Insight into the Systematics of Microfungi Colonizing Dead Woody Twigs of Dodonaea viscosa in Honghe (China)

Members of are broadly distributed across subtropical and tropical areas of southwest and southern China. This host provides multiple substrates that can be richly colonized by numerous undescribed fungal species. There is a severe lack of microfungal studies on in China, and consequently, the diversity, phylogeny and taxonomy of these microorganisms are all largely unknown. This paper presents two new genera and four new species in three orders of Dothideomycetes gathered from dead twigs of in Honghe, China. All new collections were made within a selected area in Honghe from a single sp. This suggests high fungal diversity in the region and the existence of numerous species awaiting discovery. Multiple gene sequences (non-translated loci and protein-coding regions) were analysed with maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses. Results from the phylogenetic analyses supported placing gen. et sp. in the Teratosphaeriaceae family. Analysis of sequences resulted in sp. nov., while analysed Lophiostomataceae sequences revealed gen. et sp. nov. Finally, phylogeny based on a combined dataset of pyrenochaeta-like sequences demonstrates strong statistical support for placing sp. nov. in Parapyrenochaetaceae. Morphological and updated phylogenetic circumscriptions of the new discoveries are also discussed.