Taxonomic Novelties of Woody Litter Fungi (Didymosphaeriaceae, Pleosporales) from the Greater Mekong Subregion

Biology (Basel). 2022 Nov 13;11(11):1660. doi: 10.3390/biology11111660.

Abstract

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is known as a diverse geographic landscape and one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in the world with a high fungal diversity. Collections were carried out in terrestrial habitats to determine the diversity of woody litter fungi in the GMS, with an emphasis on northern Thailand and the Yunnan Province of China. Morphological characteristics and multigene phylogenetic analyses of combined SSU, LSU, ITS, and tef1-α supported the placement of the new isolates in the family Didymosphaeriaceae. The phylogenetic affinities of our isolates are illustrated through maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses. Seven species of woody litter fungi were identified, comprising a new monotypic genus, Septofusispora; five novel species (Chromolaenicola sapindi, Dictyoarthrinium thailandicum, Karstenula lancangensis, Septofusispora thailandica, and Spegazzinia jinghaensis); and new host records of two species (Austropleospora archidendri, and Montagnula donacina). Furthermore, this study provides a synopsis of the Montagnula aff. donacina species based on their morphological characteristics, which can be useful in the species-level identifications in this genus.

Keywords: Ascomycota; new genus; new taxa; phylogenetic; saprobic; taxonomy.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation of China (Grant No.: 32001296), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS, China (Grant No.: 2022396), the Thailand Research Fund (Grant No. RDG6130001), the High-End Foreign Experts in the High-Level Talent 318 Recruitment Plan of Yunnan Province, 2021, CAS President’s International Fellowship Initiative (Grant No. 2021FYB0005), the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 32150410362), the Postdoctoral Fund from Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Yun-nan Province, the Onsite Visiting Scholars for World Class Research Collaboration Programme under the Reinventing University System Project sponsored by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation, Thailand, and the National Research Council of Thailand—NRCT (Grant No. N42A650547).