Research Article |
Corresponding author: Narumon Tangthirasunun ( narumon.ta@kmitl.ac.th ) Corresponding author: Hiran A. Ariyawansa ( ariyawansa44@ntu.edu.tw ) Academic editor: Pedro Crous
© 2024 Sheng-Yu Hsu, Yuan-Cheng Xu, Yu-Chen Lin, Wei-Yu Chuang, Shiou-Ruei Lin, Marc Stadler, Narumon Tangthirasunun, Ratchadawan Cheewangkoon, Hind A. AL-Shwaiman, Abdallah M. Elgorban, Hiran A. Ariyawansa.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Hsu S-Y, Xu Y-C, Lin Y-C, Chuang W-Y, Lin S-R, Stadler M, Tangthirasunun N, Cheewangkoon R, AL-Shwaiman HA, Elgorban AM, Ariyawansa HA (2024) Hidden diversity of Pestalotiopsis and Neopestalotiopsis (Amphisphaeriales, Sporocadaceae) species allied with the stromata of entomopathogenic fungi in Taiwan. MycoKeys 101: 275-312. https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.101.113090
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Pestalotiopsis sensu lato, commonly referred to as pestalotiopsis-like fungi, exhibit a broad distribution and are frequently found as endophytes, saprobes and pathogens across various plant hosts. The taxa within pestalotiopsis-like fungi are classified into three genera viz. Pestalotiopsis, Pseudopestalotiopsis and Neopestalotiopsis, based on the conidial colour of their median cells and multi-locus molecular phylogenies. In the course of a biodiversity investigation focusing on pestalotiopsis-like fungi, a total of 12 fungal strains were identified. These strains were found to be associated with stromata of Beauveria, Ophiocordyceps and Tolypocladium in various regions of Taiwan from 2018 to 2021. These strains were evaluated morphologically and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses of the ITS (internal transcribed spacer), tef1-α (translation elongation factor 1-α) and tub2 (beta-tubulin) gene regions were conducted for genotyping. The results revealed seven well-classified taxa and one tentative clade in Pestalotiopsis and Neopestalotiopsis. One novel species, Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani and four new records, N. camelliae-oleiferae, N. haikouensis, P. chamaeropis and P. hispanica, were reported for the first time in Taiwan. In addition, P. formosana and an unclassified strain of Neopestalotiopsis were identified, based on similarities of phylogeny and morphology. However, the data obtained in the present study suggest that the currently recommended loci for species delimitation of pestalotiopsis-like fungi do not deliver reliable or adequate resolution of tree topologies. The in-vitro mycelial growth rates of selected strains from these taxa had an optimum temperature of 25 °C, but growth ceased at 5 °C and 35 °C, while all the strains grew faster under alkaline than acidic or neutral pH conditions. This study provides the first assessment of pestalotiopsis-like fungi, associated with entomopathogenic taxa.
DNA sequence data, new species, Pestalotiopsis sensu lato, taxonomy
Fungi are ubiquitous and essential components of all ecosystems on Earth and are more significant to human lives than people assume. Fungi interact with various organisms, including different groups of fungi, to acquire nutrients to successfully complete their life cycle (
Sordariomycetes is one of the largest classes of Ascomycota with members occupying the most varied habitats and niches. The genus Pestalotiopsis was initially identified by
Taiwan is an island in the western Pacific Ocean. The rich diversity of fungal taxa (over 6,670 fungal species) in Taiwan has been frequently reported (
During an exploration of pestalotiopsis-like fungi between 2018 and 2021 in Taiwan (including Hsinchu County, New Taipei City, Pingtung County, Taichung City, Taoyuan City and Yilan County), fungal spores that are morphologically similar to pestalotiopsis-like fungi were observed on stromata of entomopathogenic fungal species (Fig.
The habitat of Pestalotiopsis and Neopestalotiopsis species, situated on the stromata of entomopathogenic fungi. Specimens A Ophiocordyceps sp. NTUPPMH 18-160 B Beauveria sp. NTUPPMH 18-161 C Tolypocladium sp. NTUPPMH 21-055 D Ophiocordyceps sp. NTUPPMH 21-054 E Ophiocordyceps sp. NTUPPMH 21-053 F Ophiocordyceps sp. NTUPPMH 18-164 G, H the section of conidioma of Ophiocordyceps sp. showing the location of conidia of pestalotiopsis-like fungi (red arrow). Scale bars: 100 μm (G); 20 μm (H).
To further study the morphological features of the isolated pestalotiopsis-like fungi, strains were first inoculated on carnation-leaf agar (CLA) (sterile carnation leaf placed on 2% water agar) and incubated at 25 °C with blue light exposure to induce sporulation (
Isolates were inoculated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) media and incubated at 25 °C in the dark for seven days. Fresh mycelia were harvested and the genomic DNA were extracted from fresh mycelium using EasyPure Genomic DNA Spin Kit (Bioman), following the manufacturer’s protocol (Bioman Scientific Co., Ltd).
