A review of bambusicolous Ascomycota in China with an emphasis on species richness in southwest China

Bamboos not only provide socio-economic benefits to communities within the region,but also provide ecosystem services such as soil-water conservation,stabilization of sandy soils and restoration of soil nutrients.Bambusicolous ascomycetes refer to ascomycetous fungi living on any substrate of bamboo.As the largest group of fungi on bamboo,they play a significant ecological value in species composition and the structure of the fungal community,circulation of materials and energy flow of nutritional elements.In an effort to document the bambusicolous Ascomycota found in China,we assessed all major sources of academic literature,journal papers,and the USDA database(https://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/fungushost/fungushost.cfm)for reports of these fungi from China.As a result,we produced a systematic and comprehensive checklist of bambusicolous Ascomycota in China.Current names of fungi,bamboo host name,bamboo substrate,details of collected localities,references and latest classification for every bambusicolous ascomycete in China are also provided.In addition,we focused on the species richness of bambusicolous Ascomycota in China with an emphasis on southwest China.

Fungal diversity notes 1611-1716: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on fungal genera and species emphasis in south China

This article is the 15th contribution in the Fungal Diversity Notes series,wherein 115 taxa from three phyla,nine classes,28 orders,48 families,and 64 genera are treated.Fungal taxa described and illustrated in the present study include a new family,five new genera,61 new species,five new combinations,one synonym,one new variety and 31 records on new hosts or new geographical distributions.Ageratinicolaceae fam.nov.is introduced and accommodated in Pleosporales.The new genera introduced in this study are Ageratinicola,Kevinia,Pseudomultiseptospora(Parabambusicolaceae),Marasmiellomycena,and Vizzinia(Porotheleaceae).Newly described species are Abrothallus altoandinus,Ageratinicola kunmingensis,Allocryptovalsa aceris,Allophoma yuccae,Apiospora cannae,A.elliptica,A.pallidesporae,Boeremia wisteriae,Calycina papaeana,Clypeo-coccum lichenostigmoides,Coniochaeta riskali-shoyakubovii,Cryphonectria kunmingensis,Diaporthe angustiapiculata,D.campylandrae,D.longipapillata,Diatrypella guangdongense,Dothiorella franceschinii,Endocalyx phoenicis,Epicoc-cum terminosporum,Fulvifomes karaiensis,F.pannaensis,Ganoderma ghatensis,Hysterobrevium baoshanense,Inocybe avellaneorosea,I.lucida,Jahnula oblonga,Kevinia lignicola,Kirschsteiniothelia guangdongensis,Laboulbenia caprina,L.clavulata,L.cobiae,L.cosmodisci,L.nilotica,L.omalii,L.robusta,L.similis,L.stigmatophora,Laccaria rubriporus,Lasiodiplodia morindae,Lyophyllum agnijum,Marasmiellomycena pseudoomphaliiformis,Melomastia beihaiensis,Nemania guangdongensis,Nigrograna thailandica,Nigrospora ficuum,Oxydothis chinensis,O.yunnanensis,Petriella thailandica,Phaeoacremonium chinensis,Phialocephala chinensis,Phytophthora debattistii,Polyplosphaeria nigrospora,Pronectria loweniae,Seriascoma acutispora,Setoseptoria bambusae,Stictis anomianthi,Tarzetta tibetensis,Tarzetta urceolata,Tetraploa obpyriformis,Trichoglossum beninense,and Tricoderma pyrrosiae.We provide an emendation for Urnula ailaoshanensis Agaricus duplocingulatoides var.brevisporus introduced as a new variety based on morphology and phylogeny.

