Zasmidium guttulatum X. Yu. Zhang, Q. Y. Zhang & B. Fan, 2025

Zasmidium guttulatum X. Yu. Zhang, Q. Y. Zhang & B. Fan sp. nov.

Fig. 17 View Figure 17

Type.

CHINA • Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, Nanjing Forestry University, Baima Campus , fungal endophytes from Pinus densiflora , May 2023, Ben Fan and Xiuyu Zhang, NF 649 ( holotype HMAS 352959 View Materials , culture ex-type CGMCC 3.28955 View Materials ) .

Etymology.

Derived from the Latin word “guttula” (a droplet), referring to the droplet-like appearance of the conidia.

Description.

Mycelium composed of brown, septate, branched hyphae, smooth to verruculose, 1.6–3.3 μm in diameter. Asexual state: Conidiophores erect, subcylindrical, dark brown, straight, verrucous, (19.5 –) 21.8–63.0 (– 80.8) × (1.4 –) 1.5–2.2 (– 2.5) μm. Conidiogenous cells formed by the degeneration of conidiophores or terminally, pale to brown, verrucous, cylindrical, (2.6 –) 3.0–3.9 (– 4.1) × (2.1 –) 2.2–2.4 (– 2.5) μm. Conidia terminal or lateral, drop-shaped to gourd-shaped, brown to transparent, smooth to slightly verrucous, 0–1 septate, (4.5 –) 5.1–8.1 (– 9.9) × (3.4 –) 338–4.5 (– 4.7) μm. Sexual state unknown.

Culture characteristics.

Colonies grow circular and flat, yellowish-green to dark olivaceous, producing droplets on MEA, with floccose aerial mycelium on SNA and OA. The optimal temperature for growth is 25 ° C, reaching 11–13 mm in diameter after 10 days. No growth occurs at 5 ° C or 35 ° C.

Additional material examined.

CHINA • Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, Nanjing Forestry University, Baima Campus , fungal endophytes from Pinus densiflora , May 2023, Ben Fan and Xiuyu Zhang, NF 648 .

Notes.

Two isolates, NF 649 and NF 849 ( Zasmidium guttulatum ), obtained from endophytic fungi, formed a clade closely related to Z. pearceae . However, they differ morphologically. Colonies of NF 649 produce viscous droplets on the surface and have a regular margin, in contrast to the dry surface and irregular margin of Z. pearceae colonies. In addition, the conidial morphology is distinct, and NF 649 produces guttulate, drop-shaped conidia, while those of Z. pearceae are elongate and cylindrical ( Tan et al. 2022).