A novel species of Loculosulcatispora (Sulcatisporaceae, Pleosporales) on Juglans regia from Sichuan, China Author Wang, Fei-Hu 0000-0002-3227-5194 National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China & scbzwfh @ 163. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 3227 - 5194 Author Wang, Yan-Lin 0009-0009-0821-9318 National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China & 18208346720 @ 163. com; https: // orcid. org / 0009 - 0009 - 0821 - 9318 Author Zeng, Qian 0000-0001-6153-9462 National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China & zq 1573037145 @ 163. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0001 - 6153 - 9462 Author Xu, Xiu-Lan 0000-0002-6832-5421 Forestry Research Institute, Chengdu Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China & xuxiulanxxl @ 126. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 6832 - 5421 Author Liu, Ying-Gao National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China & lyg 927 @ 263. net Author Yang, Chun-Lin 0000-0002-3854-8835 National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River & Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China & yangcl 0121 @ 163. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 3854 - 8835 text Phytotaxa 2023 2023-10-19 620 4 264 272 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.620.4.2 journal article 275737 10.11646/phytotaxa.620.4.2 b5666202-345f-4512-8719-dce86949fb13 1179-3163 10024131 Loculosulcatispora juglans F.H. Wang & C.L. Yang , sp. nov. ( FIG. 2 ) Index Fungorum : IF 558308 FIGURE 2. Loculosulcatispora juglans (SICAU 22-0078, holotype). a, b Appearance of ascomata on dead host. c, d Vertical section of ascomata. e Ostiole. f Peridium . g Hamathecium interwoven with asci and pseudoparaphyses. h–j Asci. k Asci stained by Melzer’s reagent. l–o Ascospores. p Germinating ascospores in sterilized water. q, r Culture characters on PDA. Scale bars: b = 1 mm, c = 500 µm, d = 100 µm, e = 50 µm, f–k = 20 µm, p = 10 µm, l–o = 5 µm. Etymology:— Referring to the host genus Juglans on which the fungus was collected. Type:— China , Sichuan Province , Neijiang City , 29°48′30′′N , 105°6′36′′E , 340 m , on dead twigs of Juglans regia ( Juglandaceae ), 17 May 2021 , F . H . Wang, WFH202105006, ( SICAU 22-0078 , holotype ), ex-type culture SICAUCC 22-0079 . Saprobic on dead twigs of Juglans regia . Sexual morph: Ascomata 370–470 × 410–520 µm ( x = 380 × 430 µm, n = 10), solitary, scattered, or sometimes gregarious, immersed, erumpent at maturity, dome-shaped to ellipsoid or irregular, black, uni-loculate, glabrous, with a central ostiole. Ostioles 60–90 × 80–140 μm ( x = 75 × 110 μm, n = 40), single, black, short papillate. Peridium 10–13 μm, thick, unequal thickness, outer layer comprising brown to black cells of textura angularis , internal wall thin and hyaline. Pseudoparaphyses 1–2.5 μm wide, dense, filamentous, septate, unbranched, hyaline, arising around inner wall of locules. Asci (46–)78–112(–135) × (7–)9–21 μm ( x = 90 × 14 μm, n = 40), 4-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, clavate, pedicellate, apically rounded with well-developed ocular chamber. Ascospores (20–)26–36(–34) × (8–)9–12(–14) μm ( x = 31 × 10 μm, n = 50), overlapping, uni- to bi-seriate, hyaline, fusiform, broad fusiform with oval ends, 1-septate, distinctly constricted at septum, smooth-walled, with two large droplets in each cell, surrounded by inapparent, thin, sheath at ends. Asexual morph : Undetermined. Culture characteristics:— Ascospores germinated in sterilized water within 24 h and producing germ tubes from both ends. The colonies on PDA exhibited slow growth, achieving a diameter of approximately 2.8 cm after 25 days at 25ºC under a 12-hour light/12-hour dark cycle, featuring circular, white-grey centers with white margins, floccose texture, slight elevation, smooth edges, white granular surface spots, circular cracks, and a red-brown ring on the reverse side. Notes:— Loculosulcatispora juglans forms a sister clade to L. hongheensis , L. thailandica , and Parasulcatispora clematidis with high statistical support ( FIG. 1 ). Morphologically, L. juglans differs from the sexual descriptions of L. hongheensis and P. clematidis . A morphometric analysis revealed that the ascomata, asci, and ascospores of P. clematidis were comparatively smaller than those of L. hongheensis and L. juglans . Notably, P. clematidis ( MFLUCC 17-2082) exhibited the unique trait of oil droplet production in culture, a characteristic not observed in L. hongheensis and L. juglans . A morphological comparison of L. juglans , L. hongheensis , and P. clematidis is presented in TABLE 2 . Nucleotide comparisons of ITS , LSU , SSU , tef 1-α, and rpb 2 sequences from our isolate showed discrepancies with sequences from L. hongheensis ( HKAS 122920, holotype ), with similarities of 91% (697/762, 23 gaps), 98.98% (877/886, 3 gaps), 99.3% (996/1003, 1 gap), 96.8% (877/906, 36 gaps), and 89.5% (936/1046, 39 gaps), respectively. Comparisons with L. thailandica ( MFLUCC 20-0108, holotype ) revealed similarities of 97.4% (742/762, 12 gaps), 96.3% (853/886, 2 gaps), 88.4% (887/1003, 1 gaps), 99.9% (877/878, 38 gaps), and 71.9% (752/1046, 22 gaps), respectively. Furthermore, comparisons with P. clematidis ( MFLUCC 17-2082, holotype ) indicated similarities of ITS 66.9% (510/762, 53 gap), LSU 97.5% (864/886, 5 gaps) and tef 1-α 98.3% (877/892, 39 gaps), respectively. Therefore, considering the observed morphological distinctions and strong phylogenetic support, we hereby propose the introduction of L. juglans sp. nov.