About spirals and pores: Xylariaceae with remarkable germ loci

Abstract

Based on phylogenetic analyses of a multi-gene matrix of nuITS-LSU rDNA, RPB2 and TUB2 sequences and morphology, xylariaceous species with uni- to pauciperitheciate stromata and ascospores having a spirally coiling (helicoid) germ slit are revised and reclassified, including detailed descriptions and illustrations. The genus Helicogermslita is redefined and restricted to seven species with massive, erumpent, clypeus-like carbonaceous stromata, and Rosellinia somala is combined in Helicogermslita. Within the core Xylariaceae, the poorly known Leptomassaria simplex is shown to be closely related to Anthostoma insidiosum, for which the new genus Oligo­stoma is established, and Anthostoma rhenanum is demonstrated to be synonymous with O. insidiosum. The new genus Albicollum, characterised by immersed ascomata and a collar of white pseudostromatic tissues surrounding the ostioles, is established for Amphisphaeria canicollis, Anthostoma chionostomum, Sordaria (= Helicogermslita) fleischhakii and Anthostoma vincensii. Anthostoma ostropoides is synomymised with Albicollum canicolle, and Al. berberidicola, Al. longisporum and Al. novomexicanum are described as new species. Rosellinia (= Helico­germslita) gaudefroyi is transferred to the new genus Spiririma. Anthostoma amoenum and Euepixylon udum, both with a poroid germ locus, are shown to be only distantly related, and An. amoenum is reclassified within the asexual genus Digitodochium. Based on phylogeny, the genus Euepixylon is treated as a synonym of Nemania. A new species, Nemania ethancrensonii, which is closely related to the two formerly accepted Euepixylon species (E. sphaeriostomum, E. udum) but strongly deviates from the morphological concept of Euepixylon and Nemania, is described from the eastern USA. The genera Anthostomelloides, Clypeosphaeria, Digitodochium, Emarcaea, Induratia, Linosporopsis, Magnostiolata, Occultitheca and Spiririma are revealed to form a morphologically heterogeneous lineage in a basal position of Xylariaceae. Anthostoma vincensii, Quaternaria simplex and Rosellinia gaudefroyi are lectotypified, and Amphisphaeria canicollis, Anthostoma amoenum, An. rhenanum, An. vincensii, Quaternaria simplex, Rosellinia gaudefroyi and Valsa insidiosa are epitypified. Keys to uni- to pauciperitheciate xylariaceous genera with sigmoid to helicoid germ slits and to species of Albicollum are provided.

Note on the genus Nemania (Xylariaceae) – first records and a new species of the genus from Iran

“…The MP analysis revealed two trees of length 20,490 (not shown) that had a similar topology to the ML tree. The phylogenies reveal a monophyletic clade of Nemania (including Euepixylon ), like in previous studies ( Wendt et al 2018 ; Pi et al 2021 ; Samarakoon et al 2022 ; Voglmayr et al 2022 ). Within Xylariaceae , the Nemania clade is most closely related to the genera Coniolariella , Dematophora , Entoleuca and Rosellinia .…”

“…When re-establishing the genus Euepixylon , already Læssøe and Spooner (1993) doubted whether the genus will survive in the long run. Considering the results of the phylogenetic analyses, germ site morphology is clearly not a good character to separate Euepixylon from Nemania and the former genus should be considered as a synonym of the latter, which has already been implemented by for example, Pi et al (2021) and Voglmayr et al (2022) and which we, therefore, also adopt here. Synonymy of both genera is further supported by the fact that the type species of Euepixylon ( E. udum ), as well as Nemania ( N. serpens ), are revealed to be closely related within the Nemania subclade 1 (N1).…”

Spirodecosporaceae fam. nov. (Xylariales, Sordariomycetes) and two new species of Spirodecospora

“…The most conspicuous feature of Spirodecospora is the spirally linear ornamentations surrounding the ascospores. Recent phylogenetic analysis on xylariaceous taxa revealed the existence of several genera having brown, unicellular ascospores with spirally coiling germ slits ( Voglmayr et al 2022 ). The spiral structure found in Spirodecospora was also originally regarded as a germ slit ( Vasilyeva 1990 ), but this interpretation was not accepted in later studies ( Lu et al 1998 , Mel’nik & Hyde 2003 ).…”

“…Although several spirodecospora-like genera ( e.g. Albicollum , Helicogermslita , Leptomassaria , and Spiririma ), which have helicoid germ slits around the ascospore, were shown phylogenetically to be found throughout Xylariaceae ( Voglmayr et al 2022 ), no sequence data are available for any species of Spirodecospora .…”

Studies on Argentine Phylacia species (Hypoxylaceae) using a polythetic taxonomic approach

“…The asci lack an apical apparatus, and spores are not actively discharged but released after rupture Section Editor: Marco Thines Instituto de Bioprospeccíon y Fisiología Vegetal-INBIOFIV (CONICET-UNT), San Lorenzo 1469, 4000 San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina of the ascomatal apex (Rodrigues and Samuels 1989). These characteristics are highly atypical of the Xylariales, but it has meanwhile been established that the characteristics of the teleomorph are not necessarily in agreement with the phylogeny of this order (Jaklitsch et al 2016;Wendt et al 2018;Voglmayr et al 2022). These modern, polyphasic taxonomic studies showed that in the Xylariales and other groups of Sordariomycetes, the teleomorphic characters have subordinate importance.…”