Sexual morph of Allophoma tropica and Didymella coffeae-arabicae ( Didymellaceae , Pleosporales , Dothidiomycetes ), including novel host records from leaf litter in Thailand

Abstract

ABSTRACTStudying the taxonomy, diversity and host preference of leaf litter inhabiting microfungi contributes towards elucidating hidden taxa, their host affinities and recovering novel life modes dwelling inside forest ecosystems. Leaf litter-inhabiting microfungi also play a crucial role in forest ecosystems through decomposition and nutrient recycling. This study resulted in the introduction of saprobic Didymellaceae microfungi from Doi Tung Forest Reserve, Chiang Rai, northern Thailand. Fungal isolates were characterised based on morphology and molecular phylogeny of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS, LSU) and protein-coding genes (tub2, rpb2). Allophoma tropica and Remotididymella ageratinae are recorded from dead leaves of Nayariophyton zizyphifolium (Malvaceae), and Didymella coffeae-arabicae from Dalbergia cultrata and Afzelia xylocarpa (Fabaceae). This study also reports the sexual morph of Allophoma tropica and Didymella coffeae-arabicae and provides molecular evidence for the first reports of sexual morphs from Thailand.KEYWORDS: Host preferencemulti-gene phylogenynew sexual recordPleosporalessaprobic fungitaxonomy AcknowledgementNethmini P. Samaradiwakara is grateful to Chiang Mai University Presidential Scholarship 2020. Authors would like to thank Chiang Mai University for their partial support in conducting the study. Kevin D. Hyde and Chitrabhanu S. Bhunjun would like to thank the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) grant ‘Total fungal diversity in a given forest area with implications towards species numbers, chemical diversity and biotechnology’ (grant number N42A650547). Anthonio Roberto Gomes de Farias thanks Thailand Science and Innovation (TSRI) and National Science and Innovation Fund (NSRF) Fundamental fund grant (Grant no. 662A1616047), entitled ‘Biodiversity, ecology, and applications of plant litter-inhabiting fungi for waste degradation’ for partially funding this research. Chitrabhanu S. Bhunjun would like to thank Martin van de Bult, Narong Apichai and the Doi Tung Development Project for allowing sample collection (permission number 7700/17142) with the title ‘The diversity of saprobic fungi on selected hosts in northern Thailand’. All the staff and colleagues at the Centre of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand are acknowledged.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementAll sequences generated in this study were submitted to GenBank (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).Additional informationFundingAuthor would like to thank Thailand Science and Innovation (TSRI) and National Science and Innovation Fund (NSRF) Fundamental fund grant (Grant no. 662A1616047), entitled ‘Biodiversity, ecology, and applications of plant litter-inhabiting fungi for waste degradation’ for partially funding this research.