Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Updates on Apiospora: Introducing Four New Species from Wurfbainia villosa and Grasses in China

Abstract

<i>Apiospora</i>, an ascomycetous genus in Apiosporaceae, comprises saprobes, endophytes, and pathogens of humans and plants. They have a cosmopolitan distribution with a wide range of hosts reported from Asia. In the present study, we collected and isolated <i>Apiospora</i> species from <i>Wurfbainia villosa</i> and grasses in Guangdong and Yunnan provinces in China. Multi-locus phylogeny based on the internal transcribed spacer, the large subunit nuclear rDNA, the partial translation elongation factor 1-<i>α</i>, and β-tubulin was performed to clarify the phylogenetic affinities of the <i>Apiospora</i> species. Based on the distinctive morphological characteristics and molecular evidence, <i>Ap</i>. <i>endophytica</i>, <i>Ap</i>. <i>guangdongensis</i>, <i>Ap</i>. <i>wurfbainiae</i>, and <i>Ap</i>. <i>yunnanensis</i> are proposed. Descriptions, illustrations, and notes for the newly discovered species are provided and compared with closely related <i>Apiospora</i> species. An updated phylogeny of <i>Apiospora</i> is presented, along with a discussion on the phylogenetic affinities of ambiguous taxa.