Pestalotiopsis thunbergii Q. C. Wang & X. D. Zhou, 2025

Wang, Quan Chao, Zhan, Zhao Jie, Sattar, Adil, Wang, Hao Nan, Zhou, Li Feng, Eckhardt, Lori, Li, Guo Qing, Liu, Fei Fei, Xu, Hua Chao & Zhou, Xu Dong, 2025, Pestalotiopsis (Amphisphaeriales, Sporocadaceae) species including six new taxa inhabiting pines from different climate zones in China, IMA Fungus 16, pp. e 151614-e 151614 : e151614-

Pestalotiopsis thunbergii Q. C. Wang & X. D. Zhou sp. nov.

Fig. 13

Etymology.

Named after the host, Pinus thunbergii .

Typus.

CHINA • Shandong Province, Qingdao City, Jimo District, Tianheng Island Resort , 36°25'2"N, 120°51'37"E, on diseased needle of Pinus thunbergii , 9 August 2023, Quanchao Wang, Guoqing Li, Feifei Liu & Runlei Chang (holotype designated here HMAS 353938 , dried culture prepared from ZXD 583; ex-holotype culture ZXD 583 = CFCC 72589 ) .

Description.

Sexual state not seen. Conidiomata in culture sporodochial, saucer-shaped, scattered or gregarious, superficial to immersed, shining, releasing black conidial masses on the surface. Conidiophores branched, subcylindrical, hyaline to light brown, indistinct, often reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells cylindrical or ampulliform, hyaline, smooth-walled, solitary to aggregated, (4.5 –) 5.5–10.5 (– 15) × (1.5 –) 2–3 (– 3.5) μm (x ± SD = 8 ± 2.4 × 2.5 ± 0.6 μm). Conidia fusoid, ellipsoid, smooth, slightly constricted at the septa, 4 - septate, (20 –) 23–27.5 (– 34) × (6 –) 6.5–8 (– 10) μm (x ± SD = 25.1 ± 2.3 × 7.3 ± 0.9 μm); three median cells doliiform, wall verruculose, concolourous, (13.5 –) 15.5–17.5 (– 19) μm (x ± SD = 16.4 ± 1 μm) long; second cell from the base (4.5 –) 5–6 (– 6.5) μm (x ± SD = 5.7 ± 0.5 μm) long; third cell (4.5 –) 5–6 (– 6.5) μm (x ± SD = 5.4 ± 0.5 μm); fourth cell (3.5 –) 4.5–6 (– 6.5) μm (x ± SD = 5.3 ± 0.7 μm); apical cell conic with an acute apex, thin- and smooth-walled, hyaline to pale brown, (1 –) 2.5–4.5 (– 5) μm (x ± SD = 3.5 ± 1.1 μm) long, with 2–4 tubular appendages (mostly three); apical appendages arising from an apical crest, unbranched, filiform, bent, (6.5 –) 12–21.5 (– 29.5) μm (x ± SD = 16.8 ± 4.7 μm); basal cell obconic with a truncate base, thin-walled, hyaline or pale brown, (2.5 –) 3.5–6 (– 8.5) μm (x ± SD = 4.7 ± 1.2 μm) long, with one appendage; basal appendage tubular, centric, unbranched, occasionally swollen at the tip, (3.5 –) 4.5–6.5 (– 8) μm (x ± SD = 5.4 ± 1.1 μm) long.

Culture characteristics.

Colonies forming abundant flocculent aerial mycelium at the edges on PDA at 25 ° C, with regular margins, white, the centre of the back of the colony orange, forming black conidiomata with black conidial masses. Optimal growth temperature at 25 ° C, no growth at 5 ° C and 35 ° C; after 10 d, colonies at 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 ° C reached 35.1, 41.5, 81.4, 87.8 and 29.4 mm, respectively (Fig. 8 ).

Additional materials examined.

CHINA • Zhejiang Province, Jiaxing City, Pinghu County, Jiulongshan Forest Park , 30°36'10"N, 121°08'27"E, on diseased needle of Pinus massoniana , 15 May 2023, Quanchao Wang, Guiyong Cao (culture ZXD 204) ; • Shandong Province, Qingdao City, Jimo District , 36°25'2"N, 120°51'37"E, on diseased needle of Pinus thunbergii , 9 August 2023, Quanchao Wang, Guoqing Li, Feifei Liu & Runlei Chang (cultures ZXD 524, ZXD 527, ZXD 531, ZXD 548, ZXD 558, ZXD 566, ZXD 568, ZXD 569, ZXD 575, ZXD 576, ZXD 581) .

Notes.

Pestalotiopsis thunbergii formed a well-supported independent clade (ML / BI = 100 / 1) from Pes. ningboensis (Fig. 3 ). The differences between Pes. thunbergii and Pes. ningboensis have been mentioned above (see Pes. ningboensis ).

Figures

Figure 3. Phylogenetic trees based on Maximum Likelihood (ML) analyses from the multi-gene alignment (ITS, tef- 1 α and tub 2) for Pestalotiopsis. The ML bootstrap values (left; values of ≥ 60 % are shown, < 60 % are marked with * and absence is marked with -) and Bayesian posterior probabilities (right; values of ≥ 0.9 are shown, < 0.9 are marked with * and absence is marked with -) are indicated above the branches. Isolates representing ex-type material are marked with “ T ”. Neopestalotiopsis magna (MFLUCC 12-0652) was used as the outgroup taxon.

Figure 8. Effect of temperature on mycelial radial growth of isolates of six new Pestalotiopsis species obtained in the current study. Vertical bars represent the standard error of the means. Each value represents the average of five replicates.

Figure 13. Morphology of Pestalotiopsis thunbergii (ZXD 583). A Colony on MEA after 10 days at 25 ° C; B colony on PDA after 10 days at 25 ° C; C conidiomata formed on MEA; D, E conidiogenous cells giving rise to conidia; F – K conidia. Scale bars: 500 μm (C); 20 μm (D – G).