Microsphaeropsis
Microsphaeropsis Syd. & P. Syd., Annls mycol. 14(5): 369 (1916).
Index Fungorum number: IF 8936; Facesoffungi number: FoF 08716, 45 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2022), 4 species with molecular data.
Saprobic or pathogenic on host. Sexual morph: Ascomata immersed to semi-erumpent, globose or subglobose, dark brown to black, coriaceous. Peridium comprising reddish to dark brown cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium comprising numerous, filamentous, branched, septate, pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, clavate, pedicellate, thick-walled at the apex, with minute ocular chamber. Ascospores overlapping biseriate, mostly ellipsoidal, muriform, 6−7-transversely septate, with 1−2 vertical septa, slightly constricted at the septa, initially hyaline to pale yellow, becoming brown to dark brown at maturity, rounded at both ends, surrounded by a thick mucilaginous sheath (adapted from Wanasinghe et al. 2018). Asexual morph: Conidiomata pycnidial, immersed or erumpent, subglobose, solitary or confluent, ostiolate. Pycnidial wall of textura angularis. Conidiogenous cells phialidic, hyaline, ampulliform to doliiform or subcylindrical, with a prominent apical periclinal thickening. Conidia thin-walled, smooth or finely roughened, hyaline when young, becoming pale brown to yellowish or greenish brown, variable in shape, ovoid, globose, cylindrical to bacilliform, ellipsoidal to oblong, straight to slightly curved, 0–1- septate (adapted from Chen et al. 2015).
Type species: Microsphaeropsis olivacea (Bonord.) Höhn.
Notes: Microsphaeropsis is characterised by pycnidial, immersed or erumpent, subglobose conidiomata, phialidic, hyaline, ampulliform to doliiform conidiogenous cells, and pale brown to yellowish or greenish brown ovoid 0–1-septate conidia. Microsphaeropsis differs from Didymella in having different conidial ornamentation and darker conidia. The taxonomic placement has undergone several changes in recent years. Barr (1987) placed Microsphaeropsis in Phaeosphaeriaceae. De Gruyter et al. (2013) confirmed the placement of Microsphaeropsis in Didymellaceae based on phylogenetic analyses. This treatment was accepted by Hyde et al. (2013) and Wijayawardene et al. 2014, 2018). Chen et al. (2015) reported that Microsphaeropsis is basal to Didymellaceae and introduced the family Microsphaeropsidaceae to introduce the genus. Hou et al. (2020) reported that all Microsphaeropsis species reside inside the Didymellaceae, and are closely related to Neomicrosphaeropsis and Paramicrosphaeropsis and hence, reduced Microsphaeropsidaceae to Didymellaceae. Microsphaeropsis is a distinct genus in Didymellaceae but this placement is still doubtful. More collections with DNA sequence data are needed to confirm the taxonomic placement of the genus. Molecular markers available for Microsphaeropsis are ITS, LSU, SSU, Actin, BTUB and RPB2.
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