New Species of Talaromyces (Fungi) Isolated from Soil in Southwestern China

Biology (Basel). 2021 Aug 4;10(8):745. doi: 10.3390/biology10080745.

Abstract

Southwestern China belongs among the global biodiversity hotspots and the Daba Mountains are recognized as one of the priority conservation areas. During the exploration of fungal biodiversity from soil samples collected from Mount Daba, two species of Talaromyces were discovered as new to science based on phylogenetic analyses and morphological comparisons. Talaromyces chongqingensis sp. nov. is a sister taxon of T. minioluteus and T. minnesotensis in the section Trachyspermi; and T. wushanicus sp. nov., affiliated to the section Talaromyces, is closely related to T. cnidii and T. siamensis. The new species differ from their sisters in DNA sequences, growth rates, and morphological characteristics. Descriptions and illustrations of them are provided in detail.

Keywords: Ascomycota; DNA barcodes; Eurotiales; Trichocomaceae; biodiversity hotspot; phylogeny; taxonomy.