Molecular Phylogeny and Morphology Reveal Four Novel Species of Corynespora and Kirschsteiniothelia (Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota) from China: A Checklist for Corynespora Reported Worldwide

Abstract

Plant debris are habitats favoring survival and multiplication of various microbial species. During continuing mycological surveys of saprobic microfungi from plant debris in Yunnan Province, China, several Corynespora-like and Dendryphiopsis-like isolates were collected from dead branches of unidentified perennial dicotyledonous plants. Four barcodes, i.e., ITS, LSU, SSU and <i>tef1-α</i>, were amplified and sequenced. Morphological studies and multigene phylogenetic analyses by maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference revealed three new <i>Corynespora</i> species (<i>C</i>. <i>mengsongensis</i> sp. nov., <i>C</i>. <i>nabanheensis</i> sp. nov. and <i>C</i>. <i>yunnanensis</i> sp. nov.) and a new <i>Kirschsteiniothelia</i> species (<i>K</i>. <i>nabanheensis</i> sp. nov.) within <i>Dothideomycetes</i>, <i>Ascomycota</i>. A list of identified and accepted species of <i>Corynespora</i> with major morphological features, host information and locality was compiled. This work improves the knowledge of species diversity of <i>Corynespora</i> and <i>Kirschsteiniothelia</i> in Yunnan Province, China.