Novel endophytic species of Coniochaeta and Preussia from the botanical tribe Triticeae in Iran

Abstract

Two new endophytic species, Preussia aegilopis (Sporormiaceae) isolated from seeds of Aegilops umbellulata and Coniochaeta tritici (Coniochaetaceae) isolated from stem of Triticum aestivum in Iran, are described using morphology and ITS-LSU rDNA sequence analysis. Preussia aegilopis only produces a coelomycetous anamorph in culture that is distinguished from other similar anamorphs of Preussia species by having ostiolate pycnidia often covered with sparse, straight, smooth, brown, septate, unbranched setae, and abundant chlamydospores, which are uni- to multicellular (dictyosporous or botryoid), intercalary or terminal, smooth, and subhyaline to olivaceous brown. The lecythophora-like anamorph of Coniochaeta tritici is mainly characterized by producing both adelophialides with distinct collarettes and discrete, long, cylindrical philaides with barely visible collarettes, and microcyclic conidiation occurring by monopolar to multipolar budding of mother cells having terminal, subterminal or lateral openings with collarettes. Phylogenetic trees using Maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods indicate that Preussia aegilopis and Coniochaeta tritici are distinct.