The chalara-like anamorphs of Leotiomycetes

The chalara-like anamorphs of Leotiomycetes are phialidic hyphomycetes with cylindrical collarettes and deeply seated sporulating loci,and hyaline,aseptate or septate,cylindrical conidia.They are commonly found on plant litters in both terrestrial and submerged environments,and with broad geographical distribution.This paper reports our research result of diversity,taxonomy and phylogeny of these fungi in China,which is based on a systematic study by using an integrated approach of literature study,morphological observation and phylogenetic analyses of 153 chalara-like fungal species with diversified morphology in conidiomata,setae,conidiophores,phialides and conidia.The phylogenetic analyses employing different datasets of SSU,LSU and ITS sequences of 116 species showed that these chalara-like fungi were paraphyletic and scattered in 20 accepted genera belonging to five families of Leotiomycetes:Arachnopezizaceae,Hamatocanthoscy-phaceae,Helotiaceae,Neolauriomycetaceae and Pezizellaceae.Additional six genera,Ascoconidium,Bioscypha,Chalaro-dendron,Didonia,Phaeoscypha and Tapesina,all reported with chalara-like anamorphs in literatures,are also accepted as members of Pezizellaceae or Leotiomycetes genera incertae sedis.Among of these 26 accepted genera of chalara-like fungi in Leotiomycetes,17 genera are asexually typified genera(Ascoconidium,Bloxamia,Chalara,Chalarodendron,Constric-tochalara,Cylindrochalara,Cylindrocephalum,Leochalara,Lareunionomyces,Minichalara,Neochalara,Neolauriomyces,Nagrajchalara,Parachalara,Stipitochalara,Xenochalara and Zymochalara),and 9 are sexually typified genera(Bioscypha,Bloxamiella,Calycellina,Calycina,Didonia,Hymenoscyphus,Mollisina,Phaeoscypha and Tapesina).The phylogenetic significance of conidial septation in generic delimitation was further confirmed;while other morphologies such as conidi-omata,setae,conidiophores,phialides,conidial length,and conidial ornamentation have little phylogenetic significance,but could be used for species delimitation.The polyphyletic genus Chalara s.lat.is revised with monophyletic generic concepts by redelimitation of Chalara s.str.in a narrow concept,adaption of the emended Calycina to also include asexually typified chalara-like fungi,reinstatement of Cylindrocephalum,and introduction of six new genera:Constrictochalara W.P.Wu&Y.Z.Diao,Leochalara W.P.Wu&Y.Z.Diao,Minichalara W.P.Wu&Y.Z.Diao,Nagrajchalara W.P.Wu&Y.Z.Diao,Parachalara W.P.Wu&Y.Z.Diao and Stipitochalara W.P.Wu&Y.Z.Diao.Chaetochalara becomes a synonym of Chalara s.str.,and the known species are disassembled into Chalara s.str.and Nagrajchalara.The polyphyletic genus Bloxamia is also redefined by introducing the new genus Bloxamiella W.P.Wu&Y.Z.Diao for B.cyatheicola.Five existing species of Chalara s.lat.were excluded from Leotiomycetes and reclassified:Chalara breviclavata as Chalarosphaeria breviclavata W.P.Wu&Y.Z.Diao gen.et sp.nov.in Chaetosphaeriaceae,C.vaccinii as Sordariochalara vaccinii W.P.Wu&Y.Z.Diao gen.et sp.nov.in Lasiosphaeriaceae,and three other Chalara species with hyaline phialides,C.hyalina,C.schoenoplecti and C.siamense as combinations of Pyxidiophora in Pyxidiophoraceae.For biodiversity of these fungi in China,a total of 80 species in 12 genera,including 60 new species,17 new records and 1 new name,were discovered and documented in this paper.In addition,five species including three new species are reported from Japan.In connection to this revision,a total of 44 new combinations are made.The identification keys are provided for most of these genera.Future research area of these fungi should be the phylogenetic relationship of several sexually typified genera such as Bioscypha,Calycellina,Calycina,Didonia,Phaeoscypha,Rodwayella and Tapesina,and systematic revision of existing names under the genera Bloxamia,Chaetochalara and Chalara.

