Four new species of Emericella from the Mediterranean region of Europe

Abstract

Four new species of Emericella, E. discophora, E. filifera, E. olivicola and E. stella-maris, are proposed. Their new taxonomic status was determined applying a polyphasic taxonomic approach using phenotypic (morphology and extrolite profiles) and molecular (sequences of ITS, β-tubulin and calmodulin genes) characters. Ascospores of E. stella-maris and E. olivicola have star-shape equatorial crests, those of E. filifera form long appendages that emerge radially from narrow stellate crests and those of E. discophora produce wide and entire, nonstellate equatorial crests. E. stella-maris originated from leaf litter in Tunisia and E. filifera from raisins in Argentina, and both of them also were found in hypersaline water of a saltern in Slovenia. E. olivicola was isolated from olives in Italy and E. discophora from soil in Spain. All listed species possess distinct extrolite profiles: E. stella-maris produced arugosin E, shamixanthone and the yet unelucidated metabolites glia 1–3; E. filifera produced shamixanthone and varitriols; E. discophora produced sterigmatocystin and versicolorins; E. olivicola produced numerous extrolites such as arugosin E, siderin, shamixanthone, sterigmatocystin, terrein, varitriols and aflatoxin B₁, of which the latter was detected only in one of the two strains.

• β-tubulin
• calmodulin
• extrolites
• ITS
• polyphasic taxonomy

We thank Kazimir Drašlar for preparing some of the SEM illustrations, Walter Gams for providing the Latin diagnoses and Hans-Josef Schroers for critically reading the manuscript. We also thank Jos Houbraken, Barbara Kastelic Bokal and Ellen Kirstine Lyhne for their skillful technical assistance. Ricardo Comerio kindly sent us his isolate of E. filifera.