Punctochaete murina gen. et sp. nov. (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) from southwestern China

Wood-inhabiting fungi play an integral role in wood degradation and the cycle of matter in the ecological system. They are considered a ʻkey playerʼ in wood decomposition because of their ability to produce all kinds of enzymes that break down lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. In this study, some wood-inhabiting mushrooms were collected from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Asia, and based on the morphological and molecular evidence, they are introduced as Punctochaete murina J.H.Dong & C.L.Zhao gen. et sp. nov. Punctochaete J.H.Dong & C.L.Zhao gen. nov. is characterized by resupinate basidiomata with a punctate hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system and generative hyphae bearing clamp connections, and cylindrical to allantoid, thin-walled, smooth, slightly curved basidiospores. Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (nLSU) markers of the studied samples were generated, and phylogenetic analyses were performed with maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference methods. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS+nLSU nuclear RNA gene regions showed that Punctochaete forms a monophyletic lineage within the order Auriculariales in which it is sister to a clade comprising two closely related genera: Exidiopsis and Tremellochaete.