The amazing potential of fungi:50 ways we can exploit fungi industrially

Fungi are an understudied,biotechnologically valuable group of organisms.Due to the immense range of habitats that fungi inhabit,and the consequent need to compete against a diverse array of other fungi,bacteria,and animals,fungi have developed numerous survival mechanisms.The unique attributes of fungi thus herald great promise for their application in biotechnology and industry.Moreover,fungi can be grown with relative ease,making production at scale viable.The search for fungal biodiversity,and the construction of a living fungi collection,both have incredible economic potential in locating organisms with novel industrial uses that will lead to novel products.This manuscript reviews fifty ways in which fungi can potentially be utilized as biotechnology.We provide notes and examples for each potential exploitation and give examples from our own work and the work of other notable researchers.We also provide a flow chart that can be used to convince funding bodies of the importance of fungi for biotechnological research and as potential products.Fungi have provided the world with penicillin,lovastatin,and other globally significant medicines,and they remain an untapped resource with enormous industrial potential.

Species concepts of Dothideomycetes:classification,phylogenetic inconsistencies and taxonomic standardization

The species is one of the basic units of biological classification.Both species concepts and recognition are essential topics in taxonomic studies and other biological research.In the first part of this review,we briefly discuss the taxonomic history of the class Dothideomycetes.In the second part of the paper,we review four commonly used species concepts,focusing on morphological,ecological,biological and phylogenetic criteria and their applicability in the taxonomy of Dothideomycetes.The application and utility of the four criteria is discussed with examples in the genera Ascochyta,Cercospora and Neofu-sicoccum.Some problems and challenges of studying Dothideomycetes are analyzed and basic guidelines for classifying species under the above criteria are provided.

Taxonomy,phylogeny,molecular dating and ancestral state reconstruction of Xylariomycetidae(Sordariomycetes)

Xylariomycetidae(Ascomycota)is a highly diversified group with variable stromatic characters.Our research focused on inconspicuous stromatic xylarialean taxa from China,Italy,Russia,Thailand and the United Kingdom.Detailed morpho-logical descriptions,illustrations and combined ITS-LSU-rpb2-tub2-tef1 phylogenies revealed 39 taxa from our collections belonging to Amphisphaeriales and Xylariales.A new family(Appendicosporaceae),five new genera(Magnostiolata,Mela-nostictus,Neoamphisphaeria,Nigropunctata and Paravamsapriya),27 new species(Acrocordiella photiniicola,Allocryp-tovalsa sichuanensis,Amphisphaeria parvispora,Anthostomella lamiacearum,Apiospora guiyangensis,A.sichuanensis,Biscogniauxia magna,Eutypa camelliae,Helicogermslita clypeata,Hypocopra zeae,Magnostiolata mucida,Melanostictus longiostiolatus,M.thailandicus,Nemania longipedicellata,N.delonicis,N.paraphysata,N.thailandensis,Neoamphispha-eria hyalinospora,Neoanthostomella bambusicola,Nigropunctata bambusicola,N.nigrocircularis,N.thailandica,Occul-titheca rosae,Paravamsapriya ostiolata,Peroneutypa leucaenae,Seiridium italicum and Vamsapriya mucosa)and seven new host/geographical records are introduced and reported.Divergence time estimates indicate that Delonicicolales diverged from Amphisphaeriales+Xylariales at 161(123-197)MYA.Amphisphaeriales and Xylariales diverged 154(117-190)MYA with a crown age of 127(92-165)MYA and 147(111-184)MYA,respectively.Appendicosporaceae(Amphisphaeriales)has a stem age of 89(65-117)MYA.Ancestral character state reconstruction indicates that astromatic,clypeate ascomata with aseptate,hyaline ascospores that lack germ slits may probably be ancestral Xylariomycetidae having plant-fungal endo-phytic associations.The Amphisphaeriales remained mostly astromatic with common septate,hyaline ascospores.Stromatic variations may have developed mostly during the Cretaceous period.Brown ascospores are common in Xylariales,but they first appeared in Amphisphaeriaceae,Melogrammataceae and Sporocadaceae during the early Cretaceous.The ascospore germ slits appeared only in Xylariales during the Cretaceous after the divergence of Lopadostomataceae.Hyaline,filiform and apiospores may have appeared as separate lineages,providing the basis for Xylariaceae,which may have diverged inde-pendently.The future classification of polyphyletic xylarialean taxa will not be based on stromatic variations,but the type of ring,the colour of the ascospores,and the presence or absence or the type of germ slit.

