New studies on Apiospora (Amphisphaeriales, Apiosporaceae): epitypification of Sphaeria apiospora, proposal of Ap. marianiae sp. nov. and description of the asexual morph of Ap. sichuanensis

Abstract

In the present work, an epitype for Sphaeria apiospora, the basionym of the type species of the genus Apiospora, Apiospora montagnei, is selected among collections growing in the host plant species reported in the original protologue, Arundo micrantha. Most samples obtained from localities near that of the lectotype (Perpignan, France) belong to the same species, which is not significantly different from the clade previously named Ap. phragmitis, suggesting that this name is a later synonym of Ap. montagnei. In addition, the name Ap. marianiae is here proposed to accommodate a newly discovered species found in the Balearic Islands (Spain), and the asexual state of Ap. sichuanensis is described for the first time from samples growing in the same islands.

Morphological and phylogenetic analyses reveal two new species and a new record of Apiospora (Amphisphaeriales, Apiosporaceae) in China

“… hainanensis clustered together with significant support in an isolated branch basal to A. sacchari and related species of the phaeospermum clade ( Pintos and Alvarado 2022 ; Fig. 1 ).…”

“…An epitype for the type species of Apiospora , A. montagnei , was recently proposed by Pintos and Alvarado (2022) .…”

“…Most Apiospora species have rounded/lenticular conidia and inhabit mainly Poaceae (and many other host plant families) in a wide range of habitats, including tropical and subtropical regions (Pintos and Alvarado 2021;Samarakoon et al 2022). An epitype for the type species of Apiospora, A. montagnei, was recently proposed by Pintos and Alvarado (2022).…”

Apiospora arundinis, a panoply of carbohydrate-active enzymes and secondary metabolites

“…Earlier, the Apiospora genus was phylogenetically placed in the same phylogenetic clade as Arthrinium (Crous and Groenewald 2013 ; Wang et al 2018 ). Recently, studies have shown a phylogenetic delimitation of the Apiospora genus and the Arthrinium genus (Crous et al 2021 ; Pintos and Alvarado 2021 , 2022 ; Tian et al 2021 ; Sørensen et al 2022 ). The genus Apiospora comprises species that occur in a wide variety of geographic and ecological environments.…”

Morphological and phylogenetic analyses reveal three new species of Apiospora in China

“…With the availability of sequence data of A. montagnei , Pintos and Alvarado (2022) revealed that Apiospora and Arthrinium are distinct genera. With most Apiospora species sharing similar morphologies, molecular phylogenetic information is necessary for accurate species identification ( Pintos and Alvarado 2022 ).…”