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Dick, M.A.; Dobbie, K. 2001: Mycosphaerella suberosa and M. intermedia sp. nov. on Eucalyptus in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 39: 269-276.

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Dick, M.A.; Dobbie, K. 2001: Mycosphaerella suberosa and M. intermedia sp. nov. on Eucalyptus in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 39: 269-276.
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ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Northland, Riverhead Forest, on living leaves of E. saligna, C. Inglis, 11 Sep 1998, NZFRI-M 3874; Bay of Plenty, Rotoehu Forest, compartment 123, on living leaves of E. saligna, K. Dobbie, 27 Jul 1998, NZFRI-M 3832, culture NZFS 301.11; Rotoehu Forest, compartment 7, on living leaves of. E. saligna, K. Dobbie, 29 Jul 1998, NZFRI-M 3838; Rotoehu Forest, compartment 20, on living leaves of E. saligna, K. Dobbie, 23 Jul 1998, NZFRI-M 3839, culture NZFS 301.12; Waimana Forest, on living leaves of E. saligna, K. Dobbie, 12 Aug 1998, NZFRI-M 3869, culture NZFS 301.13.
Leaf spots amphigenous, up to 10 mm in diameter and finally becoming confluent, pale in colour on the abaxial surface, rust-brown with a slightly raised, dark brown margin, surrounded by a diffuse, 1-2 mm wide, red-purple zone on the adaxial surface.. Pseudothecia mainly epiphyllous, numerous, discrete but densely scattered, never aggregated, black. subglobose, 60-80 µm high, 60-70 µm wide, sub-epidermal, becoming erumpent, ostiole broadly papillate. Asci bitunicate, subsessile with a distinctly swollen foot, ellipsoidal to obovoid, straight or slightly curved, 8-spored, 24-38 x 4-9 µm. Ascospores bi- to multi-seriate, eguttulate, hyaline. straight or slightly curved, smooth, both apices obtuse, medianly 1 -septate, only slightly or not constricted at the septa, widest in the middle of the apical cells, tapering towards both apices but the taper more pronounced in the basal cells, 12-16 x 2-4 µm. Anamorph not observed.
ASCOSPORE GERMINATION: Ascospores germinating after 24 h on water agar. Germ tubes emanating from the apices of both cells (occasionally from the basal cell alone), aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ascospores. No distortion or darkening of ascospores and no further constriction of the septa observed. There was a marked constriction at the point of exit of the germ tube. Additional germ tubes were formed after 36 h.
CULTURE: Colony diameter 26-40 mm after one month on 3% malt extract agar at 25 °C in the dark. Colonies pale grey-green, reverse dark grey-green. Aerial mycelium felty, grey to tan, surface undulating to folded, margin even to slightly irregular. Pseudothecia developing in some cultures after 8 weeks on 3% malt extract agar and 4 weeks on carnation leaf agar under near ultra-violet light. No anamorph was observed.
Maculae amphigenae, usque ad 10 mm diametri, denique confluentes; in pagina abaxialis pallidae; in pagina adaxialis ferruginae, cum margine brunneo, leviter elevato, zona difftusa, 1-2 mm lata, rubrapurpurea, circumcincta. Pseudothecia praecipue epiphylla, numerosa, discreta, dense dispersa, non-aggregata, nigra, subglobosa, 60-80 µm altra, 60-70 µm lata, subepidermalia denique erumpentia, ostiolis late papillatis. Asci bitunicati, subsessiles cum distinctis tumidis pedibus, ellipsoidi ad obovodi, recto vel leviter incurvati, octospori, 24-38 x 4-9 µm. Ascosporae biseriatae ad multiseriatae, eguttulatae, hylinae, rectae vel leviter incurvatae, leves, apices utrinque obtusae, 1-septatae, ad septas non vel exiguae constrictae, latissime in medio cellulae apicales, ad apices utrinque gradatim contractas plus prominentes in cellulae basalibus, 12-16 x 2-4 µm. Status anamorphicus a nobis non visa.
Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the intermediate nature of this species in that it resembles a number of described species without agreeing closely with any of them.
Mycosphaerella intermedia was initially found on leaves of 1-2-year-old seedlings which were attacked by a number of other leaf pathogens. It has also been found on the suppressed foliage of older trees. It appears to cause very little damage.
Habitat in foliis vivis Eucalypti salignae. Bay of Plenty, Rotoehu Forest, Kohekohe Road, 30 Jun 1998, L. Renney, NZFRI-M 3831, culture NZFS 301.10.
Eucalyptus muelleriana A. W.Howitt SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Northland, Kaikohe, Knudsen Road, on living leaves of Eucalyptus muelleriana, C. Inglis, 27 May 1998, NZFRI-M 3827, culture NZFS 335.01; Northland, Kaikohe, Knudsen Road, on living leaves of E. muelleriana, C. Inglis, 26 Aug 1998, NZFRI-M 3863, culture NZFS 335.00.

