Capnofrasera abieticola, a new species of dothideomycetous sooty moulds on Abies veitchii and its molecular phylogenetic position

A new species of dothideomycetous sooty mould, Capnofrasera abieticola, is illustrated and described based on fresh specimens collected in Sugadaira, central Japan. It occurred mixed with the subicula of another dominant sooty mould, Metacapnodium neesii (Metacapnodiaceae), on the living twigs and leaves of Abies veitchii (Pinaceae, Pinales). It is morphologically distinguishable from the closest species Capnofrasera flatbergii on branches of Ulmus sp. (Ulmaceae, Rosales) in Sweden by its shorter and narrower phragmoconidia and its host preference. A single phragmoconidium was successfully isolated from the holotype (TNS F-108821) and yield a sterile culture (i.e., no fructifications). Molecular phylogeny based on the concatenated SSU, LSU, and RPB2 dataset revealed that C. abieticola could be assigned to Neoantennariellaceae, not Antennulariellaceae within Capnodiales s. str. (Dothideomycetes).