Description of Pseudopestalotiopsis kubahensis sp. nov., a new species of microfungi from Kubah National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract

Asurvey on the diversity and distribution ofmicrofungiwas carried out, during whicha distinct Pestalotiopsis-liketaxa was isolated from green leaves of Macarangasp.fromKubah National Park,Sarawak.The phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from the internal transcribed spacer gene region (ITS1, 5.8Sand ITS2) of the rDNA shows this species to form a distinct clade from the Pestalotiopsis, and cluster withthe genus Pseudopestalotiopsis, a new genus which was recently carved out from the Pestalotiopsis. This species differs from closely relatedPseudopestalotiopsisspeciessuch as Ps. cocos, Ps. indicaand Ps. theaeby its conidial characters such as its unknobbed apical appendages and shorterbasal appendages. The new microfungalspecies, Ps.kubahensisis hereby describedbased on morphological and molecular data as the fifth species in the genus Pseudopestalotiopsis.