Fungi from Asian Karst formations III. Molecular and morphological characterization reveal new taxa in Phaeosphaeriaceae

Abstract

An ongoing study on ascomycetes from Karst landforms in Guizhou Province, China yielded 6 new taxa that belong to the Phaeosphaeriaceae. These include 2 novel monotypic genera: Hydeopsis (with H. verrucispora sp. nov.) and Pseudoophiosphaerella (with P. huishuiensis sp. nov.), and two new species: Hydeomyces pinicola and Leptospora hydei. Multi-gene phylogenetic analyses of a concatenated LSU-ITS-SSU-TEF1-α sequence data were performed to infer their phylogenetic relationships. Hydeopsis is morphologically characterized by subglobose, papillate, dark brown to black ascomata, cellular pseudoparaphyses, clavate, bitunicate, fissitunicate asci and ellipsoidal to fusiform, hyaline to pale pigmented, 3-septate ascospores with a mucilaginous sheath. Hydeopsis is phylogenetically related to Dactylidina and Phaeopoacea, but can be recognized as a distinct lineage and these genera can also be distinguished based on morphology. Pseudoophiosphaerella is morphologically similar to Ophiosphaerella in having cylindric-clavate asci and scolecospores, but is phylogenetically distant from the latter and more closely related to Dlhawksworthia. Comprehensive illustrations and detailed descriptions of these taxa are provided, and relationships with allied genera or species are discussed based on comparative morphology and phylogenetic evidence.