First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused by Erysiphe euonymicola on Euonymus japonicum in Uzbekistan

A new powdery mildew fungus named Erysiphe euonymicola was discovered in the mycobiota of Uzbekistan as a result of a mycological study conducted in the city of Samarkand. This fungus was found on the bush Euonymus japonicum and a brief description along with photographs of Erysiphe euonymicola have been provided. Erysiphe euonymicola is a phytopathogenic fungus that infects 80% - 90% of the leaves and young branches of Euonymus japonicum. The first symptoms of the disease are round, weeping spots on the leaves;later the spots form white mycelium over the entire surface of the leaves. When the plant is heavily infected, both sides of the leaves are completely covered with mycelium. The fungus Erysiphe euonymicola, parasitizing Euonymus japonicum, seriously inhibits the development of the host plant. The mycelium of Erysiphe euonymicola is formed on the surface of the leaf of the host plant and is a cluster of hyphae that form a dense covering in the form of a round spot. Conidiophores are erect, unbranched, and of Pseudoidium type, very variable in shape and size. Conidiophores consist of 2 - 3 cylindrical cells growing vertically from the hyphae;the sizes of conidiophores are given relative to the average length and width of selected conidiophores (n = 15). According to scanning electron microscopy, ellipsoidal-cylindrical conidia are single, scattered among conidiophores, ranging in size from 23.97 to 24.51 × 11.5 to 12.47 µm (n = 15). Conidial stalk cells are usually straight or slightly curved, ranging in size from 23.5 to 23.91 × 7.17 to 7.47 µm (n = 15).

Zasmidium persicae comb.nov.,a new leaf spotting hyphomycete from Laos

Comprehensive examination of cercosporoid leaf-spotting hyphomycetes was carried out in the southern areas of Laos.During this study,a species of Stenella was recorded for the first time from Laos,and according to current taxonomic concepts,this species is transferred to the genus Zasmidium.

Two new additions to mycoflora(Hyphomycetes)of India

Hyphomycetes are abundant and highly diverse in tropical areas such as India due to its climate and geographical landscape.However,several regions of the country remained unexplored or underexplored and many species remained undiscovered in the country.During mycological forays from the forests of Himachal Pradesh,two hyphomycetous fungi were collected.After detailed analysis of mycological characters like oval to oblong-ellipsoidal,muriform conidia with transverse,longitudinal,and oblique septa rounded or irregular at the ends and often with a protruding hilum,singly on short,unbranched conidiophores or sessile,in sporodochial conidiomata,it was found that these taxa belongs to the genus Berkleasmium.The further evaluation of morphological and microscopic characters revealed the identity of these fungi as B.pandani and B.typhae.Review of literature reveals that both are new records for India.Synoptic table of all the accepted species(both asexual morph and sexual morph)along with checklist of Berkleasmium from India is also provided.

Anamorphic chaetosphaeriaceous fungi from China

Chaetosphaeriaceae is one of the largest families in Sordariomycetes with its members commonly found on decaying leaf,fruit,branch,bark and wood in both terrestrial and submerged environment in nature.This paper reports our research result of diversity,taxonomy and phylogeny of anamorphic Chaetosphaeriaceae in China,which is based on a systematic study with an integrated approach of morphological observation and phylogenetic analysis for a large collection(>1300 herbarium specimens and 1100 living strains).The family Chaetosphaeriaceae is expanded to accommodate 89 accepted genera,including 22 new genera and 10 newly assigned genera.Most of these genera(except for Chaetosphaeria and several other relatively large genera)are delimitated as monophyletic genera with well-defined diagnostic characters in morphology.The phylogenetic connection of non-phialidic Sporidesmium-like fungi is further confirmed and expanded to 10 different genera.The polyphyletic Codinaea/Dictyochaeta/Tainosphaeria complex is further resolved with a taxonomic framework of 28 monophyletic genera by redelimitation of Codinaea and Dictyochaeta with narrower concept,acceptance of the 16 established genera,and finally introduction of 10 new genera.Chloridium is phylogenetically redefined as monophyletic genus with narrower concept as typified by the type species,but a systematic review in both generic and species level is still needed.For biodiversity of chaetosphaeriaceous fungi,a total of 369 species in 76 genera,including 119 new species,47 new combinations,and one new name,are documented.The identification keys are provided for most genera,especially the large genera such as Codinaea s.str.,Codinaeella,Stilbochaeta,Cryptophiale,Thozetella,Dinemasporium and Pseudolachnella.In addition,ten known species were excluded from the family and reclassified.Systematic revision of several relatively large polyphyletic genera should be conducted in future studies,including Bahusutrabeeja,Ellisembia,Stanjehughesia,Cacumisporium,Chaetosphaeria,Chloridium,Craspedodidymum,Cryptophiale,Cryptophialoidea,Dictyochaetopsis,Minimidochium,and many published species of Codinaea and Dictyochaeta.

