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A novel ascomycete genus, Longihyalospora , occurring on leaf litter of Ficus ampelas in Dahu Forest Area in Chiayi, Taiwan is described and illustrated. Longihyalospora is characterized by dark mycelium covering the upper leaf surface, elongate mycelial pellicle with ring of setae, pale brown to brown peridium, broadly obovoid, short pedicellate a...
Citations
... On day 63, leaves were highly skeletonized comprising vascular tissues with attached remnants of non-vascular tissues. Fourty-six fungal taxa were recorded and 27 species were successfully isolated into cultures and identified to species level (Tennakoon et al. 2019a(Tennakoon et al. , b, 2020(Tennakoon et al. , 2021b (Tennakoon et al. 2019b(Tennakoon et al. , 2020(Tennakoon et al. , 2021b). An additional 21 species were identified to genus level, and belonged to Aspergillus, Backusella, (Table 2). ...
Fungi are an essential component of the ecosystem. They play an integral role in the decomposition of leaf litter and return nutrients to the ecosystem through nutrient cycling. They are considered as the “key players” in leaf litter decomposition, because of their ability to produce a wide range of extracellular enzymes. Time-related changes of fungal communities during leaf litter decomposition have been relatively well-investigated. However, it has not been established how the tree species, tree phylogeny, and leaf litter chemistry influence fungal communities during decomposition. Using direct observations and a culturing approach, this study compiles fungi found in freshly collected leaf litter from five phylogenetically related, native tree species in Taiwan: Celtis formosana (CF), Ficus ampelas (FA), Ficus septica (FS), Macaranga tanarius (MT), and Morus australis (MA). We investigated (i) the effects of tree species (including tree phylogeny) and leaf litter chemistry on fungal community succession, and (ii) specific patterns of fungal succession (including diversity and taxonomic community assembly) on decomposing leaf litter across the selected tree species. We hypothesized that host species and leaf litter chemistry significantly affect fungal community succession. A total of 1325 leaves (CF: 275, FA: 275, FS: 275, MT: 275 and MA: 225) were collected and 236 fungal taxa were recorded (CF: 48, FA: 46, FS: 64, MT: 42 and MA: 36). Tree species relationships had variable associations on the fungal communities, as even closely related tree species had strongly differing communities during decomposition. A high number of species were unique to a single tree species and may indicate ‘host-specificity’ to a particular leaf litter. The overlap of microfungal species in pair wise comparisons of tree species was low (7–16%), and only 1–2% of microfungal species were observed in leaves of all tree species. The percentage of occurrences of fungal communities using Hierarchical Cluster Analyses (HCA) showed that there were at least four succession stages in each tree species during decomposition. Fungal diversity increased at the beginning of each tree species leaf decay, reached peaks, and declined at the final stages. Overall, our findings demonstrate that tree species and leaf litter chemistry are important variables in determining fungal diversity and community composition in leaf litter. Referring to the establishment of fungal discoveries from this experimental design, two new families, two new genera, 40 new species and 56 new host records were reported. This study provides a host-fungus database for future studies on these hosts and increases the knowledge of fungal diversity in leaf litter.
... On day 63, leaves were highly skeletonized comprising vascular tissues with attached remnants of non-vascular tissues. Fourty-six fungal taxa were recorded and 27 species were successfully isolated into cultures and identified to species level (Tennakoon et al. 2019a(Tennakoon et al. , b, 2020(Tennakoon et al. , 2021b (Tennakoon et al. 2019b(Tennakoon et al. , 2020(Tennakoon et al. , 2021b). An additional 21 species were identified to genus level, and belonged to Aspergillus, Backusella, (Table 2). ...
