Didymium azorellae, a new myxomycete from cushion plants of cold arid areas of South America

Diana Wrigley de Basanta, Arturo Estrada-Torres, Iván García-Cunchillos, Asunción Cano Echevarría, Carlos Lado

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11 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new species of Didymium (Myxomycetes), D. azorellae, isolated from plant debris in a moist chamber, collected during studies of cold arid areas of Argentina and Peru, is described. It can be distinguished by its small size, the tightly packed layer of lime crystals on the peridium, the very scant, or absent, capillitium, and the unique spore ornamentation, especially by scanning electron microscopy. The species developed on dead leaves of cushion plants growing in the extremely harsh environments of the central Andean puna at almost 5000 m elevation and the Andino-Patagonian steppe. Morphology was examined with scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy, and micrographs of relevant details are included here. In order to confirm the identity of the new species described in this paper, a molecular study was conducted based on partial sequences of both the 18S rRNA and the elongation factor 1-alpha gene. Phylogenetic analysis including two specimens from different countries of the newly described species, Didymium azorellae, strongly supports the grouping of these specimens as a separate clade from the rest of the analyzed species.
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)993-1002
Number of pages10
JournalMycologia
Volume109
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2017

Keywords

  • 1 new taxon
  • 18S rRNA gene
  • Amoebozoa
  • Azorella
  • EF-1α
  • Neotropics
  • Phylogeny
  • Scanning electron microscope
  • Taxonomy
  • Xerophiles

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