title: Cornuvesica: A little known mycophilic genus with a unique biology and unexpected new species.
abstract: Little is known about the biology of the monotypic genus Cornuvesica (Microascales), apart from that isolates are notoriously difficult to culture on artificial media. A recent collection of material resembling this genus from freshly made wounds on Gmelina arborea in Indonesia, provided an opportunity to reconsider all available material of Cornuvesica falcata, type species of the genus. In addition to morphological comparisons, multigene phylogenetic analyses were made using sequences of the SSU, ITS, LSU and TEF-1α genes. Our results showed that the holotype of Cor. falcata from pine in Canada differed from all other material previously considered to represent this species and also from the new Indonesian collections. The collections considered represented three additional species that we describe here as new. Three New Zealand isolates and an isolate from UK were respectively described as Cor. acuminata and Cor. crypta, while the Indonesian isolates were described as Cor. magnispora. Phylogenies based on the SSU and LSU data sets showed that Cornuvesica spp. do not belong in the Ceratocystidaceae as previously suggested, but represent a distinct lineage in the Microascales that has yet to be named. Results showed that culture filtrates from other fungi or ferric chloride markedly stimulated the growth of Cor. magnispora.
authors.affiliation: Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, Republic of South Africa. Electronic address: seonju.marincowitz@fabi.up.ac.za.
authors.forename: Seonju
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marincowitz
authors.affiliation: Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, Republic of South Africa; Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Tuan A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Duong
authors.affiliation: Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, Republic of South Africa; Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wilhelm de Beer
authors.affiliation: Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wingfield
mesh_terms: D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D019686:Lamiaceae / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D055155:Ophiostomatales / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal
keywords: Ceratocystidaceae; Commensal symbiosis; Culture enrichment; Ferric chloride; Insect−associated fungi; Microascales