Five fungal taxa collected from plant litter in Chiang Mai province, Thailand, are described with illustrations. The maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian analyses of combined loci of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), large subunit nuclear ribosomal DNA (LSU), and translation extension factor 1-α (tef1-α) region were used for phylogeny analyses. Dictyocheirospora acaciae is introduced as a new species from Acacia dealbata. Based on size differences in conidiomata, conidia, and DNA sequence data, it is separated from the other species in the genus. Four new host records, Dictyocheirospora garethjonesii, Di. taiwanense, Dictyosporium digitatum, and Pseudocoleophoma zingiberacearum are also reported from Bismarkia nobilis, Ficus benjamina, Cyperus aggregatus, and Hedychium spicatum, respectively. Detailed descriptions, microphotographs, and phylogenetic information were provided, and all the species were compared to similar taxa. It is noted that there is still a necessity for a collective worldwide account of the distribution of Dictyosporiaceae species. Therefore, we compiled the geographical distributions and host species associations of all the so far known Dictyosporiaceae species and discussed them here.

Melanommataceous species exhibit high diversity with a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide and show a prominent saprobic lifestyle. In this study, we explored five saprobic species collected from plant litter substrates from terrestrial habitats in China and Thailand. A combination of morphological characteristics and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses was used to determine their taxonomic classifications. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference analyses of combined LSU, SSU, ITS and tef1-α sequence data were used to clarify the phylogenetic affinities of the species. Byssosphaeria poaceicola and Herpotrichia zingiberacearum are introduced as new species, while three new host records, Bertiella fici, By. siamensis and Melanomma populicola are also reported from litter of Cinnamomum verum, Citrus trifoliata and Fagus sylvatica, respectively. Yet, despite the rising interest in the melanommataceous species, there is a considerable gap in knowledge on their host associations and geographical distributions. Consequently, we compiled the host-species associations and geographical distributions of all the so far known melanommataceous species.

During a survey of fungal diversity of plant litter in China, numerous isolates with affinity to Pleosporales (Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota) were recovered. Morphology, coupled with phylogenetic analyses using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference on combined LSU, SSU, ITS, tub2, and tef1-α sequence data, revealed that these isolates belong to the families Acrocalymmaceae and Didymosphaeriaceae, and are introduced as Acrocalymma poaceicolasp. nov. and Neptunomyces chinensissp. nov. In addition, five new host records, A. ampeli, Neokalmusia arundinis, Paraconiothyrium archidendri, Pseudopithomyces chartarum, and Spegazzinia deightonii are reported from litter of Livistona chinensis, Sporobolus alterniflorus, Citrus maxima, Hedychium coronarium, and Arundo pliniana, respectively. All the new species and host records were compared with phylogenetically and morphologically closely related species, and detailed descriptions, micrographs, and phylogenetic analysis results are provided.

A new collection of Pleosporales (Dothideomycetes) was obtained during an investigation of plant-associated microfungi. In this study, we establish a novel species Muriformispora thailandica, with its asexual morph characteristics of Muriformispora for the first time. The asexual morph is characterised by having solitary to gregarious, subglobose conidiomata, phialidic, cylindrical, hyaline conidiogenous cells, and oblong to ovoid one-septate, guttulate brown conidia. A new host and geographical record of M. magnoliae from Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae) is also reported herein. A biphasic approach, combining morphology and molecular phylogeny, is presented to support the new discoveries in Neohendersoniaceae (Pleosporales). Molecular phylogenetic tree reconstruction using a concatenated LSU, SSU, ITS, tef1, and rpb2 sequence data set confirmed the placement of new strains within Muriformispora. Detailed descriptions, illustrations, and phylogenetic analysis results are presented to support the establishment of a novel taxon and new host and geographical record of Muriformispora.

During a survey of microflora associated with dead plant substrates in coastal regions of Guangdong Province, China, we identified several interesting Dothideomycetes fungi and provided refined updated phylogenetic analyses for Dictyosporium and Melomastia species. Two novel species are introduced, Dictyosporium thecatum and Melomastia shenzhenensis , based on molecular and morphological evidence. New host records of M. beihaiensis , M. hydei and M. fusispora are also reported in this paper. Molecular phylogenetic studies of new isolates were based on concatenated (i) ITS, LSU, tef 1-α and (ii) LSU, SSU, ITS, tef 1-α gene regions for Dictyosporium and Melomastia , respectively. These taxonomic novelties were recognised by comparing morphological characteristics with closely-related taxa. Melomastia shenzhenensis closely clustered with M. oleae (CGMCC 3.20619 and UESTCC 21.0003) with high statistical support value (ML/BYPP = 100%/1.00). Morphologically, Melomastia shenzhenensis can be distinguished from M. oleae in having larger of ascomata, ostiolar canal and peridium and smaller asci and ascospores. Dictyosporium thecatum forms a distinct basal clade with D. sexualis (MFLUCC 10-0127). Dictyosporium thecatum is different from D. sexualis in having smaller ascomata, asci and ascospores and possesses a larger mucilaginous sheath surrounding ascospores than D. sexualis . Two pairwise identity analyses were conducted for Dictyosporium and Melomastia . The resulting sequence identity scores were saved as a matrix and visualised as plots with a colour key to indicate the correspondence between pairwise identities. This study offers new insights into saprobic Dothideomycetes colonising dead woody substrates in coastal habitats of Guangdong Province, China.

This paper highlights the taxonomy of some interesting saprobic microfungi associated with dead plant materials of Hedychium coronarium, Lilium longiflorum, and Magnolia species. The taxa reported in this study belong to the orders Pleosporales and Kirschsteiniotheliales (Dothideomycetes). These taxa were identified based on multi-locus phylogeny of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) (LSU, SSU, and ITS) and protein-coding genes (tef1-α and rpb2), together with comprehensive morphological characterization. Two novel saprobic species, Leptoparies magnoliae sp. nov. and Neobambusicola magnoliae sp. nov., are introduced from Magnolia species in Thailand. Another new species, Asymmetrispora zingiberacearum sp. nov., is also described from dead stems of H. coronarium, which is the first asexual morph species of the genus Asymmetrispora. In addition, Ramusculicola thailandica and Kirschsteiniothelia thailandica are reported as new host records from dead twigs of Magnolia species. Sphaerellopsis paraphysata is reported as a new host record from L. longiflorum. Newly described taxa are compared with other similar species and detailed descriptions, micrographs, and phylogenetic trees to show the positions are provided.