title: Common, unsightly and until now undescribed: Fumiglobus pieridicola sp. nov., a sooty mold infesting Pieris japonica from western North America.
abstract: Sooty molds (Capnodiaceae) are saprotrophs on the surfaces of leaves, and they take their nutrients from honeydew exuded by sap-sucking insects. We describe and illustrate the sooty mold Fumiglobus pieridicola sp. nov., which, to the dismay of gardeners, forms a thick black mycelial coating on the leaves and twigs of ornamental Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica) in western North America. As a mitosporic species with a pycnidium that lacks an elongated neck and has at most a rudimentary stalk, the species belongs in the genus Fumiglobus. Although locally common, we found no specimens identified under Fumiglobus or its synonyms in regional herbaria and no record of any similar fungus in host indices. Our species differs from others in Fumiglobus in having smaller pycnidia and conidia and in having intercalary as well as apical pycnidia. We determined partial 18S and 28S ribosomal gene sequences for F. pieridicola, the first for any Fumiglobus species. Sequence analysis provides strong bootstrap support for including Fumiglobus within Capnodiaceae. We also determined 18S and 28S sequences for the type species of the mitosporic genus Conidiocarpus, also in Capnodiaceae. We confirm that Conidiocarpus is the anamorph of Phragmocapnias. Following the rules of nomenclatural priority, we propose the new combinations Conidiocarpus asiaticus, Conidiocarpus betle, Conidiocarpus callitris, Conidiocarpus fuliginodes, Conidiocarpus heliconiae, Conidiocarpus imperspicuus and Conidiocarpus siamensis. We hope that describing the mystery fungus from our region and providing sequences for its molecular identification will lead to new studies on its biology and distribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada, and Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, 74 Lunnon Road, Hillcrest, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
authors.forename: Tanay
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bose
authors.affiliation: University and Jepson Herbaria, 1001 Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-2465.
authors.forename: Don R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada mary.berbee@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mary L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Berbee
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001483:Base Sequence; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D029791:Ericaceae / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques; D009656:North America; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013172:Spores, Fungal
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S
keywords: Capnodiaceae; Conidiocarpus; Ericaceae; Fumiglobus; Pieris; scale insects