PCR amplification was carried out in a 25 μl reaction containing 12.5 μl of 2× Taq Mix-RED (Bioman), 9.5 μl of ddH2O, 1 μl of each forward and reverse primer and 1 μl of fungal DNA. Three DNA loci used previously for characterisation of pestalotiopsis-like fungi were selected: ITS, tub2 and tef1-α. Primer sets and touchdown PCR conditions used to amplify ITS, tub2 and tef1-α gene loci are listed in Suppl. material
Newly-generated sequence data in this study were observed and manually adjusted via BioEdit version 7.2.5 (
For the ML analysis, the best-fit substitution models (Suppl. material
For the BI analyses, the best evolutionary model was decided under the AIC via MrModelTest version 2.3 (
To determine species delimitations in pestalotiopsis-like fungi, Genealogical Concordance Phylogenetic Species Recognition (GCPSR) was applied (
To infer recombination within novel pestalotiopsis-like fungi, the pairwise homoplasy index test (PHI, Фw) (
In total, eight strains representing eight taxa identified in this study were selected to determine the growth rate of mycelia. A 4 mm-diam. mycelial disc was aseptically excised from the edge of the culture and placed at the centre of a PDA media (12 ml in a 9 mm diam. Petri dish). After incubation at 25 °C in the dark for seven days, the diameter of the cultures was measured and two independent tests were conducted with five replicates per trial.
The same fungal strains, inoculation method and measurement standards used in the mycelial growth test were also used to evaluate the effects of temperature and pH on fungal growth.
Further details for each assessment are described below. The effect of temperature on radial mycelial growth was measured on the seventh day after inoculation at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 °C in the dark. All single inoculations were conducted on Petri dishes of 12 ml PDA media. The test was performed twice with five replicates per trial.
The optimal pH for mycelial growth was tested at pH 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. The PDA plates were heated prior to sterilisation and the pH values were adjusted with 1 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) and 1 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions. The tested cultures were incubated at 25 °C in the dark for seven days and colony sizes were measured. The test was conducted twice with five replicates per trial.
Data were processed using Microsoft Excel 2021 to compute the mean and standard deviation. Data analysis was performed with SAS University Edition (version 3.8), utilising one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the mean values were compared using Tukey’s HSD (honestly significant difference) test (α = 0.05) following
In total, 12 strains of pestalotiopsis-like fungi associated with the stromata of the entomopathogenic fungi were successfully isolated (Suppl. material
ITS sequence data were used for initial identification of the genera of pestalotiopsis-like fungal strains in the present study. Based on the ITS sequence results, 12 strains identified in this study were categorised into two pestalotiopsis-like fungal genera: Pestalotiopsis and Neopestalotiopsis. Subsequently, to determine the phylogenetic placement of these strains, two different datasets were prepared using the concatenated data matrices of ITS, tub2 and tef1-α gene regions to separately represent the phylogenies.
Figs
ML phylogenetic tree of Pestalotiopsis obtained from the concatenated DNA sequence data of ITS, tub2 and tef1-α genes implemented in IQ-TREE. ML bootstrap values (MLB) ≥ 70%, Maximum Parsimony bootstrap (MPB) values ≥ 70% and Bayesian Posterior Probabilities (PP) ≥ 0.95 are given at the nodes. The scale-bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per site. Neopestalotiopsis protearum (CBS 114178) was used as an outgroup. The new isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold.
ML Phylogenetic tree of genus Neopestalotiopsis attained from the concatenated DNA sequence data of ITS, tub2 and tef1-α loci implemented via IQ-TREE. ML bootstrap values (MLB) ≥ 70%, Maximum Parsimony bootstrap (MPB) values ≥ 70% and Bayesian Posterior Probabilities (PP) ≥ 0.95 are given at the nodes. The scale-bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per site. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae (MFLUCC 12-0055) was used as an outgroup. The new isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold.
A total of 160 strains representing 118 accepted species and one unclassified taxon were comprised in the final alignment matrix of Pestalotiopsis. Neopestalotiopsis protearum CBS 114178 was assigned as the outgroup taxon (
Remarkably, two newly-isolated strains in this study (NTUPPMCC 18-165 and 22-012) formed a distinct clade basal to species clades of P. castanopsidis, P. cyclobalanopsidis, P. guizhouensis, P. jesteri and P. montellica with high statistical support in the single-locus and concatenated data matrices. Thus, the new lineage is introduced as Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani (Fig.
In total, 152 strains representing 74 accepted Neopestalotiopsis species constituted the final DNA alignment matrix of Neopestalotiopsis. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae MFLUCC 12-0055 was used as the outgroup taxon following a recent publication (
However, as mentioned in previous studies and as observed in the present study, the topologies of the Neopestalotiopsis phylogenetic trees obtained from all analyses (ML, MP and BI) were unstable and had low statistical support and short branch lengths (
On carnation leaves (Dianthus caryophyllus) supplanted on WA (NTUPPMCC 21-054). Sexual morph was not observed in culture. Asexual morph: Conidiomata acervular, globose, semi-immersed, solitary or gregarious, 200–350 μm diam.; oozing globose, black conidial masses. Conidiophores obclavate to subcylindrical, 1–3-septate, branched, hyaline, smooth, sometimes merged to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells oval to cylindrical or fusiform, hyaline, smooth, (4.8–)5.1–5.7(–5.9) × (20–)21.3–23.9(–25.5) μm, x– ± SD = 5.4 ± 0.3 × 22.6 ± 1.3 μm. Conidia fusoid, straight or slightly curved, 4-septate, smooth, (2.4–)3.2–5(–5.4) × (4.6–)6.2–10.5(–12.4) μm, x– ± SD = 4.1 ± 0.9 × 8.4 ± 2.2 μm, bearing appendages; basal cell obconic with a truncate base, hyaline, thin-walled, (3.7–)4.2–5.4(–6.2) μm long, x– ± SD = 4.8 ± 0.6 μm; three median cells subcylindrical, pale brown, concolourous, thick-walled, the first median cell from base (3.8–)4.1–4.7(–5) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.4 ± 0.3 μm), the second median cell (4–)4.2–4.8(–5.3) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.5 ± 0.3 μm), the third median cell (3.9–)4.3–5(–5.2) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.6 ± 0.3 μm), together (12–)12.8–14.2(–15.1) μm long (x– ± SD = 13.5 ± 0.7 μm); apical cell conical to subcylindrical with a truncate or acute apex, hyaline, thick-walled, (3.6–)4–4.7(–5.1) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.3 ± 0.4 μm). Appendages tubular, hyaline, straight or slightly bent, apical appendage 2–3 (mostly 3), unbranched, (8.8–)10.8–17.2(–23.9) μm long (x– ± SD = 14.0 ± 3.2 μm), basal appendage 1–2 (mostly single), centric, unbranched, (2.9–)4.5–7.7(–10.0) μm long (x– ± SD = 6.1 ± 1.6 μm).