Fungi are an essential component of the ecosystem. They play an integral role in the decomposition of leaf litter and return nutrients to the ecosystem through nutrient cycling. They are considered as the “key players” in leaf litter decomposition, because of their ability to produce a wide range of extracellular enzymes. Time-related changes of fungal communities during leaf litter decomposition have been relatively well-investigated. However, it has not been established how the tree species, tree phylogeny, and leaf litter chemistry influence fungal communities during decomposition. Using direct observations and a culturing approach, this study compiles fungi found in freshly collected leaf litter from five phylogenetically related, native tree species in Taiwan: Celtis formosana (CF), Ficus ampelas (FA), Ficus septica (FS), Macaranga tanarius (MT), and Morus australis (MA). We investigated (i) the effects of tree species (including tree phylogeny) and leaf litter chemistry on fungal community succession, and (ii) specific patterns of fungal succession (including diversity and taxonomic community assembly) on decomposing leaf litter across the selected tree species. We hypothesized that host species and leaf litter chemistry significantly affect fungal community succession. A total of 1325 leaves (CF: 275, FA: 275, FS: 275, MT: 275 and MA: 225) were collected and 236 fungal taxa were recorded (CF: 48, FA: 46, FS: 64, MT: 42 and MA: 36). Tree species relationships had variable associations on the fungal communities, as even closely related tree species had strongly differing communities during decomposition. A high number of species were unique to a single tree species and may indicate ‘host-specificity’ to a particular leaf litter. The overlap of microfungal species in pair wise comparisons of tree species was low (7–16%), and only 1–2% of microfungal species were observed in leaves of all tree species. The percentage of occurrences of fungal communities using Hierarchical Cluster Analyses (HCA) showed that there were at least four succession stages in each tree species during decomposition. Fungal diversity increased at the beginning of each tree species leaf decay, reached peaks, and declined at the final stages. Overall, our findings demonstrate that tree species and leaf litter chemistry are important variables in determining fungal diversity and community composition in leaf litter. This study also provides a host-fungus database for future studies on these hosts and increases the knowledge of fungal diversity in leaf litter. New fungal discoveries from this study (two new families, two new genera, 40 new species and 56 new host records) were described in our previous publications and are used for comparison here.
... Since the last decade, the investigations on fungal flora in Taiwan are increasing both from the terrestrial and aquatic environments (Chang & Wang 2009, Pang et al. 2011, Yang et al. 2016, Ariyawansa et al. 2018, Tennakoon et al. 2018a, Ariyawansa & Jones 2019. However, after introducing DNA-based phylogenetic analyses, the advanced molecular approaches combined to fungal identification studies in Taiwan (Ariyawansa et al. 2018, Ariyawansa & Jones 2019, Tennakoon et al. 2018a, 2018b, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c, 2020a, 2020b, 2020. As an extremely biodiverse region, Fungal studies in Taiwan should be encouraged further to investigate more fungal flora not only in terrestrial habitats but also in aquatic ecosystems. ...
A novel taxon, Pseudorobillarda camelliae-sinensis (Pseudorobillardaceae) and new host records of pleosporalean taxa viz. Neopyrenochaeta triseptatispora (Neopyrenochaetaceae), Ramusculicola thailandica (Teichosporaceae) and Vaginatispora palmae (Lophiostomataceae) resulted from our investigation of plant-associated microfungi in Alishan and Fenghuang Mountain ranges in Taiwan. These taxa were isolated from dicotyledonous hosts of Bignoniaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Meliaceae and Moraceae. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses were performed using combined SSU, LSU, ITS, tef1-α and rpb2 sequence data to clarify the phylogenetic affinities of taxa. The newly described taxa of the current study are accompanied by comprehensive descriptions, micrographs and comparisons with similar species. In addition, the importance of exploiting fungi from mountain habitats in Taiwan is discussed.
... Thus, Cyphellophoriella is accepted as a distinct genus in Chaetothyriaceae. of Longihyalospora are characterized by a dark mycelium covering the upper leaf surface, an elongate mycelial pellicle, a ring of setae around the pellicle, broadly obovoid, short pedicellate asci and hyaline, elongate fusiform and 8-11-septate ascospores, with a thin mucilaginous sheath. Phylogenetically, Longihyalospora formed a single sub-clade with strong support (Tennakoon et al. 2019). Longihyalospora resembles Chaetothyrium, but the two genera can be distinguished by morphology, such as the colour of hyphae, size and shape of asci and ascospores (Spegazzini 1888, Hansford 1946, Tennakoon et al. 2019. ...
... Phylogenetically, Longihyalospora formed a single sub-clade with strong support (Tennakoon et al. 2019). Longihyalospora resembles Chaetothyrium, but the two genera can be distinguished by morphology, such as the colour of hyphae, size and shape of asci and ascospores (Spegazzini 1888, Hansford 1946, Tennakoon et al. 2019. ...