A phylogenetic and taxonomic re-evaluation of the Bipolaris - Cochliobolus - Curvularia Complex

Three genera,Cochliobolus,Bipolaris and Curvularia form a complex that contains many plant pathogens,mostly on grasses(Poaceae)with a worldwide distribution.The taxonomy of this complex is confusing as frequent nomenclatural changes and refinements have occurred.There is no clear morphological boundary between the asexual genera Bipolaris and Curvularia,and some species show intermediate morphology.We investigated this complex based on a set of ex-type cultures and collections from northern Thailand.Combined gene analysis of rDNA ITS(internal transcribed spacer),GPDH(glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase),LSU(large subunit)and EF1-α(translation elongation factor 1-α)shows that this generic complex divides into two groups.Bipolaris and Cochliobolus species clustered in Group 1 along with their type species,whereas Curvularia species(including species named as Bipolaris,Cochliobolus and Curvularia)clustered in Group 2,with its generic type.The nomenclatural conflict in this complex is resolved giving priority to the more commonly used established generic names Bipolaris and Curvularia.Modern descriptions of the genera Bipolaris and Curvularia are provided and species resolved in this study are transferred to one of these genera based on their phylogeny.

Molecular data resolve a new order of Arthoniomycetes sister to the primarily lichenized Arthoniales and composed of black yeasts, lichenicolous and rock-inhabiting species

Lichenicolous fungi belonging to the anamorphtypified genus Phaeosporobolus and to the teleomorph-typified genus Lichenostigma were isolated in pure culture or sequenced directly,with nuLSU and mtSSU sequences obtained.Phylogenetic analyses place the species of Phaeosporobolusin a strongly supported clade with the generic type of Lichenostigma(L.maureri),the genus Phaeococcomyces and several melanized rock-inhabiting isolates.This strongly supported nonlichenized lineage is sister to the primarily lichenized Arthoniales in the Arthoniomycetes and is here described as the Lichenostigmatales.The new order is characterized by cells multiplying by budding,either representing black yeasts,or species in which conidiomata and ascomata are entirely made of an organised agglomeration of spherical yeast-like cells.This way of life is not only very different from all other Arthoniomycetes that exist only in the mycelial stage,but ascomata and conidiomata representing a dense and organised agglomeration of yeast cells might be unique amongst fungi.A further difference with the Arthoniales is the absence of paraphysoids.Phylogenetic results suggest that Phaeosporobolus usneae is the asexual stage of Lichenostigma maureri.Most species of Phaeosporobolus are transferred to the genus Lichenostigma except P.trypethelii,for which the new genus Etayoa is described.The genus Diederimyces is reduced into synonymy with Lichenostigma.Several other members of Lichenostigma are placed in the Dothideomycetes and are intermixed with Lichenothelia species.

Molecular data place the hyphomycetous lichenicolous genus Sclerococcum close to Dactylospora (Eurotiomycetes) and S. parmeliae in Cladophialophora (Chaetothyriales)

The lichenicolous anamorphic fungus Sclerococcum parmeliae was isolated in pure culture,and ITS,nuLSU and mtSSU sequences were obtained from these isolates.For comparison,sequences from S.sphaerale,the generic type,were obtained directly from freshly collected specimens.Phylogenetic analyses place S.sphaerale with species of Dactylospora and an unidentified lichen-inhabiting isolate in a strongly supported clade that is sister to a lineage comprising members of the Chaetothyriales and Pyrenulales.In contrast,S.parmeliae is inferred as a member of the Herpotrichiellaceae(Chaetothyriales)and belongs to a robustly supported clade that also includes species of Cladophialophora,Capronia semiimmersa,and Phialophora verrucosa.Within the Herpotrichiellaceae,S.parmeliae most closely resembles members of the anamorph genus Cladophialophora.Accordingly,we propose the transfer of S.parmeliae and the morphologically similar species S.cladoniae,S.hawksworthii and S.normandinae to Cladophialophora.A new lichenicolous species,Clad.megalosporae,collected twice on Megalospora in Florida and Papua New Guinea,is also described.

