This study describes a novel fungal species belonging to the genus Gongronella. During a previous work focusing on metalaxyl degradation by Mucorales strains, two isolates from vineyard soil samples collected in the Alentejo region, south Portugal, were identified as a putative novel species based on combined molecular and MALDI-TOF MS data. This new species is described here using a polyphasic approach that combines morphology, internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA (ITS) and 28S ribosomal DNA (LSU) sequence data analysis and proteomic profiling by MALDI-TOF MS. Phenotypic and molecular data enabled this novel species to be clearly distinguished from other Gongronella species with results of combined ITS+LSU analysis showing that the Gongronella species is related to Gongronella butleri and Gongronella brasiliensis. Therefore, from the results of morphological and molecular analyses, isolates MUM 10.262 and MUM 10.263 seem to represent a new Gongronella species and the name Gongronella eborensis sp. nov. is proposed, with the ex-type strain MUM 10.262 (=CCMI 1100=CBS 128763).
Keywords: Cunninghamellaceae; ITS; LSU; Mucorales; phylogeny; taxonomy.