Pestalotiopsis chamaeropis (NTUPPMCC 21-054 = CD09) A the original habitat of Pestalotiopsis chamaeropis; the stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. B top view (left) and bottom view (right) of the colony on potato dextrose agar (PDA) after incubation for seven days C conidiomata on carnation leaf D, E conidiogenous cells and immature conidia F–I conidia. Scale bars: 250 μm (C); 20 μm (D–I).
Colonies on PDA reaching 71.3 mm diam. on average after culturing at 25 °C in the dark for seven days, flat with smooth edge, aerial mycelium dense, white; reverse similar in colour.
Taiwan, Taichung City, Heping District, Yuanzui Mountain, on stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. parasitic on a cocoon (Lepidoptera), 6 July 2021, Ming-Syun Wu, living culture NTUPPMCC 21-054 (= CD09).
For ML, MP and BI with both single locus and concatenated datasets used in the present study, isolate NTUPPMCC 21-054 formed a clade sister to the clade containing the ex-type strains of P. chamaeropis (CBS 186.71) and P. daliensis (CGMCC 3.23548) with high statistical support. However, we did not find clear morphological support to consider our isolate as a separate species because NTUPPMCC 21-054 showed overlapping morphologies with both P. chamaeropis (CBS 186.71) and P. daliensis (CGMCC 3.23548) (Suppl. material
See Suppl. material
Taiwan, Hsinchu County, Jianshi Township, Ptlaman Mountain, on stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. parasitic on an insect (Coleoptera), 28 July 2021, Li-Hong Chen, living culture NTUPPMCC 21-056 (= CD11).
Morphological features of Pestalotiopsis formosana (NTUPPMCC 21-056), obtained in this study, overlap with the original taxonomic description of P. formosana in
On carnation leaves (Dianthus caryophyllus) supplanted on WA (NTUPPMCC 18-162). Sexual morph was not observed in culture. Asexual morph: Conidiomata acervular, globose, solitary or gregarious, semi-immersed, 100–500 μm diam.; oozing globose to clavate, black conidial masses. Conidiophores subcylindrical, hyaline, smooth, annelidic, indistinct and frequently merged to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells long pyriform to cylindrical, hyaline, smooth, (1.8–)2.0–3.7(–5.6) × (6.3–)9.7–17.2(–23.2) μm, x– ± SD = 2.9 ± 0.8 × 13.5 ± 3.8 μm. Conidia fusoid, straight or slightly curved, 4-septate, smooth, (4.7–)5.5–6.5(–7.5) × (21.1–)22.4–25.4(–27.4) μm, x– ± SD = 6.0 ± 0.5 × 23.9 ± 1.5 μm, bearing appendages; basal cell obconic with a truncate base, hyaline or pale brown, thin-walled, (0.8–)4.0–6.1(–6.6) μm long, x– ± SD = 5.0 ± 1.0 μm; three median cells long doliiform to subcylindrical, pale brown, concolourous, thick-walled, the first median cell from base (4.1–)4.5–5.3(–5.8) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.9 ± 0.4 μm), the second median cell (3.8–)4.3–5.0(–5.3) μm long (x–± SD = 4.6 ± 0.3 μm), the third median cell (4.3–)4.6–5.4(–6.3) μm long (x– ± SD = 5.0 ± 0.4 μm), together (12.7–)13.7–15.2 (–16.0) μm long (x– ± SD = 14.5 ± 0.8 μm); apical cell conical to subcylindrical with a truncate or acute apex, hyaline, thick-walled, (3.5–)3.8–4.7(–5.2) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.3 ± 0.5 μm). Appendages tubular, hyaline, straight or slightly bent, apical appendage 2–3, unbranched, (8.5–)12.1–18.7(–24.9) μm long (x– ± SD = 15.4 ± 3.3 μm), basal appendage 1–3 (mostly single), centric, unbranched (rarely branched), (2.5–)3.2–6.1(–8.8) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.7 ± 1.4 μm).