Leaf spots epiphyllous, eventually becoming amphigenous, circular, 5-15 mm in diameter, becoming confluent, dark brown and corky with a diffuse yellow-red margin on the adaxial surface, abaxial surface discoloured and eventually becoming necrotic. Pseudothecia initially epiphyllous, eventually becoming amphigenous, numerous, discrete but densely scattered, black, globose, 60-70 µm wide, intraepidermal becoming erumpent, ostiole non-papillate, wall of variable thickness, thinnest at the base and thickest at the ostiole. Asci bitunicate, subsessile, 8-spored, ellipsoid to obclavate, straight or slightly curved, 30-40 x 1216 µm. Ascospores bi- to multi-seriate, guttulate, hyaline, smooth, obtuse at each apex, medianly 1septate, constricted at the septum, widest in the middle of the apical cell, tapering towards each apex but the taper more pronounced in the basal cell, 10-17 x 3-6 µm, with mucoid sheath. Anamorph not observed.

ASCOSPORE GERMINATION: Ascospores germinating after 48 h on water agar, becoming slightly piµmented and often with several germ tubes emanating from each of the two cells. Germ tubes form randomly and produce numerous septa. Ascospores become very distorted after forming 3-4 septa.

CULTURE: Colony diameter <5 mm after one month on 3% malt extract agar at 25°C in the dark, dull black, colony surface raised with a hard texture, aerial mycelium sparse. Margin entire, crenate and slightly appressed.

NOTES: The morphological characters of M. suberosa from the New Zealand collections are compared with descriptions of the fungus from Australia and South America in Table 1. The presence of sheaths around the ascospores has not been recorded elsewhere and the ascospores became light brown rather than dark brown on germination. Carnegie et al. (1997) reported that in the Australian collection the two original cells of the ascospore became verruculose after germination. This was not reported in the original description (Crous et al. 1993a) and was not observed in the New Zealand collections. However, Carnegie et al. (1997) reported a personal communication from P. W. Crous that this can occur in the type material. Ascospores from the New Zealand collections were germinated on water agar in contrast to the 2% MEA used by Crous et al. (1993a) and Carnegie et al. (1997), which may account for the differences in germination. Cultural characteristics were similar to those described by both Crous et al. (1993a) and Carnegie et al. (1997).
The pseudothecia are also slightly smaller, but the New Zealand collections generally agree with the previously published descriptions of M. suberosa (Table 1). The small differences in the morphological characters of the New Zealand fungus may be attributable to its presence on a host on which it has not previously been recorded. It is of interest to note that the hosts on which M. suberosa has been found in South America, Indonesia, and Australia (E. dunnii, E. globulus, E. grandis, E. moluccana, E. saligna, E. viminalis) belong to Eucalyptus subgenus Symphyomyrtus, whereas the New Zealand host, E. muelleriana, is in Eucalyptus subgenus Eucalyptus (Brooker 2000).
The New Zealand cultures of M. suberosa have been examined by A. W. Milgate (University of Tasmania) and the 5.8S and flanking ITS 1 and ITS2 regions of the rDNA sequenced for comparison with isolates of Australian Mycosphaerella species. The sequence from the New Zealand isolates of M. suberosa was identical with that from the Western Australian isolate of M. suberosa (VPRI 20605) described by Carnegie et al. (1997) (A. W. Milgate pers. comm.).

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274efe87-8766-11d5-bebb-00508bca8de8
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Names_Fungi
2 August 2001
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