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-1a 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.