Phylogenetic placement of lichenicolous Phoma species in the Phaeosphaeriaceae(Pleosporales,Dothideomycetes)

More than twenty species of lichenicolous fungi have been described in Phoma,a large anamorphic genus of primarily plant-associated pathogens with broad geographic distributions.We obtained nuclear and mitochondrial rDNA sequences from 19 fungal cultures isolated from specimens representing four described and two undescribed lichenicolous species in the genus.Our multilocus phylogeny indicates that lichenicolous Phoma species represent at least two phylogenetically distinct clades in the Phaeosphaeriaceae,one including a new species,Phoma puncteliae,isolated from a specimen of Punctelia rudecta collected inMaryland,USA,and another group of primarily lichenicolous species.This latter group includes four described lichenicolous Phoma species,an unidentified melanized rock fungus,and a new lichenicolous Phoma species isolated from Xanthomendoza species collected in Canada that we are naming P.xanthomendozae.Some specimens in this clade collected from different lichen genera and species were found to be very similar genetically,which calls into question the recent practice of recognizing lichenicolous Phoma species mainly by differences in host preference.

Briancoppinsia,a new coelomycetous genus of Arthoniaceae(Arthoniales)for the lichenicolous Phoma cytospora,with a key to this and similar taxa

Morphological,anatomical,chemical and molecular data suggest that a relatively common lichenicolous coelomycete on Lecanora conizaeoides is conspecific with Phoma cytospora,previously known only from parmelioid lichens,and that further populations on Cladonia and Pertusaria belong to the same species.This species is distinguished from Phoma by several taxonomically important characters and obviously represents a previously unrecognized genus,for which the name Briancoppinsia is introduced.Phylogenetic analyses using nuLSU and mtSSU sequences of isolates obtained in pure culture suggest that the new genus belongs to the Arthoniaceae(Arthoniales).This is the first obligate lichenicolous,non-lichenized anamorph confirmed to belong to the Arthoniales based on molecular data.

Dynamic aberrations correction of Roll-Nod conformal seeker based on the diffraction surface and anamorphic asphere surface

Traditional optical domes are spherical, which have a large air resistance coefficient. In order to reduce the coefficient of air resistance, conformal optical technology was proposed, which used a streamlined design of the outer surface of the dome. However, conformal domes generate dynamic aberrations varying significantly with look angles in the field of regard(FOR). Thus, correcting the dynamic aberrations is the core task of conformal optics. This Letter presented a correcting method of dynamic aberrations based on the diffraction surface and anamorphic asphere surface. This method is derived from the arch corrector and can only be used on the Roll-Nod gimbal. For the seeker with a Roll-Nod gimbal, the arch corrector is replaced with a diffractive surface superimposed on the inner surface of the conformal dome. To correct astigmatism, which is the main aberration that needs to be corrected, anamorphic asphere surfaces are used in the imaging system. Compared with the arch corrector, this method can reduce the size of the correction element while retaining sufficient design freedom. Design results show that this method can well correct the dynamic aberrations in a larger FOR. With a simpler form in structure, this method can improve the reliability of conformal optical systems and promote the application of conformal optical technology.

Identification of Anamorph Yeast of Tremella aurantialba and Optimization of Medium Composition for Production of Exopolysaccharides

A yeast-like fungus strain B1 isolated from wild fungus Tremella aurantialba was identified and initially characterized. Two phylogenetic trees were generated based on the sequences of large subunit ribosomal RNA gene D1/D2 regions and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of related fungi, respectively. The analysis of D1/D2 regions and ITS sequences showed that fungus B1 was clustered together with T. aurantialba, T. aurantia and T. microspore in the phylogenetic trees. Both the morphological characteristic and phylogenetic analysis established that fungus B1 was one of the anamorph strains of T. aurantialba and belongs to Tremella genus. A fermentation medium for exopolysaccharides (EPS) production by T. aurantialba B1 . Plackett-Burmen design was used to evaluate the effects of different components in the culture medium. Glucose and yeast extract have significant influence on the EPS production. The concentrations of two factors were optimized subsequently using central composite design and response surface analysis. The results showed that 49.2 g/L glucose and 10.4 g/L yeast extract could lead to the maximum production of EPS (4.99 g/L). The optimized medium led to a 1.5-fold enhancement of the production of EPS by T. aurantialba B1 , as compared with that without optimization.