The numbers of fungi:are the most speciose genera truly diverse?

Fungi play vital roles in ecosystems as endophytes,pathogens and saprobes.The current estimate of fungal diversity is highly uncertain,ranging from 1.5 to 12 million,but only around 150,000 species have been named and classified to date.Since the introduction of DNA based methods for species identification,the number of newly described taxa has increased from approximately 1000 to around 2000 yearly.This demonstrates the importance of DNA based methods to identify and distin-guish species,especially cryptic species.Many novel species from recent studies have been found in historically understudied regions and habitats,but these still represent only a small percentage of the estimated species.In this paper,we examine 16 genera from the top 40 most speciose genera as listed in Species Fungorum as case studies to examine the diversity of taxa in each genus.The genera treated herein are Cercospora,Diaporthe,Meliola,Passalora,Phyllachora,Phyllosticta,Pseudocer-cospora,Ramularia(ascomycetes)and Cortinarius,Entoloma,Inocybe,Marasmius,Psathyrella,Puccinia,Russula,Uromyces(basidiomycetes).We critically evaluate the number of species in these genera and correlate these numbers with the number of entries in GenBank.We introduce 18 new species Apiospora multiloculata,Candolleomyces thailandensis,Cortinarius acutoproximus,Cortinarius melleoalbus,Cortinarius pacificus,Cortinarius parvoacetosus,Diaporthe guizhouensis,Entoloma pseudosubcorvinum,Inocybe meirensongia,Marasmius albulus,Marasmius obscuroaurantiacus,Meliola camporesii,Phyl-lachora siamensis,Phyllosticta doitungensis,Picipes yuxiensis,Pseudocercospora vignae,Puccinia maureanui and Russula inornata.We also introduce a new record of Candolleomyces cladii-marisci and Inocybe iringolkavensis.We discuss the genera Colletotrichum and Pleurotus that are speciose,but do not occur in the top 40.We hypothesize whether there might be more species in these genera and discuss why these genera have some of the largest number of species.

Evolution of freshwater Diaporthomycetidae(Sordariomycetes)provides evidence for five new orders and six new families

Cancellidium is a remarkable fungal genus which has been collected from wood submerged in freshwater and has unique conidia that are important in dispersal in running streams.With such a remarkable morphology,one would have expected it to be a distinct family or order.However,due to the dearth of molecular evidence in related taxa,this genus has previ-ously been placed in the order Hypocreales,subclass Hypocreomycetidae of Sordariomycetes.In this study,we made three new collections of this remarkable aquatic genus from streams in China and Thailand,isolated them into culture,extracted DNA and carried out multigene phylogenetic analysis and divergence time estimation which placed the genus in Diaporthomycetidae.This is one of the seven subclasses of Sordariomycetes and contains 30 lineages that are only known from freshwater.The subclass is therefore of interest when considering the evolution of freshwater fungi.Several lineages of Diaporthomycetidae are morphologically unique and taxa cluster with strong support,but have weak support at the base of the trees.The phylogenetic and MCC trees generated in this study indicate that Aquapteridospora,Barbatosphaeriaceae,Bullimyces,Cancellidium,Ceratolenta,Conlarium,Phialemoniopsis,Pseudostanjehughesia and Rhamphoriaceae are distinct genera/families that evolved in the family/order time frame.The new orders Barbatosphaeriales(177 MYA),Cancellidiales(137 MYA),Ceratolentales(147 MYA),Conlariales(138 MYA)and Rhamphoriales(133 MYA)and six new families,Aquapteridosporaceae(110 MYA),Cancellidiaceae(137 MYA),Ceratolentaceae(81 MYA),Bullimycetaceae(81 MYA),Phialemoniopsaceae(59 MYA),and Pseudostanjehughesiaceae(111 MYA)are introduced with evidence from phylogenies,divergence estimates and distinct morphologies.Of these families,Aquapteridosporaceae,Cancellidiaceae,Bullimycetaceae,and Pseudostanjehughesiaceae are only known from freshwater.