Pestalotiopsis hispanica (NTUPPMCC 18-162 = CD03) A the original habitat of Pestalotiopsis hispanica; the stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. B top view (left) and bottom view (right) of the colony on potato dextrose agar (PDA) after incubation for seven days C conidiomata on carnation leaf D, E conidiogenous cells and immature conidia F–I conidia. Scale bars: 250 μm (C); 10 μm (D–I).
Colonies on PDA reaching 71.9 mm diam. on average after culturing at 25 °C in the dark for seven days, circular, flat with slightly undulate edge, aerial mycelium dense, white; reverse yellowish.
Taiwan, Taoyuan City, Dongyanshan, on the stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. parasitic on an insect (Hymenoptera), 7 October 2018, Wei-Yu Chuang, living culture NTUPPMCC 18-162 (= CD03).
Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain NTUPPMCC 18-162 was clustered in the same clade with the ex-type strain of P. hispanica CBS 115391 with absolute statistical support (MLB = 100%, MPB = 100%, PP = 1.00). Even though the DNA sequences of ITS (100%), tub2 (99.22%) and tef1-α (100%) genes of NTUPPMCC 18-162 were very similar to the ex-type strain of P. hispanica (CBS 115391), the morphology of our strain is somewhat different from the original description of P. hispanica (holotype CBS H-23554) published by
The specific epithet ‘manyueyuanani’ is based on the place the fungus was originally collected.
Taiwan, New Taipei City, Manyueyuan National Forest Recreation Area, on stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. parasitic on an insect (Cletus sp., Hemiptera), 25 May 2018, Wei-Yu Chuang, holotype, NTUPPMH 18-165 (permanently preserved in a metabolically inactive state), ex-holotype NTUPPMCC 18-165 (= CD07). ibid., ex-isotype NTUPPMCC 22-012.
The morphology of Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani A the original habitat of conidia of Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani; stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. B top view (left) and bottom view (right) of the colony on potato dextrose agar (PDA) after incubation for seven days C formation of conidiomata on carnation leaf D, E conidiogenous cells and immature conidia F–K conidia L–N germinated conidia. Scale bars: 250 μm (C); 10 μm (D–K); 20 μm (L–N).
Based on the morphology of ex-holotype 18-165 growing on carnation leaves (Dianthus caryophyllus) supplanted on WA. Sexual morph was not observed on culture. Asexual morph: Conidiomata acervular, globose, scattered, solitary, semi-immersed, black, < 30–100 μm diam.; oozing globose to subcylindrical, black conidial masses. Conidiophores pyriform to subcylindrical, hyaline, smooth, indistinct and frequently merged to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells ampulliform to spherical, hyaline, smooth, (2.8–)3.8–5.3(–6.0) × (6.8–)8.2–12.4(–14.7) μm, x– ± SD = 4.6 ± 0.7 × 10.3 ± 2.1 μm. Conidia fusoid, straight or slightly curved, 4-septate, smooth, slightly constricted at the septa, (6.7–)7.4–9.2(–10.4) × (22.5–)24.6–30.0(–32.7) μm, x– ± SD = 8.3 ± 0.9 × 27.3 ± 2.7 μm, bearing appendages; basal cell obconic with a truncate base, hyaline or pale brown, thin-walled, (2.9–)3.5–4.7(–5.3) μm long, x– ± SD = 4.1 ± 0.6 μm; three median cells doliiform to subcylindrical, pale brown to brown, concolourous, thick-walled, the first median cell from base (5.3–)5.8–7.9(–9.2) μm long (x– ± SD = 6.9 ± 1.0 μm), the second median cell (4.1–)4.9–6.6(–7.8) μm long (x– ± SD = 5.7 ± 0.9 μm), the third median cell (4.3–)5.5–7.3(–8.6) μm long (x– ± SD = 6.4 ± 0.9 μm), together (15.1–)16.7–21.2 (–24.5) μm long (x– ± SD = 18.9 ± 2.3 μm); apical cell conical with an acute apex, hyaline, thick-walled, (2.2–)3.3–5.1(–5.8) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.2 ± 0.9 μm). Appendages tubular, hyaline, unbranched, straight or slightly bent, apical appendage single (rarely two), (3.9–)8.7–16.8(–19.1) μm long (x– ± SD = 12.8 ± 4.0 μm), lateral appendages 1–4 (mostly 2, occasionally absent), forming from apical cell, arising above the septum dividing the apical cell and the third median cell, (5.4–)7.3–13.4(–15.4) μm long (x– ± SD = 10.3 ± 3.0 μm), basal appendage single (occasionally absent), centric, (1.8–)2.7–5.5(–6.5) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.1 ± 1.4 μm). Germinating conidia pattern, solitary or multiple, forming from inflated apical cell or median cells.
Colonies on PDA reaching 18–24 mm diam. after culturing at 25 °C in the dark for seven days, circular, flat with entire to slightly undulate edge, aerial mycelium sparse, yellowish to orange in the centre, whitish at the margin; reverse similar in colour.
Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani sp. nov. is a representative of Pestalotiopsis in having pale brown to brown, concolourous median cells without knobbed apical appendages. In both single and concatenated gene analysis, two isolates of P. manyueyuanani clustered in a distinct clade with strong statistical support basal to the clade comprising P. castanopsidis CFCC 54384 and CFCC 54430, P. cyclobalanopsidis CFCC 54328, P. guizhouensis CFCC 54803, P. jesteri CBS 109350 and P. montellica MFLUCC 12-0279 (Fig.
