apothecia zeorine type, sessile, numerous, scattered to aggregated, rounded or irregular when aggregated, up to 1.2 mm in diam.; disc slightly concave to plane, black; proper margin persistent, slightly raised above or level with disc, brownish black, weakly shiny, consisting of interwoven hyphae, uppermost lateral part ca. 30-80 μm thick; thalline margin concolorous with the thallus, 30-130 μm thick, with olive cortical layer, 10-20 μm thick. Hymenium colorless, I+ blue, ca. 70-90 μm; epihymenium with brown pigment, 10-20 μm; paraphyses septate, rarely branched, ca. 2.0 μm wide, dark brown and swollen up to 4.0 μm at the tips; subhymenium and hypothecium colorless, 80-160 μm. Asci Teloschistes -type, 8-spored, 55-65 × 14-16 μm. Ascospores hyaline, polarilocular, ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid, 11.5-18.0 × 6.5-11.0 μm, septum 6.0-9.0 µm. Pycnidia immersed, wall dark olive, conidia narrowly bacilliform, 4.0-6.0 × ca. 0.5 μm.

Chemistry.

Thallus and apothecia thalline margin K-, C+ red; HPTLC: only gyrophoric acid was detected.

Ecology and distribution.

On exposed rock in arid valley, at elevations between 1520 and 1880 m along the Jinsha-jiang River. Only known from Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, China (Fig. 3 ).

Etymology.

Named due to its zeorine type of apothecia with a thalline outer and a proper inner margin.

Notes.

Upretia amarkantakana , the type species of the genus Upretia known from India, differs from the new species by the olive-grey to brownish grey thallus with lobate margin, the lecanorine apothecia and orange to brown apothecial disc, the smaller ascospores (8.5-) 9.0-10.0 × 4.0-5.0 μm and shorter conidia (1.0-)2.0-3.0 × 0.5-1.0 μm, and the absence of gyrophoric acid ( Joshi and Upreti 2006; Kondratyuk et al. 2018).

Upretia squamulosa is similar to the new species with similar ascospores size (11.5-17.5 × 7.5-10.0 μm), squamulose thallus without lobate margin, the presence of gyrophoric acid, and similar distribution in Southwestern China (along the Jinshajiang River), but differs by having imbricate squamules with a non-pruinose, greyish green to brown upper surface, larger apothecia (up to 2 mm diam.) with a pale brown to brown disc, hyaline and slightly swollen paraphyses tips, and the presence of lecanoric acid ( Zhang et al. 2019). Apothecia of U. squamulosa are usually lecanorine with the thalline margin at the early stage, and soon becoming zeorine, inner proper margin could be distinguished in sections, ca. 25-50 μm thick, thalline margin concolorous with the thallus, ca. 20-30 μm thick.

Molecular data are not available for U. hueana , and hence its phylogenetic relationships U. zeorina cannot be assessed, but the species distinctly differs by its squamulose to lobed thallus with brown surface, lecanorine apothecia with brown disc, smaller ascospores (8.5-11.0(-12.5) × 5.0-8.5 μm vs. 11.5-18.0 × 6.5-11.0 μm), the presence of parietin and the absence of gyrophoric acid ( Wetmore 1996; Joshi and Upreti 2007; Mishra et al. 2020). As far as the currently known species in the genus Upretia are concerned, the Indian species differ from the Chinese species by their smaller ascospores, the secondary metabolites, and a preference for growing at lower altitudes (500-1050m) ( Joshi and Upreti 2006; Kondratyuk et al. 2018; Mishra et al. 2020).

Mishra et al. (2020) mentioned that Caloplaca cupreorufa Zahlbr., may belong to Upretia due to its brownish thallus and brownish pigment in walls of outer cortical cells. The species was collected by Handel-Mazzetti 1914 in Setschwan (Sichuan province, China) in a dry subtropical valley ( Zahlbruckner 1930), close to the localities where the specimens of the new species were collected, but it differs by its smaller areoles (0.3-0.7 mm vs. 0.5-2.5 mm), its brown apothecial disc, lacking an inner proper margin, its apically unswollen and frequently branched paraphyses and its smaller ascospores (12.5-14.0 × 7.5-8.5 μm vs. 11.5-18.0 × 6.5-11.0 μm) ( Zahlbruckner 1930; Wetmore 1994).

