ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Bryocentria insolens (Hypocreales) – a new bryophilous ascomycete on Lewinskya and a preliminary phylogenetic analysis of European Bryocentria
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Submission date: 2025-03-09
Acceptance date: 2025-05-26
Online publication date: 2025-07-03
Publication date: 2025-07-03
Plant and Fungal Systematics 2025; 70(1): 28-37
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The bryophilous genus Bryocentria comprises nineteen species of mostly hepaticolous
parasites exhibiting a range of distinctive ascospore features and host-parasite
interactions. While Bryocentria has been relatively well studied in Europe, with several
common and well-known species, new taxa continue to be encountered and most species
lack molecular data. Here, we describe a new, muscicolous species of Bryocentria and
provide molecular barcoding data for most European species. Bryocentria insolens sp. nov.
parasitizes the mosses Lewinskya affinis and L. speciosa, with records from Switzerland
and Belgium. The new species deviates from most congenerics by parasitising mosses
rather than liverworts, and its ascospores lack the medial, cyanophilous band-like structures
typical of most species in the genus. New molecular data from the LSU locus from
Bryocentria insolens, B. hypothallina, B. metzgeriae and B. cyanodesma are combined with
recent data from B. brongniartii and B. confusa in a preliminary phylogenetic analysis of
the genus. These data support the hypothesis that the sequenced species form a natural
group. Furthermore, they suggest that the distinctive transverse band-like structures in
the medial regions of the ascospores of most Bryocentria species is a trait that arose after
the acquisition of a bryophilous lifestyle by a likely necrotrophic hypocrealean ancestor.
Finally, a key to the European members of the genus is provided to aid with identification.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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