Unveiling Species Diversity Within Early-Diverging Fungi from China VII: Seven New Species of Cunninghamella (Mucoromycota)

The fungal genus <i>Cunninghamella</i>, ubiquitously distributed as saprotrophic organisms with occasional endophytic and phytopathogenic manifestations, holds significant biomedical and biochemical importance. During systematic investigations of fungal biodiversity in China, seven novel taxa (<i>C. amphispora</i> sp. nov., <i>C. cinerea</i> sp. nov., <i>C. flava</i> sp. nov., <i>C. hainanensis</i> sp. nov., <i>C. rhizoidea</i> sp. nov., <i>C. simplex</i> sp. nov., and <i>C. yunnanensis</i> sp. nov.) were delineated through integrated taxonomic approaches incorporating morphological characterization, multilocus phylogenetic analyses (ITS-LSU-<i>TEF1α</i>), and physiological assessments. Phylogenetic reconstructions positioned these novel species within a well-supported clade along with <i>C. bainieri</i> and <i>C. verticillata</i>. New species and their diagnostic features are <i>C. amphispora</i>, exhibiting dimorphic sporangiola production; <i>C. cinerea</i>, distinguished by gray pigmentation in the colony; <i>C. flava</i>, characterized by a yellow colony; <i>C. hainanensis</i> and <i>C. yunnanensis,</i> bearing eponymous designations reflecting their geographic origins; and <i>C. simplex</i>, displaying simplified sporangiophore branching. Comprehensive taxonomic descriptions accompanied by photomicrographic illustrations are provided herein. This study constitutes the seventh installment in an ongoing series elucidating early-diverging fungal diversity in China, expanding the global <i>Cunninghamella</i> taxonomic inventory to 63 species and advancing our understanding of mucoralean phylogeny.