Mycosphaerellales » Mycosphaerellaceae

Cercosperma

Cercosperma G. Arnaud ex B. Sutton & Hodges, Nova Hedwigia 35(4): 798 (1983) [1981].

Index Fungorum number: IF 7544; Facesoffungi number: FoF 08589, 2 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2021), molecular data unavailable.

Saprobic on host. Sexual morph: Unknown. Asexual morph: Mycelium mostly superficial, composed of thick-walled, branched, brown, anastomosing, smooth hyphae; hyphopodia and setae absent. Conidiophores micro- to semi-macronematous, mononematous, erect, pale brown, often with a single short lateral branch at base. Conidiogenous cells holoblastic, determinate, integrated or discrete, terminal on the main axes or lateral branches, pale brown, smooth, with flattened apex. Conidia solitary, dry, acrogenous, straight to curved, tapered towards apex, truncate at base, distoseptate, alternate septa thickened, lumina reduced, smooth, pale brown (adapted from Sutton and Hodges 1981).

 

Type species: Cercosperma arnaudii B. Sutton & Hodges

 

Notes: Cercosperma is characterised by micro- to semi-macronematous, mononematous, pale brown conidiophores, and dry, acrogenous, pale brown distoseptate conidia. The taxonomic position of Cercosperma is unresolved due to lack of molecular data. Cercosperma is similar to Ceratophorum, another genus with an uncertain taxonomic placement. Sutton and Hodges (1983) also discussed the similarities of Cercosperma to Sporidesmium with both having almost similar conidia or extremely short conidiophores and conidiogeneous cells. Cercosperma however, differs from Sporidesmium in having very short conidiophores with distoseptate conidia. The two species of Cercosperma are differentiated based on conidial dimensions and morphology. Cercosperma longispora has conidia which are longer and wider below the middle and tapered towards both ends while those of C. arnaudii are widest at the truncate base and taper gradually to subacute apices. DNA sequence data is needed to resolve the taxonomic placement of Cercosperma. The placement of Cercosperma in Mycosphaerellaceae is doubtful. We could not borrow the holotype of C. arnaudii. We illustrate the genus with a drawing of C. longispora, the second species of Cercosperma collected on Eucalyptus tereticornis (Myrtaceae) leaf litter from South India.

 

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