The order Chaetothyriales, are mainly epiphytes, often with the appearance of sooty moulds and are found adpressed to the surface of leaves and stems, gaining nutrients from sugary exudates. Others can be saprobes growing on decaying wood or pathogens on plants, mushrooms and animals, including humans. This group has other ecologies, such as being associated with ants, rocks and lichens. Most species of Chaetothyriales are delimited exclusively by morphology. There has been very little molecular reassessment of the group. We revisit the recently listed genera in Chaetothyriales as in the Outline of the Fungi 2020. Currently, the families, Chaetothyriaceae, Coccodiniaceae, Cyphellophoraceae, Epibryaceae, Herpotrichiellaceae, Lyrommataceae, Microtheliopsidaceae, Paracladophialophoraceae, Pyrenotrichaceae and Trichomeriaceae, with 55 genera are accepted in Chaetothyriales. Four genera have not been resolved and are placed in Chaetothyriales genera incertae sedis. A checklist and a backbone tree of Chaetothyriales based on ITS and LSU sequence data are provided. Illustrations, line drawings, and descriptions are provided based on the examination of types and the literature
Epifoliar fungi are one of the significant fungal groups typically living on the surface of leaves. They are usually recorded as saprobes, obligate parasites and commensals and are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Numerous genera within this group remain inadequately understood, primarily attributed to limited taxonomic knowledge and insufficient molecular data. Furthermore, the taxonomic delineation of epifoliar fungi remained uncertain, with scattered and literature-based data often intermixed with other follicolous fungi. Herein, a comprehensive taxonomic monograph of 124 genera in (32) Asterinales, (18) Capnodiales, (15) Chaetothyriales, (8) Meliolales, (8) Micropeltidales, (10) Microthyriales, (32) Parmulariales and (1) Zeloasperisporiales was provided re-describing with illustrations and line drawings. Notes on ecological and economic importance of the families are also provided. Representatives type herbarium materials of Campoa pulcherrima, Cycloschizon brachylaenae, Ferrarisia philippina, Hysterostomella guaranitica, Palawaniella orbiculata and Pseudolembosia orbicularis of Parmulariaceae were re-examined and provided updated illustrations with descriptions. A backbone phylogenetic tree and divergence estimation analysis for epifoliar fungi based on LSU and 5.8s ITS sequence data are provided.
The generic variety and habitats of Camptophora species, generally known as black yeasts have not been clarified. Here, we re-evaluated Camptophora based on morphological observations and phylogenetic analyses. Because investigations on Camptophora relied only on a few strains/specimens, twenty-four Camptophora -related strains were newly obtained from 13 leaf samples from various plant species to redefine the generic and species concepts of Camptophora . Their molecular phylogenetic relationships were examined based on the small subunit nuclear ribosomal DNA (nSSU, 18S rDNA), internal transcribed spacer rDNA operon (ITS), large subunit nuclear ribosomal DNA (LSU, 28S rDNA), β-tubulin ( tub ), the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II ( rpb2 ), and mitochondrial small subunit DNA (mtSSU). Single- and multi-locus analyses using SSU-ITS-LSU- rpb2 -mtSSU revealed a robust phylogenetic relationship among Camptophora within the Chaetothyriaceae. Camptophora can be distinguished from other chaetothyriaceous genera by its snake-shaped conidia with microcyclic conidiation and loosely interwoven mycelial masses. Based on the results of the phylogenetic analyses, two undescribed lineages were recognised, and Ca. schimae was considered to be excluded from the genus. ITS sequence comparison with environmental DNA (eDNA) sequences revealed the distribution of the genus limited to the Asia-Pacific region. Camptophora has been isolated or detected from abrupt sources, and the reason for this was inferred to be their microcycle. Mechanisms driving genetic diversity within species are discussed with respect to their phyllosphere habitats.