Split graphs showing the results of PHI tests for three gene regions (A ITS B tub2 C tef1-α) of Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani with their phylogenetically closely -related species using LogDet transformation and splits decomposition options. The new taxon in each graph is shown in red and taxa representing ex-type strains are in bold.
See Suppl. material
Taiwan, Yilan County, Yuanshan Township, on stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. parasitic on an insect (Lepidoptera), 15 June 2018, Wei-Yu Chuang, living culture NTUPPMCC 18-160 (= CD01). Taiwan, Taichung City, Heping District, Yuanzui Mountain, on stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. parasitic on an ootheca (Mantodea), 14 July 2021, Ming-Syun Wu, living culture NTUPPMCC 21-055 (= CD10).
The two new strains NTUPPMCC 18-160 and NTUPPMCC 21-055, used in the present study, clustered within a clade containing ex-type strains of four Pestalotiopsis taxa, namely P. kenyana (CBS 442.67), P. oryzae (CBS 353.69), P. rhodomyrtus (HGUP 4230) and P. trachycarpicola (IFRDCC 2440) in both single- and multi-locus phylogenies with poor statistical support and short branch lengths. Furthermore, a comparison of the morphological features of these four species and the two strains used in the present study revealed overlapping characteristics, as shown in Suppl. material
On carnation leaves (Dianthus caryophyllus) supplanted on WA (NTUPPMCC 18-166). Sexual morph was not observed in culture. Asexual morph: Conidiomata acervular, globose, semi-immersed, solitary or gregarious, 50–250 μm diam.; oozing globose, black conidial masses. Conidiophores obclavate to subcylindrical, hyaline, smooth, annelidic, indistinct and frequently merged to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells ampulliform to fusiform, hyaline or sometimes pale brown, smooth, (2.1–)2.9–4.5(–5.2) × (3.8–)5.5–8.7(–10.8) μm, x– ± SD = 3.7 ± 0.8 × 7.1 ± 1.6 μm. Conidia fusoid, straight or slightly curved, 4-septate, smooth, (5.5–)6.3–7.3(–7.8) × (22.1–)23.5–27.4(–29.4) μm, x– ± SD = 6.8 ± 0.5 × 25.4 ± 2 μm, bearing appendages; basal cell obconic with a truncate base, hyaline, thin-walled, (3.6–)4.6–5.8(–6.6) μm long, x– ± SD = 5.2 ± 0.6 μm; three median cells doliiform to subcylindrical, versicoloured, septa darker than the rest of the cell, thick-walled, the first median cell from base pale brown, (4.1–)4.4–5.7(–6.1) μm long (x– ± SD = 5.1 ± 0.6 μm), the second median cell medium to dark brown, (4.1–)4.7–5.9(–6.4) μm long (x– ± SD = 5.3 ± 0.6 μm), the third median cell medium to dark brown, (2.9–)4.6–6.1(–6.6) μm long (x– ± SD = 5.3 ± 0.7 μm), together (13.2–)14.4–17(–18.1) μm long (x– ± SD = 15.7 ± 1.3 μm); apical cell conical to subcylindrical with a truncate or acute apex, hyaline, thick-walled, (3.5–)4.1–5(–5.4) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.5 ± 0.4 μm). Appendages tubular, hyaline, straight or slightly bent, apical appendage 2–4 (mostly 3), unbranched, (16.3–)21.0–27.0(–30.1) μm long (x– ± SD = 24.0 ± 3.0 μm), basal appendage single, centric, unbranched, (4–)6.5–9.6(–10.3) μm long (x– ± SD = 8.1 ± 1.5 μm).
Neopestalotiopsis camelliae-oleiferae (NTUPPMCC 18-166 = CD08) A the original habitat of Neopestalotiopsis camelliae-oleiferae; the stroma of Tolypocladium sp. hyperparasitic on an ascocarps of Elaphomyces sp. (Ascomycota) B top view (left) and bottom view (right) of the colony on potato dextrose agar (PDA) after incubation for seven days C conidiomata on carnation leaf D, E conidiogenous cells and immature conidia F–I conidia. Scale bars: 250 μm (C); 20 μm (D–I).
Colonies on PDA reaching 46.25 mm diam. on average after culturing at 25 °C in the dark for seven days, filamentous to circular, with slightly undulate edge, aerial mycelium dense, white to yellowish; reverse yellowish.
Taiwan, New Taipei City, Sanxia District, Manyueyuan National Forest Recreation Area, on stroma of Tolypocladium sp. hyperparasitic on an ascocarps of Elaphomyces sp. (Ascomycota), 25 May 2018, Wei-Yu Chuang, living culture NTUPPMCC 18-166 (= CD08).
