Dothiora coronillae

Dothiora coronillae Dissan., Camporesi & K.D. Hyde, in Hyde et al., Fungal Diversity 87: 29 (2017)

Index Fungorum number: IF 552774; Facesofungi number: FoF 02893

Etymology: name refers to the host.

Holotype: MFLU 17-0005.

            Saprobic on dead aerial branch of Coronilla emerus L. Sexual morph: Ascostromata 185–310 μm high × 220–250 μm diameter, immersed or erumpent through the epidermis, solitary or clustered, globose, brown to black, with single locules. Peridium 32–83 μm wide, two-layered, outer layer composed of dark brown or brown, thick-walled cells of textura angularis, inner layer composed of hyaline, thin-walled cells of textura angularis. Asci 60–110 × 14–21 μm (x̄ = 105 × 17 μm, n = 20), 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindro-clavate, short pedicellate, apically rounded, with a small ocular chamber. Ascospores 17–22 × 7–9 μm (x̄ = 19 × 8 μm, n = 30), bi-seriate to multi-seriate, hyaline, aseptate, fusoid to ovoid, one end narrower than other, smooth-walled with granular contents, lacking a mucilaginous sheath. Asexual morph: Undetermined.

            Material examined: Material examined: ITALY, Province of Forlì-Cesena [FC], near Passo delle Forche-Galeata, on dead aerial branch of Coronilla emerus (Fabaceae), 15 April 2014, E. Camporesi, IT 1813 (MFLU 17-0005, holotype; KUN, isotype).

GenBank numbers ITS: MF443252, LSU: MF443255.

             Notes: We could not obtain a culture from single conidium. Therefore, fungal DNA was extracted directly from the ascomata ITS and LSU based phylogeny depicts that D. coronillae is nested in between D. buxi and D. elliptica with good support (Hyde et al. 2017). However, these taxa species can be differentiated as D. buxi has polysporous asci with 32 ascospores in an ascus, while D. coronillae asci contain only eight spores. Dothiora buxi also has pale brown ascospores, whereas D. coronillae has hyaline ascospores (Hyde et al. 2017).