Phylogenetic and Morphological Analysis of a Novel <i>Allocucurbitaria</i> Species Isolated from <i>Lelia decempunctata</i> in South Korea

A fungal strain NIBRFGC000512623, belonging to the family Cucurbitariaceae, was isolated from a stink bug (<i>Lelia decempunctata</i>) collected from Gunwi-gun, Daegu, South Korea. Phylogenetic analyses based on the concatenated nucleotide sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and partial sequences of large subunit 28S rRNA, β-tubulin, and RNA polymerase II subunit genes revealed that the strain belonged to the genus <i>Allocucurbitaria</i> but occupied a distinct phylogenetic position. The strain NIBRFGC000512623 was compared with closely related species <i>A. botulispora</i> and <i>A. Mori</i> and morphologically distinguished from <i>A. botulispora</i> by its colony color on MEA medium (white <i>vs.</i> dark olive-brown), <i>A. mori</i> by the smaller size of its conidiogenous cells. According to molecular phylogeny and morphology, we suggested the new species <i>Allocucurbitaria koreanum</i> sp. nov. and provided a descriptive illustration.