Moelleriella boehmeriae X. L. Xu & C. L. Yang, 2025

Moelleriella boehmeriae X. L. Xu & C. L. Yang sp. nov.

Fig. 7 View Figure 7

Etymology.

In reference to the generic name of host plants.

Diagnosis.

Similar to Moelleriella jinuoana in having yellow to orange, globose stromata with a narrow hypothallus, M. boehmeriae differs by its slower growth on PDA, unique colony characteristics, and wider conidia.

Type.

CHINA • Sichuan Province, Leshan City , Muchuan County. Infected scale insects were found on the stems of Boehmeria spicata (Thunb.) Thunb. , 28°47.91'N, 103°55.63'E, alt. 900 m, 12 Mar. 2021, C. L. Yang, YCL 202103003 ( SICAU 25-0080 – holotype preserved in the Herbarium of Sichuan Agricultural University; living culture SICAUCC 25-0061 – ex-holotype stored in the Culture Collection in Sichuan Agricultural University) GoogleMaps .

Description.

Parasitic on scale insect from Boehmeria spicata ( Urticaceae ). Sexual morph: Not observed. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous. Stromata yellow to orange in fresh specimens, entirely covering the insect hosts, thickened pulvinate, globose, tubercules on the surface, closely aggregated, some with narrow hypothallus, 0.8–2.5 mm diameter. Hyphae of stromata form compact textura epidermoidea. Conidiomata simple depressions of surface, round or irregular shape, no mature conidiomata observed.

Culture characteristics.

The conidia germinate within 12 h in sterile distilled water, with germ tubes extending from both ends of the conidia. Colonies on PDA slowgrowing, attaining a diameter of 5–7 mm in 28 days at 25 ° C. Colonies compact pulvinate, surface velutinous, pale yellow to yellow. Conidial masses usually abundant, yellow. Reverse of colony pale orange. Conidiomata U-shaped, subcircular to circular. Conidia unicellular, hyaline, smooth, fusoid with rounded ends, 9.5–12.5 × 3–4 µm. No paraphyses were observed.

Host.

Scale insects ( Coccidae ).

Habitat.

Subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaf forests serve as the habitat for Moelleriella boehmeriae , which can infect scale insects found on the stems of Boehmeria spicata . Infections are typically observed at lower heights, close to the ground.

Distribution.

China, Sichuan Province, Leshan City.

Material examined.

CHINA • Sichuan Province, Leshan City , Muchuan County. Infected scale insects were found on the stems of Boehmeria spicata , 28°47.91'N, 103°55.63'E, alt. 900 m, 12 Mar. 2021, C. L. Yang, YCL 202103003 ( SICAU 25-0080 , living culture SICAUCC 25-0061 ) GoogleMaps ; • ibid. YCL 202103003-1 ( SICAU 25-0081 , living culture SICAUCC 25-0062 ) GoogleMaps .

Notes.

Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Moelleriella boehmeriae clusters within the Globose clade and is closely related to M. jinuoana (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ), sharing characteristics such as yellow to orange, globose stromata with a narrow hypothallus ( Wang et al. 2024). Although detailed morphological comparisons were limited due to the absence of mature conidiomata in our specimen, M. boehmeriae differs by its slower growth on PDA and distinct colony characteristics. The colonies of M. boehmeriae are yellow on the front and light orange on the reverse, whereas those of M. jinuoana are pale orange to orange on the front and brownish on the reverse. Additionally, M. boehmeriae has wider conidia (3–4 µm) observed in culture compared to M. jinuoana , which has conidia measuring 2.1–2.9 µm on the substrate. In addition, M. boehmeriae differs from the type strain M. jinuoana (YHH MJBP 2309031) by 16 bp (1.76 %, 0 gap) in the tef 1 α region, 2 bp (0.28 %, 0 gap) in the rpb 1 region, and 4 bp (0.47 %, 2 gaps) in the LSU region, respectively.