Exploration of ascomycetous fungi revealing novel taxa in Southwestern China

This study explores the fungal diversity of Southwestern China, focusing on ascomycetous fungi associated with decaying plant materials. Through morphological and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses, we identified 31 new species and a new genus across six fungal orders, Amphisphaeriales, Chaetosphaeriales, Dyfrolomycetales, Hypocreales, Pleosporales, and Xylariales. The newly described species include Allodiatrype flavigelida, Anteaglonium stromatolineum, Anthostomatopsis chinensis, An. suiyangensis, Apiospora anshunensis, Arecophila chinensis, Ar. amphibambusina, Astrocystis liuzhouensis, Astrosphaeriella gaofengensis, As. roseobrunnea, Coniolariella cuneiapicalis, Didymobotryum bambusae, Digitodochium anshunense, Fissuroma chinense, Immotthia chinensis, Lophiostoma bijiense, L. yunnanense, Magnostiolata tubulariapicalis, Ma. subtubularia, Melomastia chinensis, Memnoniella chrysanthemi, Minuticlypeus biconcavus, Nemania jiuwanshanensis, Neolinocarpon huaxiense, Nigropunctata chinensis, Ni. liuzhouensis, Pallidoperidium chinense, Peroneutypa heveae, Rosellinia nemaniae, R. putrida and Vamsapriya kailiensis. Additionally, we propose six new combinations based on comparative morphological and phylogenetic analyses, Amphigermslita subyunnanensis, Am. yunnanensis, Anthostomatopsis guizhouensis, Minuticlypeus rhaphidophylli, M. xiaohensis and Pallidoperidium smilacis. Furthermore, we report three taxa, Astrosphaeriella bambusae, Didymobotryum rigidum, and Endocalyx melanoxanthus as new geographical records in China. Previous studies and our phylogenetic analyses revealed that the genera Muscodor, Emarcea, and Spiririma form a monophyletic clade distinct from representatives of Xylariaceae, for which we propose the new family Muscodoraceae fam. nov. These findings highlight the fungal diversity of this ecologically rich region, with its varied climates and habitats ranging from subtropical forests to alpine ecosystems. The species described in this study represent only a small fraction of mycoflora in the region, emphasizing the need for further comprehensive surveys via polyphasic approaches to uncover the full extent of the mycoflora in this region.