Neopestalotiopsis camelliae-oleiferae was originally documented by
On carnation leaves (Dianthus caryophyllus) supplanted on WA (NTUPPMCC 18-163). Sexual morph was not observed in culture. Asexual morph: Conidiomata acervular, globose, semi-immersed, solitary or gregarious, 50–250 μm diam.; oozing globose, dark brown to black conidial masses. Conidiophores obclavate to subcylindrical, hyaline, smooth, annelidic, indistinct and frequently merged to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells ampulliform to subcylindrical, hyaline to pale brown, smooth, (2–)2.3–3.6(–5.2) × (5.4–)6.4–9(–10.1) μm, x– ± SD = 2.9 ± 0.7 × 7.7 ± 1.3 μm. Conidia fusoid to oval, straight or slightly curved, 4-septate, smooth, (4.7–)4.8–5.6(–6.4) × (22.6–)23.7–26.4(–28.5) μm, x– ± SD = 5.2 ± 0.4 × 25 ± 1.3 μm, bearing appendages; basal cell obconic with a truncate base, hyaline, thin-walled, (2.9–)4.3–5.5(–5.9) μm long, x– ± SD = 4.9 ± 0.6 μm; three median cells doliiform to subcylindrical, versicoloured, septa darker than the rest of the cell, thick-walled, the first median cell from base pale brown, (4.4–)4.6–5.4(–6.3) μm long (x– ± SD = 5 ± 0.4), the second median cell honey-brown to brown, (4.1–)4.4–5.2(–5.6) μm long (x– ± SD = 4.8 ± 0.4 μm), the third median cell brown, (4.6–)4.8–5.5(–5.9) μm long (x– ± SD = 5.2 ± 0.4 μm), together (13.4–)14.1–15.9(–17.5) μm long (x– ± SD = 15 ± 0.9 μm); apical cell conical to subcylindrical with a truncate or acute apex, hyaline, thick-walled, (3.5–)4.6–5.6(–6) μm long (x– ± SD = 5.1 ± 0.5 μm). Appendages tubular, hyaline, straight or slightly bent, apical appendage 2–3 (mostly 3), unbranched, (15.5–)17.7–25.5(–33.4) μm long (x– ± SD = 21.6 ± 3.9 μm), basal appendage single, centric, unbranched, (3.2–)4–6.3(–8.2) μm long (x– ± SD = 5.1 ± 1.2 μm).
Neopestalotiopsis haikouensis (NTUPPMCC 18-163 = CD04) A the original habitat of Neopestalotiopsis haikouensis; the stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. B top view (left) and bottom view (right) of the colony on potato dextrose agar (PDA) after incubation for seven days C conidiomata on carnation leaf D, E conidiogenous cells and immature conidia F–I conidia. Scale bars: 250 μm (C); 20 μm (D–I).
Colonies on PDA reaching 45.65 mm diam. on average after culturing at 25 °C in the dark for seven days, filamentous to circular, flat with undulate edge, aerial mycelium moderate dense, white to grey white; reverse similar in colour.
Taiwan, New Taipei City, Sanxia District, Manyueyuan National Forest Recreation Area, on stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. parasitic on an insect (Hymenoptera), 1 August 2018, Wei-Yu Chuang, living culture NTUPPMCC 18-163 (= CD04). Taiwan, Yilan County, Fushan Botanical Garden, on stroma of Ophiocordyceps sp. parasitic on an insect (Hymenoptera), 19 July 2018, Wei-Yu Chuang, living culture NTUPPMCC 18-164 (= CD05). Taiwan, New Taipei City, Sanxia District, Manyueyuan National Forest Recreation Area, on stroma of Tolypocladium sp. hyperparasitic on an ascocarps of Elaphomyces sp. (Ascomycota), 15 July 2021, Yu-Chen Lin, living culture NTUPPMCC 21-057 (= CD12).
Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis revealed that three newly-identified strains (NTUPPMCC 18-163, NTUPPMCC 18-164 and NTUPPMCC 21-057) form a clade closely associated with the ex-type strain of N. haikouensis SAUCC 212271, with robust statistical support (MLB = 100%, MPB = 96%, PP = 1.00). Additionally, the DNA sequences of ITS (100%), tub2 (99.73%) and tef1-α (99.77%) genes of NTUPPMCC 18-163 closely resemble those of the ex-type strain of N. haikouensis (SAUCC 212271) and the morphological features of NTUPPMCC 18-163 align with the original taxonomic description in
See Suppl. material
Taiwan, Pingtung County, Chunri Township, Tahan Forest Road, on stroma of Beauveria sp. parasitic on an insect (Lepidoptera), 7 October 2018, Wei-Yu Chuang, living culture NTUPPMCC 18-161 (= CD02).
As mentioned earlier in this manuscript, even though the new strain NTUPPMCC 18-161 formed a distinct clade basal to N. asiatica, N. chrysea, N. macadamiae and N. umbrinospora in all ML, MP and BI phylogenetic trees, based on the concatenated DNA sequence data matrix, it did not consistently form clades in most of single-locus trees. For instance, in the ITS phylogeny (Suppl. material
Based on the results of the phylogenetic analysis, single strains representing each species were selected to test the growth rate. In total, eight strains were selected and grown on PDA media at 25 °C in the dark for seven days. The diameters of colonies were measured (mm) and the means were calculated and are shown in Fig.
Temperature effect on mycelial growth according to the comparison of colonial growth (mm) of different species at each temperature, based on the mean values presented in Table S11. Colours represent different taxa: NTUPPMCC 18-160, Pestalotiopsis trachycarpicola; NTUPPMCC 18-161, Neopestalotiopsis sp.; NTUPPMCC 18-162, Pestalotiopsis hispanica; NTUPPMCC 18-163, Neopestalotiopsis haikouensis; NTUPPMCC 18-165, Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani.; NTUPPMCC 18-166, Neopestalotiopsis camelliae-oleiferae; NTUPPMCC 21-054, Pestalotiopsis chamaeropis; NTUPPMCC 21-056, Pestalotiopsis formosana.
