Meliola lindericola Y. Z. Feng & X. Y. Zeng, 2025

Meliola lindericola Y. Z. Feng & X. Y. Zeng sp. nov.

Fig. 3 View Figure 3

Etymology.

in reference to the host species name.

Holotype.

IFRD 99007 View Materials .

Description.

Parasitic on the surface of living leaves. Colonies 10–12 mm in diameter, hypophyllous, sometimes epiphyllous, black, dense to subdense. Hyphae superficial, straight to substraight, branched, septate, darker at septa, each cell (18 -) 21–45 µm (x ̄ = 40 µm, n = 20) long, with dark brown setae. Hyphal setae 121–162 µm long, scattered, denser around ascomata, straight, with obtuse tip. Asci unitunicate, 2–3 - spored, ovoid at young state, asci wall attenuated or broken when mature, without a fixed shape. Appressoria 22.3–29.8 × 11–16.5 µm (x ̄ = 26.1 × 14 µm, n = 20), 2 – celled, brown, clavate, straight to curved, formed near septa, alternate to unilateral, antrorse. Sexual morph: Ascomata up to 120 µm in diameter, subdense, scattered, dark brown, globose to subglobose, outer wall rough, with a central ostiole and basal setae. Asci not observed. Ascospores 21.3–25.5 × 6.8–9.3 µm (x ̄ = 21.7 × 8.2 µm, n = 30), hyaline ascospores 19.8–21.1 × 4.4–8.2 µm (x ̄ = 20.6 × 5.7 µm, n = 6), cylindrical or oblong, hyaline when young, becoming dark brown when mature, 2–4 - septate, constricted at the septa, rounded at both ends, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: Phialides 14.3–19.3 × 8.3–13 µm (x ̄ = 16.4 × 9.8 µm, n = 6), opposite to unilateral, few mixed with appressoria, ampulliform.

Material examined.

China • Guizhou Province, Libo County; 25°15'10"N, 107°44'6"E; on living leaves of Lindera sp. ; 12 Jul. 2022; Yu-Wei Liu leg.; IFRD 99007 View Materials ( holotype) GoogleMaps .

Notes.

This collection is typical of Meliola in having hyphal setae ( Goos 1974). Phylogenetically, this new collection clusters with M. pistaciicola , but with 10 % (186 / 203, 87 / 99 nucleotides, 5 gaps), 8 % (773 / 837 nucleotides, 9 gaps), and 1 % (994 / 999 nucleotides, no gaps) differences in ITS, LSU, and SSU regions, respectively. Moreover, M. lindericola is morphologically different in having shorter hyphae setae (162 vs 700 µm), smaller ascomata (120 vs 230 µm), ascospores (21.3–25.5 × 6.8–9.3 vs 43–55 × 17–25 μm), and phialides (14.3–19.3 × 8.3–13.0 vs 21–31 × 9–12 μm), and the phialides are opposite ( Zeng et al. 2022). Besides, M. lindericola has larger appressoria (22.3–29.8 × 11.0–16.5 vs 13.2–16.7 × 8.1–12 μm), smaller ascospores (21.3–25.5 × 6.8–9.3 vs 39.4–47.6 × 12.6–17.9 μm), shorter setae (121–162 vs 132–227 μm), and an obtuse tip than M. liboense . Although the original description of M. linderae from the same host is unavailable for direct comparison, the distinct morphological features and molecular data obtained from our specimens support its recognition as a new species.