Fungal diversity notes 1387-1511:taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on genera and species of fungal taxa

This article is the 13th contribution in the Fungal Diversity Notes series,wherein 125 taxa from four phyla,ten classes,31 orders,69 families,92 genera and three genera incertae sedis are treated,demonstrating worldwide and geographic distri-bution.Fungal taxa described and illustrated in the present study include three new genera,69 new species,one new com-bination,one reference specimen and 51 new records on new hosts and new geographical distributions.Three new genera,Cylindrotorula(Torulaceae),Scolecoleotia(Leotiales genus incertae sedis)and Xenovaginatispora(Lindomycetaceae)are introduced based on distinct phylogenetic lineages and unique morphologies.Newly described species are Aspergillus lan-naensis,Cercophora dulciaquae,Cladophialophora aquatica,Coprinellus punjabensis,Cortinarius alutarius,C.mammil-latus,C.quercoflocculosus,Coryneum fagi,Cruentomycena uttarakhandina,Cryptocoryneum rosae,Cyathus uniperidiolus,Cylindrotorula indica,Diaporthe chamaeropicola,Didymella azollae,Diplodia alanphillipsii,Dothiora coronicola,Efibula rodriguezarmasiae,Erysiphe salicicola,Fusarium queenslandicum,Geastrum gorgonicum,G.hansagiense,Helicosporium sexualis,Helminthosporium chiangraiensis,Hongkongmyces kokensis,Hydrophilomyces hydraenae,Hygrocybe boertmannii,Hyphoderma australosetigerum,Hyphodontia yunnanensis,Khaleijomyces umikazeana,Laboulbenia divisa,Laboulbenia triarthronis,Laccaria populina,Lactarius pallidozonarius,Lepidosphaeria strobelii,Longipedicellata megafusiformis,Lophiotrema lincangensis,Marasmius benghalensis,M.jinfoshanensis,M.subtropicus,Mariannaea camelliae,Mel-anographium smilaxii,Microbotryum polycnemoides,Mimeomyces digitatus,Minutisphaera thailandensis,Mortierella solitaria,Mucor harpali,Nigrograna jinghongensis,Odontia huanrenensis,O.parvispina,Paraconiothyrium ajrekarii,Par-afuscosporella niloticus,Phaeocytostroma yomensis,Phaeoisaria synnematicus,Phanerochaete hainanensis,Pleopunctum thailandicum,Pleurotheciella dimorphospora,Pseudochaetosphaeronema chiangraiense,Pseudodactylaria albicolonia,Rhexoacrodictys nigrospora,Russula paravioleipes,Scolecoleotia eriocamporesi,Seriascoma honghense,Synandromyces makranczyi,Thyridaria aureobrunnea,Torula lancangjiangensis,Tubeufia longihelicospora,Wicklowia fusiformispora,Xenovaginatispora phichaiensis and Xylaria apiospora.One new combination,Pseudobactrodesmium stilboideus is pro-posed.A reference specimen of Comoclathris permunda is designated.New host or distribution records are provided for Acrocalymma fici,Aliquandostipite khaoyaiensis,Camarosporidiella laburni,Canalisporium caribense,Chaetoscutula juniperi,Chlorophyllum demangei,C.globosum,C.hortense,Cladophialophora abundans,Dendryphion hydei,Diaporthe foeniculina,D.pseudophoenicicola,D.pyracanthae,Dictyosporium pandanicola,Dyfrolomyces distoseptatus,Ernakula-mia tanakae,Eutypa flavovirens,E.lata,Favolus septatus,Fusarium atrovinosum,F.clavum,Helicosporium luteosporum,Hermatomyces nabanheensis,Hermatomyces sphaericoides,Longipedicellata aquatica,Lophiostoma caudata,L.clematidis-vitalbae,Lophiotrema hydei,L.neoarundinaria,Marasmiellus palmivorus,Megacapitula villosa,Micropsalliota globocys-tis,M.gracilis,Montagnula thailandica,Neohelicosporium irregulare,N.parisporum,Paradictyoarthrinium diffractum,Phaeoisaria aquatica,Poaceascoma taiwanense,Saproamanita manicata,Spegazzinia camelliae,Submersispora variabi-lis,Thyronectria caudata,T.mackenziei,Tubeufia chiangmaiensis,T.roseohelicospora,Vaginatispora nypae,Wicklowia submersa,Xanthagaricus necopinatus and Xylaria haemorrhoidalis.The data presented herein are based on morphological examination of fresh specimens,coupled with analysis of phylogenetic sequence data to better integrate taxa into appropriate taxonomic ranks and infer their evolutionary relationships.

