Spegazzinia camelliae sp. nov. (Didymosphaeriaceae, Pleosprales), a new endophytic fungus from northern Thailand

A new endophytic ascomycete, described herein as Spegazzinia camelliae, was isolated from leaves of Camellia sinensis var. assamica collected from Nan Province, Thailand. This species is characterized by basauxic conidiophores and dark brown to blackish brown alpha and beta conidia. It can be distinguished from previously described Spegazzinia species by the spine length of the a conidia and the size of the beta conidia. Multi-gene phylogenetic analyses of the small subunit (SSU), large subunit (LSU) and internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1) genes also support S. camelliae is a distinct new species within Spegazzinia. A full description, color photographs, illustrations and a phylogenetic tree showing the position of S. camelliae are provided.

Automated summary

A new endophytic ascomycete species, Spegazzinia camelliae, isolated from leaves of Camellia sinensis var. assamica collected in Nan Province, Thailand, is described in this study. The species is distinguished by specific characteristics and supported as a distinct new species within the Spegazzinia genus through multi-gene phylogenetic analyses. The study provides a detailed description, color photographs, illustrations, and a phylogenetic tree showing the position of S. camelliae.