Wongia miscanthi C. H. Kuo, S.Y. Hsieh & Goh, 2024

Wongia miscanthi C. H. Kuo, S.Y. Hsieh & Goh , sp. nov. Figs. 2 View FIGURE 2 , 3 View FIGURE 3

MycoBank: MB854392

Etymology: — miscanthi , referring to the substrate (decaying culms of Miscanthus floridulus ) from which this species was collected.

Diagnosis: —Differs from other known species of Wongia in having smaller conidia measuring 8–11 × 3–4 µm.

Colonies superficial, effuse, hairy, scattered, brown, powdery with yellow to pale orange masses of conidia at tips of conidiophores. Mycelium partly superficial and partly immersed, composed of branched, septate, pale brown to brown hyphae. Conidiophores 95–155 × 2.5–4 μm (x = 136 × 3.5 μm, n = 20), macronematoUs, mononematoUs, solitary, unbranched, erect, cylindrical, straight or slightly flexuous, thick-walled, smooth, brown to dark brown, swollen at the base, paler towards the apex, bearing series of conidiogenous loci and sometimes appearing slightly serrated at the apex. Conidiogenous cells integrated, terminal, holoblastic, polyblastic, sympodially proliferating, subhyaline to pale brown, thin-walled, smooth, subcylindrical, minutely denticulate with slightly thickened conidiogenous loci. Conidia 6.5–13 × 2–4 μm (x = 9.5 × 3 μm, n = 60), acropleUrogenoUs, solitary, fUsiform to cylindric-fUsiform, acUte or slightly rounded at the apex, obconic at the base with a darkened hilum, (0–)1–2-septate, slightly or not constricted at the septa, subhyaline, thin-walled, smooth. Sexual morph undetermined.

Material examined: — TAIWAN. Hsinchu County: Wufeng Township (24.52916 -121.09444, 1140 m a.s.l.), on a decaying culm of Miscanthus floridulus ( Poaceae ) submerged in a freshwater stream, 1 June 2023, Chang-Hsin Kuo, 112WFA2-3C1; TNM F0037935 (holotype). Ex-holotype living culture BCRC FU32062. GenBank accession numbers: LSU = LC822732, ITS = LC822730, SSU = LC822736, tef1a = LC822738, rpb2 = LC822734. ibid. NCYU-112WFA2-3G2 (paratype); living culture BCRC FU32070. GenBank accession numbers: LSU = LC822733, ITS = LC822731, SSU = LC822737, tef1a = LC822739, rpb2 = LC822735.

Notes: —The novel Wongia species is proposed based on two collections from Taiwan, representing two strains of the same fungus. Between the two strains, some differences were found in their DNA sequences of four different gene segments (i.e., ITS, LSU, tef1a, and rpb2), however, the two strains cannot be distinguished morphologically. Wongia miscanthi differs from other known species of Wongia in having smaller conidia. It is also the first Wongia species known to colonize culms of Miscanthus as a saprophyte. The characters of the eight currently known species of Wongia are compared in Table 2. A key to Wongia species is given as follows.