Samsoniella hepiali
Samsoniella hepiali (Q.T. Chen & R.Q. Dai ex R.Q. Dai, X.M. Li, A.J. Shao, Shu F. Lin, J.L. Lan, Wei H. Chen & C.Y. Shen) H. Yu, R.Q. Dai, Y.B. Wang, Y. Wang & Zhu L. Yang, Fungal Diversity 103: 31 (2020)
Index Fungorum number: IF 833114; Facesoffungi number: FoF 13965
Parasitic on pupa of Limacodidae. Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Synnemata 2 cm in high, 1.6 mm in wide, multiple, cylindrical, white, branched. Conidiophores 12–50 × 1.4–2.7 (x̄ = 31 × 2, n = 15) μm, micronematous, divergent, septate, smooth-walled, branched, apically carrying whole of matulae or phialides. Matulae 3–5.5 × 2.1–3.5 (x̄ = 4.2 × 2.7, n = 30) μm, cylindrical, smooth-walled. Phialides 4.5–7 × 1.5–3 (x̄ = 5.6 × 2.3, n = 35) μm, flask-shaped, monophialidic. Conidia 2–3.5 × 1.3–2 (x̄ = 2.9 × 1.6, n = 30) μm, hyaline, broadly fusiform, aseptate, aggregated in chain.
Culture characteristics – Colonies on PDA reaching 5.2 after 30 days at 25 °C, white, circular, velvety, margin entire, reverse white.
Material examined – China, Yunnan Province, Honghe County, Amushan natural reserve, on pupa of Limacodidae lying on leaf litter, 23 October 2018, De-Ping Wei, AMS09 (HKAS 102443), living culture KUNCC 21-10501.
Notes – Samsoniella hepiali was introduced as a new combination with the basionym, Paecilomyces hepialid (Wang et al. 2020). This species was reported to infect the larvae of Hepialus parasitized by Ophiocordyceps sinensis in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China and the pupa or larva of Lepidoptera in Laocai Province, Vietnam. In this study, we collected a specimen which occurs on pupa of Limacodidae in Honghe County, Yunnan Province, China. Phylogenetically, it has close affinity with S. hepiali with high support. Our collection morphologically resembles S. hepiali in the erect, branched synnemata with white conidia in the apex, the isaria-like conidiophores and flask-shaped phialides and fusiform or oval conidia (Wang et al. 2020). The morphological observation and the molecular analysis support our collection as S. hepiali.
Samsoniella hepiali (HKAS 102443). a Synnemata. b Host. c, d Synnemata growing from host. e, f Conidiophores. g, h Phialides bearing conidia. i–l Conidia. Scale bars: b, c = 5000µm, d = 2000 µm, e, f = 30 µm, g, h = 10 µm, i–l = 3 µm (e–h stained with Congo red solution).
Reference:
Wei DP, Gentekaki E, Wanasinghe DN, Karunarathna SC, Tang SM, Hyde KD 2022 – Diversity, molecular dating and ancestral characters state reconstruction of entomopathogenic fungi in Hypocreales. Mycosphere 13: 281–351.
Recent Genus
SamsoniellaGibellula
Akanthomyces
Recent Species
Samsoniella hepialiGibellula gamsii
Cordyceps qingchengensis