Two new cheirosporous asexual taxa (Dictyosporiaceae, Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes) from freshwater habitats in Egypt
Abstract
Cheirosporium vesiculare and Dictyosporium palmae spp. nov. were collected from submerged wood in the River Nile, Sohag, Egypt. Cheirosporium vesiculare is characterized by macronematous conidiophores, and non-complanate conidia, that are circular in vertical view with seven rows arranged in six peripheral rows and one in the center. Conidia are equipped with 2 to 5 balloon-like large appendages with long necks that penetrate through the peripheral rows and connect to the central row. Phylogenetic analyses of LSU sequence data place C. vesiculare in a monophyletic clade with C. triseriale in the family Dictyosporiaceae. Dictyosporium palmae is distinguished from the previously described species by its different conidial dimensions and the variable shapes of the gelatinous conidial appendages. Phylogenetic analyses of LSU sequence data place D. palmae in Dictyosporium sensu sticto in a clade with D. digitatum and D. stellatum with high statistical support.