Digitopodium hemileiae was described originally in 1930 as Cladosporium hemileiae; growing as a mycoparasite of the coffee leaf rust (CLR), Hemileia vastatrix, in a sample of diseased leaves of Coffea canephora collected in the Democratic Republic of Congo. No cultures from this material exist. More recently, the type material was re-examined and, based on morphological features, considered to be incorrectly placed in Cladosporium. The new genus Digitopodium was erected to accommodate this species. Interest in fungal antagonists of H. vastarix, as potential biocontrol agents of CLR, led to comprehensive surveys for mycoparasites, both in the African centre of origin of the rust, as well as in its South American exotic range. Among the rust specimens from Ethiopia, one was found to be colonized by a fungus congeneric with, and similar to, D. hemileiae. Pure cultures obtained from the Ethiopian material enabled a molecular study and for its phylogenetic position to be elucidated, based on DNA sequence data from the ITS and LSU regions. Molecular data showed that two members of the recently erected genus Hyalocladosporiella (Herpotrichiellaceae: Chaetothyriales) are congeneric with Digitopodium from Ethiopia and morphologically similar to both D. hemileiae and the two Ethiopian isolates. These isolates were found to be morphologically and genetically identical to H. tectonae, described previously from Brazil. Thus, species of Hyalocladosporiella are re-allocated to Digitopodium here; including D. tectonae, and a novel species, D. canescens, recently found in Brazil growing as a mycoparasite of Puccinia thaliae. The potential use of D. hemileiae and D. tectonae for classical biological control of CLR is discussed.

中文翻译：

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真菌吃真菌的世界：Digitopodium，特别是咖啡叶锈病的真菌寄生虫 Hemileia badatrix


Digitopodium hemileiae 最初于 1930 年被描述为 Cladosporium hemileiae；在刚果民主共和国收集的中咖啡病叶样本中，咖啡叶锈病 (CLR) 的真菌寄生虫 Hemileia badatrix 生长。不存在来自这种材料的文化。最近，对模式材料进行了重新检查，并根据形态特征，认为被错误地放置在枝孢属中。新的马齿苋属是为了适应这个物种而建立的。人们对 H. badarix 真菌拮抗剂作为 CLR 的潜在生物防治剂的兴趣，引发了对非洲锈病起源中心及其南美外来地区的真菌寄生虫的全面调查。在埃塞俄比亚的锈病标本中，有一个被发现被一种与 D. hemileiae 同属且相似的真菌定植。从埃塞俄比亚材料中获得的纯培养物能够根据 ITS 和 LSU 地区的 DNA 序列数据进行分子研究并阐明其系统发育位置。分子数据显示，最近直立的Hyalocladosporiella属（Herpotrichiellaceae：Chaetothyriales）的两个成员与来自埃塞俄比亚的Digitopodium是同属的，并且在形态上与D. hemileiae和两个埃塞俄比亚分离株相似。发现这些分离株在形态和遗传上与之前在巴西描述的 H. tectonae 相同。因此，Hyalocladosporiella 的物种被重新分配到这里的 Digitopodium；包括 D. tectonae 和一种新物种 D. canescens，最近在巴西发现，作为拟叶锈菌 (Puccinia thaliae) 的真菌寄生虫生长。讨论了 D. hemileiae 和 D. tectonae 在 CLR 经典生物防治中的潜在用途。