Pseudoxenochalara gen. nov. (Dermateaceae, Helotiales), with P. grumantiana sp. nov. from the Svalbard archipelago

• Published in: Botanica Serbica
• Main Authors: Vadim Alexandrovich Iliushin, Irina Yuryevna Kirtsideli
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Belgrade 2023
• Subjects: dermateaceae; helotiales; multi-gene phylogeny; arctic tundra; svalbard; Plant ecology; QK900-989; Arctic; Barentsburg; Svalbard; Svalbard Archipelago; Tundra
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2298/BOTSERB2301055I; https://doaj.org/article/b702ef90d0eb4ed49e5f6b3af5b74d73

The family Dermateaceae belongs to the Helotiales order, the class Leotiomycetes, and consists of 14 genera. In this study, we introduce the new genus Pseudoxenochalara gen. nov. to the Dermateaceae family, which is supported by morphological observations and multilocus phylogenetic analysis. Partial sequences of the loci encoding β-tubulin (BenA), ribosomal polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2), 28S rDNA (LSU) and internal transcribed spacer rDNA region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) were analysed. This genus comprises one new species, P. grumantiana, isolated from the soil of the Arctic tundra near the settlement of Barentsburg (the Svalbard archipelago). The asexual morph of P. grumantiana was described. The sequences data, as well as the macroand micromorphological characteristics distinguish P. grumantiana from all known species in the Dermateaceae family.