Culture techniques are vital in both traditional and modern fungal taxonomy. Establishing sexual–asexual links and synanamorphs, extracting DNA and secondary metabolites are mainly based on cultures. However, it is widely accepted that a large number of species are not sporulating in nature while others cannot be cultured. Recent ecological studies based on culture-independent methods revealed these unculturable taxa, i.e., dark taxa. Recent fungal diversity estimation studies suggested that environmental sequencing plays a vital role in discovering missing species. However, Sanger sequencing is still the main approach in determining DNA sequences in culturable species. In this paper, we summarize culture-based and culture-independent methods in the study of ascomycetous taxa. High-throughput sequencing of leaf endophytes, leaf litter fungi and fungi in aquatic environments is important to determine dark taxa. Nevertheless, currently, naming dark taxa is not recognized by the ICN, thus provisional naming of them is essential as suggested by several studies.

Marine ecosystems are important in discovering novel fungi with interesting metabolites that have shown great potential in pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. Seagrasses, the sole submerged marine angiosperm, host diverse fungal taxa with mostly unknown metabolic capabilities. They are considered to be one of the least studied marine fungal habitats in the world. This review gathers and analyzes data from studies related to seagrasses-associated fungi, including taxonomy and biogeography, and highlights existing research gaps. The significance of the seagrass–fungal associations remains largely unknown, and current understanding of fungal diversity is limited to specific geographical regions such as the Tropical Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indo-Pacific. Our survey yielded 29 culture-dependent studies on seagrass-associated endophytic and epiphytic fungi, and 13 miscellaneous studies, as well as 11 meta-studies, with no pathogenic true fungi described. There is a significant opportunity to expand existing studies and conduct multidisciplinary research into novel species and their potential applications, especially from understudied geographical locations. Future research should prioritize high-throughput sequencing and mycobiome studies, utilizing both culture-dependent and -independent approaches to effectively identify novel seagrass-associated fungal taxa.

Despite being a biodiversity-rich country, Sri Lanka’s fungal diversity remains largely unexplored. In the 19th century, British mycologists conducted extensive research, leading to the identification of more than 1,800 fungal taxa, including ascomycetous and basidiomycetous species. However, the majority of these taxa have not been revisited since their initial description, and molecular evidence is lacking. Moreover, a significant number of fungal taxa have been deemed invalid or illegitimate, indicating the need for a nomenclatural revision. To address this knowledge gap, this review provides a comprehensive list of ascomycetous taxa (including both lichen-forming and non-lichenized) that were originally described in Sri Lanka. Names are listed according to the original names which were included in the protologue. In the cases where species have been transferred to other genera, the current names and new classifications are provided. The typification details, nomenclature status, and classification are also presented. This checklist will serve as a valuable resource for the future epitypification of old taxa, as much of the existing information is poorly documented and scattered.

The global threat of antimicrobial resistance has spurred interest in discovering innovative antimicrobial agents from diverse sources. Amid the rise of new diseases, the quest for novel drug leads has intensified. This study explores the antibacterial potential of lichen-associated fungi in mangrove ecosystems, using NARA Regional Research Centre in Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka as the study site. Lichen-associated fungi were isolated from collected lichens and the antibacterial activities of the isolates were tested using two gram-positive bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Bacillus cereus (ATCC 11778) and two gram-negative bacteria: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 25853) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922). Putative fungal isolates were primarily screened using agar plug diffusion assay and ethyl acetate extracts of fungal isolates with marked activity were secondarily screened using the well diffusion assay in triplicate. Isolate LIF 0803 identified as Trichosporon faecale showed the most outstanding antibacterial activities as 2.58, 3.43, 4.2, 4.5 cm of zone diameter at 100 mg/mL, and 1.95, 3.08, 3.7, 4.3 cm of zone diameter at 50 mg/mL against P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, B. cereus, and E. coli respectively. All nine fungal isolates showed promising antibacterial activity against both gram-positive and negative bacteria. Therefore, this study showed that lichen-associated fungi in mangrove ecosystems have potent antibacterial activities. Hence, bioassay-guided fractionation of active compounds from lichen-associated fungi and structure elucidation are warranted.

Sri Lanka is considered a mega-biodiversity hotspot, with a rich collection of flora and fauna. Basidiomycota is the second largest and most diverse phylum of fungi, comprising over 31,000 species. The present paper is intended to bring together all reported species with their typification details and updated/current nomenclature status of basidiomycetes in Sri Lanka. The checklist consists of 725 species belonging to a total of 138 genera. The genus Agaricus is represented by the highest number of species (169), followed by Marasmius (62), Polyporus (53), Uredo (49), Corticium (27), Hygrophorus (20), Thelephora (15), Lentinus (15), Hydnum (12), Hymenochaete (11), Poria (11), Clavaria (10), and Puccinia (10). All other genera constitute less than 10 species, whereas 72 of the other genera contain one species each.

During our ongoing research on seagrass-associated fungi in Kalpitiya, Puttalam Lagoon, Sri Lanka, ten endophytic fungal strains have been isolated from healthy leaves, roots, and rhizomes of Enhalus acoroides . A surface sterilization method was used for the isolation of fungi. Pure cultures obtained were induced to sporulate. Phylogenetic analyses based on multi-gene regions (ITS, LSU, SSU, rpb 2, and tef 1 -α ) were carried out for species identification. Neodevriesia zeylanica Wijayaw. et al. and Neooccultibambusa zeylanica Wijayaw. et al. are introduced as novel species, along with two new country and host records, i.e., Neodevriesia saximollicula D.S.Paiva and Thalassodendromyces purpureus Vohník & Réblová. Two strains have been confirmed as Halophilomyces hongkongensis Xiao Wang et al. (nom. invalid), the type species of Halophilomyces Xiao Wang et al. (nom. invalid). Halophilomyces hongkongensis (based on the newly isolated strains) has been validated and provided with a new name, Halophilomyces zeylanica Wijayaw. et al., along with the designation of a new holotype and ex-type, respectively.