Unveiling Species Diversity Within Early-Diverging Fungi from China IX: Four New Species of Mucor (Mucoromycota)

<i>Mucor</i> species are fast-growing filamentous fungi, widespread in natural ecosystems. As opportunistic pathogens, some species can cause mucormycoses in humans and animals, while others hold significant economic value in food fermentation and bioengineering. In this study, four novel species were identified from soil samples collected in Xizang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province, China, and their establishment as new species was supported by morphological characteristics and molecular data (ITS-LSU-<i>RPB1</i>), with phylogenetic analyses conducted using the Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) methods. <i>M. globosporus</i> sp. nov. is characterized by producing globose chlamydospores. <i>M. multimorphus</i> sp. nov. is distinguished by swelling in the sporangiophores. <i>M. polymorphus</i> sp. nov. is differentiated by polymorphic chlamydospores. And <i>M. xizangensis</i> sp. nov. reflects its geographical origin in the Xizang Autonomous Region. Comprehensive descriptions of each novel taxon are presented herein. This study constitutes the ninth segment in an ongoing series elucidating early-diverging fungal diversity in China, expanding the understanding of the phylogeny of <i>Mucor</i> fungi and extending the worldwide number of known <i>Mucor</i> species to 137.