Fungal mycelial growth was detected for all the tested isolates between 5 to 40 °C and measured as colony diameter. The results of the effect of temperatures on the mycelium growth of tested strains are presented in Fig.
Comparison of the mycelium growth rates of eight pestalotiopsis-like fungal strains at 25 °C. According to Tukey’s range test, data (mean ± standard deviation) with the same letters are not significantly different. Colours represent different taxa: NTUPPMCC 18-160, Pestalotiopsis trachycarpicola; NTUPPMCC 18-161, Neopestalotiopsis sp.; NTUPPMCC 18-162, Pestalotiopsis hispanica; NTUPPMCC 18-163, Neopestalotiopsis haikouensis; NTUPPMCC 18-165, Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani.; NTUPPMCC 18-166, Neopestalotiopsis camelliae-oleiferae; NTUPPMCC 21-054, Pestalotiopsis chamaeropis; NTUPPMCC 21-056, Pestalotiopsis formosana.
The effect of pH on the mycelium growth of tested strains is shown in Fig.
Optimal pH for mycelial growth of each species according to the comparison of colonial growth (mm) of different species at each pH, based on the mean values presented in Table S12. Colours represent different taxa: NTUPPMCC 18-160, Pestalotiopsis trachycarpicola; NTUPPMCC 18-161, Neopestalotiopsis sp.; NTUPPMCC 18-162, Pestalotiopsis hispanica; NTUPPMCC 18-163, Neopestalotiopsis haikouensis; NTUPPMCC 18-165, Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani.; NTUPPMCC 18-166, Neopestalotiopsis camelliae-oleiferae; NTUPPMCC 21-054, Pestalotiopsis chamaeropis; NTUPPMCC 21-056, Pestalotiopsis formosana.
Species of Pestalotiopsis sensu lato comprise a ubiquitous group of fungi that have been reported from various ecological niches. They have been identified as plant pathogens (
In the present study, we identified several strains of Pestalotiopsis sensu lato. The species grouped in Pestalotiopsis and Neopestalotiopsis were associated with the stromata of entomopathogenic fungal species, based on morphology coupled with evolutionary relationships obtained from multi-locus phylogeny. Classification of pestalotiopsis-like fungal species mainly relies on morphological features together with evolutionary relationships, based on the multi-locus phylogeny of ITS, tub2 and tef1-α genes. Even though many species have been introduced in recent years using this criterion, we observed several inconsistencies in the species’ evolutionary relationships based on phylogeny. For example, the two strains. identified as P. trachycarpicola (NTUPPMCC 18-160 and NTUPPMCC 21-055) in the present study and the ex-type strains of P. kenyana, P. oryzae and P. rhodomyrtus, were clustered within the same clade of P. trachycarpicola containing the ex-type strain plus several representative strains (MFLU 18-2524 and NTUCC 18-004) included in ITS, tub2 and multi-locus phylogenies (Fig.
We also implemented Genealogical Concordance Phylogenetic Species Recognition (GCPSR) to understand the species limits of Pestalotiopsis and Neopestalotiopsis taxa. This approach has been applied to delineate species in several fungal groups (
Environmental factors including temperature and pH are the most important components mediating fungal growth and helping researchers understand the biology of fungal taxa. In general, pestalotiopsis-like fungi show optimal growth at 20–30 °C (
In recent years, various studies have illustrated novel and promising taxa associated with stromata of entomopathogenic fungi, such as Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps. For instance,
The present study introduced a novel species, Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani and reported four new records N. camelliae-oleiferae, N. haikouensis, P. chamaeropis and P. hispanica in Taiwan for the first time. The optimal temperature for in-vitro mycelial growth in selected strains from these taxa was found to be 25 °C. Growth was observed to cease at both 5 °C and 35 °C. Furthermore, all strains exhibited faster growth under alkaline conditions when compared to acidic or neutral pH environments. This study expands our knowledge of the diversity of pestalotiopsis-like fungi in Taiwan. Additionally, it represents the first assessment of pestalotiopsis-like fungi associated with the stromata of entomopathogenic fungal taxa. However, since none of the entomopathogenic fungi in this study was successfully isolated and cultured, interactions between these pestalotiopsis-like fungi and entomopathogenic fungi are still unknown.
This research work was also partially supported by Chiang Mai University Big Bang International (43125) project. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Ichen Tsai, Ming-Syun Wu and Li-Hong Chen for their assistance with the samples collection and valuable suggestions. We thank the National Center for High-performance Computing (NCHC) for providing computational and storage resources.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
No ethical statement was reported.