Two specimens of Upretia from Sichuan and Yunnan, i.e., Upretia sp. 1 and Upretia sp. 2 in figure 1, compose a clade with U. amarkantakana . They resemble the latter by their crustose thallus with lobate margins, but differ by the smaller areoles (0.2-0.5 mm) and shorter lobes (≤ 1.2 mm). Upretia sp.1 is characterized by the green thallus with partly pruinose on the margins, yellow medulla, and the presence of gyrophoric acid, whereas Upretia sp. 2 is characterized by a continuously pruinose upper surface, white medulla and the absence of gyrophoric acid. Unfortunately, only one sample has been collected each for these two putative species, respectively, and only the specimen of Upretia sp. 2 contains apothecia which are of the zeorine to lecanorine type. Therefore, we temporarily refrain from describing these two samples as new species until more populations and data are available. However, their morphological distinction within the genus Upretia highlights the further diversity of the genus in China, especially in the Hengduan Mountains.

Additional specimens examined.

Upretia zeorina : China. Sichuan Prov.: Huili Co., on the way from Huili to Jiaopingdu , elev. 1736-1880 m, 26°21′N, 102°19′E, on rock, 11 Apr 2019, Wang Lisong et al. 19-63058 (KUN-L-66528, FR- 0183126, mtSSU- MW798793 ), 19-63045 (KUN-L-66515), 19-63039 (KUN-L-66509), 19-63040 (KUN-L-66510), 19-63046 (KUN-L-66516), 19-62891 (KUN-L-66432), 19-62896 (KUN-L-66437) ; Yunnan Prov., Heqing Co., Zhongjiang Village, elev. 1540 m, 26°30′N, 100°23′E, on rock, 8 July 2016, Wang Lisong et al. 16-50177 (KUN-L-53525); Yuanmou Co. , Langbapu Soil Forest , elev. 1526 m, 25°42′N, 101°41′E, on rock, 21 Apr 2014, Wang Lisong et al. 14-43393 (KUN-L-45200), on the way from Yuanmou to Yongren, elev. 1520 m, 25°58′N, 101°43′E, on rock, 1 July 2017, Wang Lisong et al. 17-56127(KUN-L-59563), 17-56125 (KUN-L-59561), 18-58007 (KUN-L-61584) .

Upretia squamulosa : China. Yunnan Prov.: Huize Co., Zhehai Town, elev. 1720m, 26°21′N, 102°19′E, on rock, 18 June 2015, Wang Xinyu et al. 15-47423 (KUN-L-50312- holotype, FR-0264988-isotype), 15-47427 (KUN-L-50316); Yulong Co. , on the way from Lijiang to Ninglang, elev. 1871 m, 27°03′N, 100°30′E, on rock, 9 Apr 2019, Wang Lisong et al. 19-62704 (KUN-L-66245), Jiangbianxin Village , elev. 1720 m, 26°31′N, 103°42′E, on rock, 9 Dec 2013, Wang Lisong et al. 18-58077 (KUN-L-61568) .

Upretia sp. 1: China. Sichuan Prov.: Dechang Co., on the way from Dechang to Huili , elev. 1320 m, 27°18′N, 102°19′E, on rock, 11 Apr 2019, Wang Lisong et al. 19-62841 (KUN-L-66382) .

Upretia sp. 2: China. Yunnan Prov.: Yunlong Vil., Yunlong water reservoir, elev. 2100 m, 25°51′N, 102°22′E, on rock, 18 Apr 2014, Wang Lisong et al. 14-43454 (KUN-L-45260) .

Figures

Figure 2. The new species Upretia zeorina A habitus and lichen thallus B zeorine type apothecia, proper margin raised above disc (arrow) C section of apothecia in Lugol's iodine (I), hymenium I + blue, proper margin I- D section of apothecia in lactophenol cotton blue (LCB) E asci in lactophenol cotton blue, with polarilocular ascospores F shortly bacilliform conidia of the new species. Scale bars: 2 mm (A); 1 mm (B); 50 µm (C); 20 µm (D); 10 µm (E, F).

Figure 3. Locations of species of the genus Upretia in China. The map was obtained from National Platform for Common Geospatial Information Services (https: // www. tianditu. gov. cn /).