As China’s urbanisation continues to advance, more people are choosing to live in cities. However, this trend has a significant impact on the natural ecosystem. For instance, the accumulation of keratin-rich substrates in urban habitats has led to an increase in keratinophilic microbes. Despite this, there is still a limited amount of research on the prevalence of keratinophilic fungi in urban areas. Fortunately, our group has conducted in-depth investigations into this topic since 2015. Through our research, we have discovered a significant amount of keratinophilic fungi in soil samples collected from various urban areas in China. In this study, we have identified and characterised 18 new species through the integration of morphological and phylogenetic analyses. These findings reveal the presence of numerous unexplored fungal taxa in urban habitats, emphasising the need for further taxonomic research in urban China.

The fungal taxa belonging to the Clavicipitaceae (Hypocreales, Ascomycota) are widely distributed and include diverse saprophytic, symbiotic and pathogenic species that are associated with soils, insects, plants, fungi and invertebrates. In this study, we identified two new fungal taxa belonging to the family Clavicipitaceae that were isolated from soils collected in China. Morphological characterisation and phylogenetic analyses showed that the two species belong to Pochonia (Pochonia sinensissp. nov.) and a new genus for which we propose Paraneoaraneomycesgen. nov. in Clavicipitaceae.

Thelebolales are globally distributed fungi with diverse ecological characteristics. The classification of Thelebolales remains controversial to date and this study introduces two new taxa, based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses. The results of phylogenetic analyses indicated that the new taxa formed distinct lineages with strong support that were separated from the other members of Thelebolales. The new taxa described herein did not form sexual structures. The phylogenetic relationships of the new taxa and the morphological differences between these taxa and the other species under Thelebolales are also discussed.

The genus Plectosphaerella is the largest genus in the family Plectosphaerellaceae. Some species are plant pathogens, whereas others are soil-borne. Seven Plectosphaerella isolates were collected from various locations in the southwest of China. Using multi-locus phylogenetic (LSU, ITS, EF1α, RPB2) analyses combined with morphological characteristics, two new species, Plectosphaerella guizhouensissp. nov. and Plectosphaerella nauculasporasp. nov. are described, illustrated and compared with related species.

Gongronella is known as soil-borne fungi. During a survey of fungi in southwest China, four strains of the genus Gongronella were isolated from soil. One strain was identified as G. butleri, while the other three were proposed as a new species, Gongronella sichuanensis based on morphological observation as well as a phylogenetic analysis of ITS, LSU sequence data. The new taxon was described, illustrated and compared with known species. Meanwhile, the key of the genus Gongronella was updated and provided in this paper.

During a survey of keratinolytic fungi in China, a new species, Arthrographis multiformispora was isolated from soil samples. Morphologically, A. multiformispora differs from other species in the genus by the presence of globose or subglobose chlamydospores and cylindrical arthroconidia. Phylogenetically, our four strains were clustered together with high support values and separated from other clades. We provided a description, illustrations, and phylogenetic tree for the new species.