Fungal diversity notes 1512–1610: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on genera and species of fungal taxa

This article is the 14th in the Fungal Diversity Notes series,wherein we report 98 taxa distributed in two phyla,seven classes,26 orders and 50 families which are described and illustrated.Taxa in this study were collected from Australia,Brazil,Burkina Faso,Chile,China,Cyprus,Egypt,France,French Guiana,India,Indonesia,Italy,Laos,Mexico,Russia,Sri Lanka,Thailand,and Vietnam.There are 59 new taxa,39 new hosts and new geographical distributions with one new combination.The 59 new species comprise Angustimassarina kunmingense,Asterina lopi,Asterina brigadeirensis,Bartalinia bidenticola,Bartalinia caryotae,Buellia pruinocalcarea,Coltricia insularis,Colletotrichum fexuosum,Colletotrichum thasutense,Coniochaeta caraganae,Coniothyrium yuccicola,Dematipyriforma aquatic,Dematipyriforma globispora,Dematipyriforma nilotica,Distoseptispora bambusicola,Fulvifomes jawadhuvensis,Fulvifomes malaiyanurensis,Fulvifomes thiruvannamalaiensis,Fusarium purpurea,Gerronema atrovirens,Gerronema favum,Gerronema keralense,Gerronema kuruvense,Grammothele taiwanensis,Hongkongmyces changchunensis,Hypoxylon inaequale,Kirschsteiniothelia acutisporum,Kirschsteiniothelia crustaceum,Kirschsteiniothelia extensum,Kirschsteiniothelia septemseptatum,Kirschsteiniothelia spatiosum,Lecanora immersocalcarea,Lepiota subthailandica,Lindgomyces guizhouensis,Marthe asmius pallidoaurantiacus,Marasmius tangerinus,Neovaginatispora mangiferae,Pararamichloridium aquisubtropicum,Pestalotiopsis piraubensis,Phacidium chinaum,Phaeoisaria goiasensis,Phaeoseptum thailandicum,Pleurothecium aquisubtropicum,Pseudocercospora vernoniae,Pyrenophora verruculosa,Rhachomyces cruralis,Rhachomyces hyperommae,Rhachomyces magrinii,Rhachomyces platyprosophi,Rhizomarasmius cunninghamietorum,Skeletocutis cangshanensis,Skeletocutis subchrysella,Sporisorium anadelphiae-leptocomae,Tetraploa dashaoensis,Tomentella exiguelata,Tomentella fuscoaraneosa,Tricholomopsis lechatii,Vaginatispora favispora and Wetmoreana blastidiocalcarea.The new combination is Torula sundara.The 39 new records on hosts and geographical distribution comprise Apiospora guiyangensis,Aplosporella artocarpi,Ascochyta medicaginicola,Astrocystis bambusicola,Athelia rolfsii,Bambusicola bambusae,Bipolaris luttrellii,Botryosphaeria dothidea,Chlorophyllum squamulosum,Colletotrichum aeschynomenes,Colletotrichum pandanicola,Coprinopsis cinerea,Corylicola italica,Curvularia alcornii,Curvularia senegalensis,Diaporthe foeniculina,Diaporthe longicolla,Diaporthe phaseolorum,Diatrypella quercina,Fusarium brachygibbosum,Helicoma aquaticum,Lepiota metulispora,Lepiota pongduadensis,Lepiota subvenenata,Melanconiella meridionalis,Monotosporella erecta,Nodulosphaeria digitalis,Palmiascoma gregariascomum,Periconia byssoides,Periconia cortaderiae,Pleopunctum ellipsoideum,Psilocybe keralensis,Scedosporium apiospermum,Scedosporium dehoogii,Scedosporium marina,Spegazzinia deightonii,Torula fci,Wiesneriomyces laurinus and Xylaria venosula.All these taxa are supported by morphological and multigene phylogenetic analyses.This article allows the researchers to publish fungal collections which areimportant for future studies.An updated,accurate and timely report of fungus-host and fungus-geography is important.We also provide an updated list of fungal taxa published in the previous fungal diversity notes.In this list,erroneous taxa and synonyms are marked and corrected accordingly.

