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Ruwenzoria, a new genus of the Xylariaceae from Central Africa

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An Erratum to this article was published on 23 January 2010

Abstract

During a foray to the mountain rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a peculiar species of Xylariaceae was found, which could not be accommodated in any of the existing genera. It is recognised as representative of a new genus, named Ruwenzoria, owing to the presence of a new combination of teleomorphic and anamorphic characters that are regarded as significant for generic segregation within the Xylariaceae. Studies on its secondary metabolites in stromata and cultures by high performance liquid chromatography, coupled with diode array and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-DAD/MS), and on its phylogenetic affinities based on 5.8S/ITS rDNA sequence data, respectively, revealed a close relationship of the new taxon to the genera Daldinia and Entonaema, from which it differs by having neither a hollow, gelatinous nor a conspicuously zonate stromatal interior, and an anamorph featuring enteroblastic rather than holoblastic conidiogenesis. A specimen from the same geographic region, previously identified as Daldinia bakeri by R.W.G. Dennis was found to constitute a mixture of stromata of Ruwenzoria and an additional, undescribed Daldinia species. The latter fungus is not formally described due to the scantiness of the material, but its morphological characteristics are illustrated.

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Acknowledgements

Our warmest thanks go to André Fraiture (BR) for sending us important specimens. Expert technical assistance by Beata Schmieschek and Dirk Müller (InterMed Discovery), and Christina Leistner (Univ. Bayreuth) is also gratefully acknowledged. Furthermore, Jørgen Kristiansen is thanked for his correction of the Latin diagnoses. Fabienne Flessa (Bayreuth) coordinated the DNA sequencing. C.D. expresses his sincere gratitude to the directors and staff of ICCN-Mutsora (especially Fabius Monya), of WWF Goma (especially Gratien Bashonga), and to Marc Languy, Coordinator of the WWF Albertine rift conservation project, for their invaluable logistic help during this short fungal survey of the Rwenzori. C.D. gratefully acknowledges also the financial support received from the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (contract BCCM C3/10/003 and BL/10/C41), the “Fonds de la Recherche Fondamentale Collective” (FNRS/FRFC, contract # 2.4515.06), and the Global Taxonomy Initiative (project GTI/ExtC/2007.31).

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Correspondence to Marc Stadler.

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Taxonomic novelties

Ruwenzoria J. Fournier, M. Stadler, Læssøe & Decock, gen. nov.

Ruwenzoria pseudoannulata J. Fournier, M. Stadler, Læssøe & Decock, sp. nov.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11557-009-0640-2

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Stadler, M., Fournier, J., Læssøe, T. et al. Ruwenzoria, a new genus of the Xylariaceae from Central Africa. Mycol Progress 9, 169–179 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-009-0623-3

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