Alternaria doliconidium

Alternaria doliconidium J.F. Li, Camporesi & K.D. Hyde, in Wanasinghe et al., Fungal Diversity: 10.1007/s13225-018-0395-7, [147] (2018)

Index Fungorum number: IF 554202; Facesofungi number: FoF 04041

Etymology: Named after its doliiform conidia

Holotype: HKAS100840.

Saprobic on spines of Rosa canina. Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Mycelium superficial on the substrate, composed of septate, branched, smooth, thin-walled, white to light pink colored hyphae. Conidiophores (105–)114.2–126(–129.5) μm long × (8,7–)8.9–9.6(–11.4) μm diam (x̄ = 121.4 μm × 9.2 μm, n = 100), macronematous, mononematous, light brown to brown, thick-walled, smooth, septate, branched on base, straight or flexuous, cylindrical. Conidiogenous cells (6.2–)6.8–9.5(–11.5) μm long × (12.5–)14.8–15.4(–17) μm diam (x̄ = 8.5 μm × 15.2 μm, n = 100), monoblastic, integrated, terminal, determinate or percurrent, cylindrical, doliiform, subhyaline, smooth, colourless, thin-walled. Conidia (58.2–)62.2– 79(–81.2) μm long × (22.5–)27–31.2(–32.5) μm diam (x̄ = 68.6 × (22.5-)31.7 μm, n = 100) acrogenous, holoblastic, solitary, brown to dark brown, multiseptate, dry, simple, straight, curved, fusiform, obpyriform or obturbinate, subglobose, borne in chain, sometimes rostrate, unsmooth, thin-walled.

Cultural characteristics: Conidia germinating on PDA within 14 h and germ tubes produced from upper cells. Colonies growing on PDA, hairy or cottony, white to light brown, reaching 5 mm in 15 days at 25 °C, mycelium superficial, effuse, radially striate, with regular edge, white to light pink colored hyphae; Asexual spores produced within 15 days; Sexual spores not formed within 60 days.

Material examined: ITALY, Province of Forli-Cesena [FC], Raggio di Santa Sofia, on dead aerial spines of Rosa canina L. (Rosaceae), 16 October 2014, Erio Camporesi IT2165 (HKAS100840), living culture = KUMCC 17-0263.

GenBank numbers: ITS: MG828864, LSU: MG828980, SSU: MG829094.

Notes: Alternaria doliconidium is described here as new species and is unique based on its dark coloured, doliiform to subglobose, multi-septate conidia and conidiophores with swollen knots. In the phylogenetic analyses, A. doliconidium clusters with A. aborescens with high support. This is also the first record Alternaria sp. found on Rosa canina.