What's in a name: Crinipellis, the final resting place for the frosty pod rot pathogen of cocoa?

Abstract

Confusion still surrounds the identify and even the common name of the causal agent of frosty pod rot of cocoa, nearly 70 years after its placement in the genus Monilia, and over 20 years since its transfer to the new genus Moniliophthora, which was erected to accommodate what was considered to be a basidiomycete anamorph. Based on molecular and cytological evidence, we confirm that the fungus belongs in the Basidiomycotina and is closely related to the witches' broom pathogen of cocoa, Crinipellis perniciosa (Tricholomataceae: Agaricales). However, the only known reproductive stage in the life-cycle does not, in fact, represent the anamorph since meiosis occurs during sporogenesis and germination. The meiospore is interpreted to be a radically modified basidium, which performs a sexual, dispersal and resting function. The genus Moniliophthora, therefore, can no longer be maintained and must be reduced to synonymy with Crinipellis. The new combination, Crinipellis roreri, is proposed.