Ten decadal advances in fungal biology leading towards human well‑being

Fungi are an understudied resource possessing huge potential for developing products that can greatly improve human well-being.In the current paper,we highlight some important discoveries and developments in applied mycology and interdisciplinary Life Science research.These examples concern recently introduced drugs for the treatment of infections and neurological diseases;application of–OMICS techniques and genetic tools in medical mycology and the regulation of mycotoxin production;as well as some highlights of mushroom cultivaton in Asia.Examples for new diagnostic tools in medical mycology and the exploitation of new candidates for therapeutic drugs,are also given.In addition,two entries illustrating the latest developments in the use of fungi for biodegradation and fungal biomaterial production are provided.Some other areas where there have been and/or will be significant developments are also included.It is our hope that this paper will help realise the importance of fungi as a potential industrial resource and see the next two decades bring forward many new fungal and fungus-derived products.

Forecasting the number of species of asexually reproducing fungi(Ascomycota and Basidiomycota)

Asexually reproducing fungi play a significant role in essential processes in managed and wild ecosystems such as nutrients cycling and multitrophic interactions.A large number of such taxa are among the most notorious plant and animal pathogens.In addition,they have a key role in food production,biotechnology and medicine.Taxa without or rare sexual reproduction are distinguished based on their sporulating structures and conidiomata in traditional morphology-based taxonomy.The number,variation and diversity of asexually reproducing taxa are insufficiently known,even though fungi capable of asexual reproduction may provide an untapped,rich biological resource for future exploitation.Currently,ca.30,000 asexual species belonging to ca.3800 genera have been reported(including 1388 coelomycetous and 2265 hyphomycetous genera).Recent reports(2017–2020)reiterate that the number of asexually producing fungi is higher than the number of frequently sexually-reproducing fungi.With the advent of molecular tools and the abandonment of the dual nomenclature system for pleomorphic fungi,priority criteria were established and revisited in the latest outline of fungi and fungus-like taxa.However,species numbers and taxonomic boundaries of pleomorphic taxa and their synanamorphs or synasexual morphs have yet to be addressed.The number of species of speciose genera(e.g.Alternaria,Aspergillus,Cercospora,Fusarium,Phoma and Pseudocercospora),cryptic species,species of pleomorphic genera,less studied life modes(such as lichenicolous taxa,taxa from extreme environments)and species from biodiversity-rich areas still need evaluation to achieve more reliable estimates of their diversity.This paper discusses the current knowledge on the matter,with diversity estimates,and potential obstacles in several chapters on(1)speciose genera;(2)pleomorphic genera;(3)cryptic species;(4)well-studied but insufficiently resolved taxa,e.g.leaf inhabiting species,marine fungi,(5)less studied life modes,e.g.lichenicolous,rock-inhabiting fungi,insect-associated and yeast-forming taxa and(6)species from biodiversity-rich areas.