Taxonomic novelties of two Neosulcatispora species (Pleosporales, Phaeosphaeriaceae) associated with Agave vera-cruz plants in a dry-hot valley of Yunnan, China

Neosulcatispora is a poorly known coelomycetous genus of Phaeosphaeriaceae , previously represented by two species. During a survey of microfungi associated with dead leaves of Agave vera-cruz in the dry-hot valley of Honghe County, Yunnan Province, China, five isolates representing two unknown lineages were obtained. Morphology, culture characteristics and a multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of concatenated SSU, LSU, ITS, tef1-α and rpb2 sequence data support their recognition as two new species viz. Neosulcatispora agavicola sp. nov . and N. hongheensis sp. nov . Neosulcatispora agavicola is characterized by relatively large, semi-immersed to erumpent conidiomata and golden-brown to dark brown, 1-septate, longitudinally striate conidia. Neosulcatispora hongheensis has smaller conidiomata and mature, 3–4-septate conidia. The new taxa form independent lineages within the clade containing the type species, N. agaves . In contrast, the ex-type strain of N. strelitziae is recovered elsewhere in Phaeosphaeriaceae in the present analysis, indicating that the generic placement of N. strelitziae requires reassessment using broader taxon and locus sampling. These findings increase the known diversity of Neosulcatispora sensu stricto and emphasize the dry-hot valleys of southwestern China as an understudied niche of undescribed plant-associated microfungi.