Diplodia italica

Diplodia italica Wijayaw., A.J.L. Phillips, Camporesi & K.D. Hyde, in Wijayawardene et al., Fungal Diversity: 10.1007/s13225-016-0360-2, [110] (2016)

Index Fungorum number: IF 551775; Facesofungi number: FoF 01473

Etymology: Named after the country where it was collected, Italy.

Holotype: MFLU 15-3300.

Saprobic on aerial litter of Crataegus sp. Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Conidiomata 280–310 μm diam., 260–280 μm high, pycnidial, immersed, erumpent at maturity, globose, unilocular, immersed, black, ostiolate. Ostiole papillate, central, circular, single. Conidiomata wall composed of thick-walled, dark brown cells of textura angularis. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells 4–12 × 3–5 μm, cylindrical, long, enteroblastic, phialidic, discrete, determinate, hyaline. Conidia 13–16 × 8–11 μm (x̄ = 14.52 × 9.34 μm, n = 20), oblong to ovoid, broadly rounded, rarely truncate at base, aseptate, brown to dark brown, thick and smooth-walled, guttulate.

Culture characteristics: On PDA fast growing, attaining 3cm in 4 days at 18 °C, white from above, greyish white from below, margin uneven, cottony, thick mycelium.

Material examined: Italy, Arezzo [AR] Province, Papiano - Stia, on dead branch of Crataegus sp., 11 May 2014, Erio Camporesi, IT 1863 (MFLU 15-3300, holotype), living cultures MFLUCC 14–1007, GUCC 1863.

GenBank:

Notes: In phylogenetic analyses of Wijayawardene et al. (2016), this new collection has grouped as the sister clade to Diplodia crataegicola which has close morphology with their new collection (conidia 11–16 × 6–10 μm). However, D. crataegicola has larger conidiogenous cells (10–22 μm × 4–6 μm), while our collection has comparatively smaller conidiogenous cells (4–12 × 3–5 μm). Hence, based on both morphological and phylogenetic analyses Wijayawardene et al. (2016)  introduce it as a new species.