This article provides descriptions and illustrations of microfungi associated with the leaf litter of Celtis formosana, Ficus ampelas, F. septica, Macaranga tanarius and Morus australis collected from Taiwan. These host species are native to the island and Celtis formosana is an endemic tree species. The study revealed 95 species, consisting of two new families (Cylindrohyalosporaceae and Oblongohyalosporaceae), three new genera (Cylindrohyalospora, Neodictyosporium and Oblongohyalospora), 41 new species and 54 new host records. The newly described species are Acrocalymma ampeli (Acrocalymmaceae), Arthrinium mori (Apiosporaceae), Arxiella celtidis (Muyocopronaceae), Bertiella fici (Melanommataceae), Cercophora fici (Lasiosphaeriaceae), Colletotrichum celtidis, C. fici, C. fici-septicae (Glomerellaceae), Conidiocarpus fici-septicae (Capnodiaceae), Coniella fici (Schizoparmaceae), Cylindrohyalospora fici (Cylindrohyalosporaceae), Diaporthe celtidis, D. fici-septicae (Diaporthaceae), Diaporthosporella macarangae (Diaporthosporellaceae), Diplodia fici-septicae (Botryosphaeriaceae), Discosia celtidis, D. fici (Sporocadaceae), Leptodiscella sexualis (Muyocopronaceae), Leptospora macarangae (Phaeosphaeriaceae), Memnoniella alishanensis, M. celtidis, M. mori (Stachybotryaceae), Micropeltis fici, M. ficina (Micropeltidaceae), Microthyrium fici-septicae (Microthyriaceae), Muyocopron celtidis, M. ficinum, Mycoleptodiscus alishanensis (Muyocopronaceae), Neoanthostomella fici (Xylariales genera incertae sedis), Neodictyosporium macarangae (Sordariales genera incertae sedis), Neofusicoccum moracearum (Botryosphaeriaceae), Neophyllachora fici (Phyllachoraceae), Nigrospora macarangae (Apiosporaceae), Oblongohyalospora macarangae (Oblongohyalosporaceae), Ophioceras ficinum (Ophioceraceae), Parawiesneriomyces chiayiensis (Wiesneriomycetaceae), Periconia alishanica, P. celtidis (Periconiaceae), Pseudocercospora fici-septicae (Mycosphaerellaceae), Pseudoneottiospora cannabacearum (Chaetosphaeriaceae) and Pseudopithomyces mori (Didymosphaeriaceae). The new host records are Alternaria burnsii, A. pseudoeichhorniae (Pleosporaceae), Arthrinium hydei, A. malaysianum, A. paraphaeospermum, A. rasikravindrae, A. sacchari (Apiosporaceae), Bartalinia robillardoides (Sporocadaceae), Beltrania rhombica (Beltraniaceae), Cladosporium tenuissimum (Cladosporiaceae), Coniella quercicola (Schizoparmaceae), Dematiocladium celtidicola (Nectriaceae), Diaporthe limonicola, D. millettiae, D. pseudophoenicicola (Diaporthaceae), Dictyocheirospora garethjonesii (Dictyosporiaceae), Dimorphiseta acuta (Stachybotryaceae), Dinemasporium parastrigosum (Chaetosphaeriaceae), Discosia querci (Sporocadaceae), Fitzroyomyces cyperacearum (Stictidaceae), Gilmaniella bambusae (Ascomycota genera incertae sedis), Hermatomyces biconisporus (Hermatomycetaceae), Lasiodiplodia thailandica, L. theobromae (Botryosphaeriaceae), Memnoniella echinata (Stachybotryaceae), Muyocopron dipterocarpi, M. lithocarpi (Muyocopronaceae), Neopestalotiopsis asiatica, N. phangngaensis (Sporocadaceae), Ophioceras chiangdaoense (Ophioceraceae), Periconia byssoides (Periconiaceae), Pestalotiopsis dracaenea, P. formosana, P. neolitseae, P. papuana, P. parva, P. portugallica, P. trachycarpicola (Sporocadaceae), Phragmocapnias betle (Capnodiaceae), Phyllosticta capitalensis (Phyllostictaceae), Pseudopestalotiopsis camelliae-sinensis (Sporocadaceae), Pseudopithomyces chartarum, P. sacchari (Didymosphaeriaceae), Pseudorobillarda phragmitis (Pseudorobillardaceae), Robillarda roystoneae (Sporocadaceae), Sirastachys castanedae, S. pandanicola (Stachybotryaceae), Spegazzinia musae (Didymosphaeriaceae), Stachybotrys aloeticola, S. microspora (Stachybotryaceae), Strigula multiformis (Strigulaceae), Torula fici (Torulaceae), Wiesneriomyces laurinus (Wiesneriomycetaceae) and Yunnanomyces pandanicola (Sympoventuriaceae). The taxonomic placement of most taxa discussed in this study is based on morphological observation of specimens, coupled with multi-locus phylogenetic analyses of sequence data. In addition, this study provides a host-fungus database for future studies and increases knowledge of fungal diversity, as well as new fungal discoveries from the island.
