Pyrrhospora russula
Pyrrhospora russula (Ach.) Hafellner, in Kalb & Hafellner, Herzogia 9(1-2): 86 (1992)
= Ramboldia russula (Ach.) Kalb, Lumbsch & Elix, Nova Hedwigia 86 (1-2): 37 (2008)
Facesoffungi number: FoF05801
Lichenized on dead stem. Thallus: crustose, grey to green, granulose, rimose. Sexual morph: Apothecia 0.8–1.5 mm diam., arising singly or in small groups, sessile, slightly erumpent from the thallus, pulvinate, roundish or irregular, reddish orange. Hypothecium flat. Margins concolorous to receptacle. Hymenium hyaline to orangish, within a thick gelatinous matrix, turned reddish in KOH. Epithecium branched and pigmented paraphyses apices form clearly distinguished epithecium above the hymenium, yellowish and turned red in KOH. Excipulum 60–100 µm at flanks, composed of loosely arranged hyphae without algal cells, outer cells are orangish, inner cells are hyaline. Paraphyses 1.2–1.8 µm wide, numerous, filiform, apically branched, septate. Asci 25–35 × 8–12 µm, 8-spored, clavate to subglobose, narrowed to base, short pedicellate, rounded at the apex, amyloid ring absent at the ascus apex. Ascospores 6–10 × 2–3 µm, hyaline, smooth-walled, ellipsoid. Asexual morph: Undetermined.
Material examined – Thailand, Chiang Rai Province, Mae Fah Luang University, on dead
stems, 22 May 2015, A.H. Ekanayaka, HD010 (MFLU 16-0575).
GenBank accessions – ITS-MK499340
Notes – Our molecular data clearly indicates that our new strain of MFLU 16-0575 which was collected on a dead stem from Thailand, is monophyletic with Pyrrhospora russula in the ITS matrix. The Pyrrhospora russula clade of these two strains is supported by 98% bootstrap support and their ITS sequence data are similar by 96%. This identification is supported by it having orange-red to bright red apothecia, a reddish hymenium and ellipsoid ascospores as in the description provided by Gumboski (2014). However ascospores of previous collection from Brazil are slightly larger (8–12 × 3–4 μm) than our collection (Gumboski 2014). Moreover, P. laeta is morphologically similar to P. russula, but P. russula differs in having highly branched apices to the paraphyses (Kalb & Hafellner 1992). This species is known from America, Africa and Asia (Gumboski 2014). The generally large differences in base pairs warrants further investigation of what appears to be a species complex.
Phylogram generated from a maximum likelihood analysis based on ITS sequence data. Nine strains were included in the sequence analyses, which comprised 577 characters including gaps. Lecanora hagenii T396 was used as outgroup. Bootstrap support values for ML equal or greater than 50% are given above the nodes. Newly generated sequences in blue.
Morphology of Pyrrhospora russula (MFLU 16-0575). a Substrate. b, c Ascomata on wood. d Cross section of an ascoma. e Close up of a vertical section of the ascoma at margin. f Filiform paraphyses. g-j Short pedicellate asci. k-o Ovate ascospores. Scale bars: d = 400 µm, e = 100 µm, f = 20 µm, g-j = 15 µm, k-o = 5 µm
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