Leptomelanconium
Leptomelanconium Petr., Annls mycol. 21(3/4): 179 (1923).
Index Fungorum number: IF 8750; Facesoffungi number: FoF 07016, 7 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2022), 1 species with molecular data.
Saprobic on needles or cones of Pinaceae (Gymnosperm), causing lesions on leaves of Myrtaceae (Dicotyledons). Sexual morph: Leptomelanconium sensu lato asexual morph of Teratosphaeria fide Crous et al. (2009). Asexual morph: Conidiomata acervular, subepidermal or immersed, erumpent at maturity, solitary or gregarious or confluent, globose, unilocular. Conidiomata wall composed of thin-walled, pale brown cells of textura angularis. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells or if presence, cylindrical, unbranched or branched at the base, septate, hyaline to pale brown, smooth walled, formed from the upper pseudoparenchyma. Conidiogenous cells holoblastic, annellidic, cylindrical, integrated or discrete, indeterminate, pale brown, verruculose, with up to 4 verruculose percurrent proliferations. Conidia navicular to clavate, or ellipsoid, base truncate, 0–1-septate, continuous or constricted at septum, brown, thick-walled, verruculose (adapted from Wijayawardene et al. 2016).
Type species: Leptomelanconium asperulum (Moesz) Petr.
Notes: Leptomelanconium is characterised by acervular, subepidermal conidiomata, with wall comprising pale brown cells of textura angularis, cylindrical conidiophores, unbranched or branched at the base, holoblastic, annellidic conidiogenous cells and navicular to clavate, or ellipsoid, 0–1-septate conidia. Petrak (1962) synonymized Cryptomela allescheri with Leptomelanconium asperulum based on morphology and this was followed by Sutton (1977, 1980). In the phylogenetic analysis of Crous et al. (2009), Leptomelanconium australiense formed a distinct clade in Teratosphaeria s. str., hence the new combination T. australiense was proposed. Molecular data is lacking for the type species of Leptomelanconium, and it needs an epitype. Currently, Leptomelanconium is a distinct genus in Teratosphaeriaceae, but more taxa are needed to confirm this placement. Molecular markers available for Leptomelanconium are LSU and ITS.
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