A new Coniosporium species from historical marble monuments

The aim of this investigation was to use morphological and molecular genetic techniques to characterize strains of newly discovered biodeteriorative fungal species originating from antique marble monuments in the Mediterranean basin (Side, Antalya, Turkey). The strains studied were isolated from the lid of a sarcophagus in the Side Museum. Black colonies were picked up and purified by one to several transfers onto culture media. Their morphology was characterized, and DNA was extracted, and amplified. Novelty of the selected species is supported by sequencing of the small ribosomal subunit (18 S) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. The black meristematic species is placed in the genus Coniosporium. Judging from SSU phylogeny data, this species is supposed to belong to the Chaetothyriales. Analysis of nucleotide sequences did not show a degree of similarity to any sequence in Genbank that would allow to assign it to one of the already existing species. The new species was denominated as C. sumbulii.