This research was funded by the National Science and Technology Council (former Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST), Taiwan (grant no. 110–2313–B–002–031–, 111–2313–B–002–046– and 112–2313–B–002–027–MY3). This work was financially supported by King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang Research Fund. The authors extend their appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2024R56), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Conceptualisation, HA; methodology SYH, YCX and HA; software, SYH, YCX, HA and YCL; validation, SYH, YCX, NT, MS and HA; formal analysis, SYH, YCX and HA; investigation, WYC and YCL; resources, HA, HAA, AME, NT, MS; data curation, SYH, YCX, HA and YCL; writing-original draft preparation, SYH, YCX, NT, MS and HA; writing-review and editing, SYH, YCX, NT, MS, RC, HAA, AME, HA and SRL; visualisation, HAA, AME, SYH and YCX; supervision, project administration, HA and NT; funding acquisition, SRL, NT, RC and HA. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Sheng-Yu Hsu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6227-0936
Yuan-Cheng Xu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3885-498X
Yu-Chen Lin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2319-0869
Marc Stadler https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7284-8671
Narumon Tangthirasunun https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7619-9464
Ratchadawan Cheewangkoon https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8576-3696
Hind A. AL-Shwaiman https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5872-9083
Abdallah M. Elgorban https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3664-7853
Hiran A. Ariyawansa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8526-7721
All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text or Supplementary Information.
The morphological features of Pestalotiopsis sensu lato fungi and GenBank accession numbers
Data type: xlsx
Explanation note: table S1. The morphological features of pestalotiopsis-like fungi isolated in this study; table S2. GenBank accession numbers of Pestalotiopsis isolates included in the phylogenetic analysis; table S3. GenBank accession numbers of Neopestalotiopsis isolates included in the phylogenetic analysis; table S4. Primers and PCR conditions used to amplify ITS, tub2 and tef1-α gene regions; table S5. Nucleotide substitution models used in the phylogenetic analyses; table S6. Morphological comparison of Pestalotiopsis chamaeropis and its closely-related taxa; table S7. Morphological comparison of Pestalotiopsis hispanica and its closely-related taxa; table S8. Morphological comparison of Pestalotiopsis manyueyuanani and its closely-related taxa; table S9. Morphological comparison of Pestalotiopsis trachycarpicola and its closely-related taxa; table S10. The morphological comparison of Neopestalotiopsis strain NTUPPMCC 18-161 and its closely-related taxa; table S11. Mycelium growth of individual isolate of pestalotiopsis-like fungi at each temperature in this study; table S12. Mycelium growth of individual isolates of pestalotiopsis-like fungi at each pH in this study.
Phylogenetic trees generated by maximum parsimony analysis of single and combined ITS, tub2 and tef1-α sequence data
Data type: pdf
Explanation note: fig. S1. Phylogenetic tree generated by maximum parsimony analysis of combined ITS, tub2 and tef1-α sequence data of Pestalotiopsis. MPB values ≥ 70% are given at the nodes. The scale-bar represents the number of nucleotide substitutions per site. Neopestalotiopsis protearum CBS 114178 was used as an outgroup to rooting the tree. New isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold; fig. S2. Phylogenetic tree obtained through Bayesian Inference for the dataset of ITS, tub2 and tef1-α loci of Pestalotiopsis. PP ≥ 0.95 are given at the nodes. The scale-bar represents the number of nucleotide substitutions per site. Neopestalotiopsis protearum CBS 114178 was used as an outgroup for rooting the tree. New isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold; fig. S3. Phylogenetic tree generated by maximum parsimony analysis of combined ITS, tub2 and tef1-α sequence data of Neopestalotiopsis. MPB values ≥ 70% are given at the nodes. The scale-bar represents the number of nucleotide substitutions per site. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae MFLUCC 12-0055 was used as an outgroup for rooting the tree. New isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold; fig. S4. Phylogenetic tree obtained through Bayesian inference for the dataset of ITS, tub2 and tef1-α loci of Neopestalotiopsis. PP ≥ 0.95 are given at the nodes. The scale-bar represents the number of nucleotide substitutions per site. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae MFLUCC 12-0055 was used as an outgroup for rooting the tree. New isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold; fig. S5. Phylogenetic tree generated by Maximum Likelihood analysis of ITS sequence data of Pestalotiopsis. MLB values ≥ 70% are given at the nodes. The scale-bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per site. Neopestalotiopsis protearum (CBS 114178) was used as an outgroup for rooting the tree. New isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold; fig. S6. Phylogenetic tree generated by Maximum Likelihood analysis of tub2 sequence data of Pestalotiopsis. MLB values ≥ 70% are given at the nodes. The scale-bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per site. Neopestalotiopsis protearum (CBS 114178) was used as an outgroup for rooting the tree. New isolates are in red, and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold; fig. S7. Phylogenetic tree generated by Maximum Likelihood analysis of tef1-α sequence data of Pestalotiopsis. MLB values ≥ 70% are given at the nodes. The scale-bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per site. Neopestalotiopsis protearum (CBS 114178) was used as an outgroup for rooting the tree. New isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold; fig. S8. Phylogenetic tree generated by Maximum Likelihood analysis of ITS sequence data of Neopestalotiopsis. MLB values ≥ 70% are given at the nodes. The scale-bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per site. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae MFLUCC 12-0055 was used as an outgroup for rooting the tree. New isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold; fig. S9. Phylogenetic tree generated by Maximum Likelihood analysis of tub2 sequence data of Neopestalotiopsis. MLB values ≥ 70% are given at the nodes. The scale-bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per site. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae MFLUCC 12-0055 was used as an outgroup for rooting the tree. New isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold; fig. S10. Phylogenetic tree generated by Maximum Likelihood analysis of tef1-α sequence data of Neopestalotiopsis. MLB values ≥ 70% are given at the nodes. The scale-bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per site. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae MFLUCC 12-0055 was used as an outgroup for rooting the tree. New isolates are in red and taxa representing ex-type cultures are in bold.