Ophiobolopsis
Ophiobolopsis Phookamsak, Wanas. & K.D. Hyde, in Phookamsak, Wanasinghe, Hongsanan, Phukhamsakda, Huang, Tennakoon, Norphanphoun, Camporesi, Bulgakov, Promputtha, Mortimer, Xu & Hyde, Fungal Diversity 87: 316 (2017)
Index Fungorum number: IF 553918; Facesofungi number: FoF 03796
Etymology: The generic epithet ‘‘Ophiobolopsis’’ refers to the resemblance to Ophiobolus.
Saprobic on herbaceous plants. Sexual morph: Ascomata dark brown to black, scattered, solitary, semi-immersed to erumpent through the host epidermis, subglobose to ampulliform, or irregular in shape, uni-loculate, glabrous, ostiolate, papillate. Papilla mammiform, with rounded to truncate apex, composed of several layers of dark brown to black cells, arranged in a textura angularis to textura prismatica, ostiole central, with indistinct periphyses. Peridium thin at the base, thicker towards the apex, composed of several cell layers of small to large, brown to dark brown pseudoparenchymatous cells, arranged in textura angularis to textura prismatica. Hamathecium composed of dense broadly cellular pseudoparaphyses, narrower towards the apex, anatomising, distinctly septate, deeply constricted at the septa near the base, embedded in a hyaline gelatinous matrix. Asci 4-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical to cylindric-clavate, short pedicellate, apically rounded with well-developed ocular chamber. Ascospores fasciculate, in parallel, scolecosporous, pale brown to yellowish-brown, cylindrical to filiform, with rounded ends, tapered towards the lower cell, curved, swollen near the septa between the 2nd and 3th and 6th and 7th, or 9th and 10th cells, deeply constricted at the 4th septum, not constricted at the other septa, not separating into part spores, smooth-walled. Asexual morph:Undetermined
Type species: Ophiobolopsis italica Phookamsak, Wanas., E. Camporesi & K.D. Hyde
Notes: Ophiobolopsis is introduced as a monotypic genus to accommodate an ophiobolus-like species and is typified by O. italica. Ophiobolopsis resembles Ophiobolus in having scolecospores, which are swollen in some parts. However, Ophiobolopsis can be distinguished from Ophiobolus in having thin-walled cells of the peridium and ascospores do not separate into part spores. Multigene phylogenetic analyses showed that Ophiobolopsis forms a distinct lineage from the generic type of Ophiobolus, O. disseminans and thus the new genus is introduced.
References:
Phookamsak R, Wanasinghe DN, Hongsanan S, Phukhamsakda C et al. 2017 – Towards a natural classification of Ophiobolus and ophiobolus-like taxa; introducing three novel genera Ophiobolopsis, Paraophiobolus and Pseudoophiobolus in Phaeosphaeriaceae (Pleosporales). Fungal Diversity. 87, 299–339.