Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia: Banksiophoma australiensis (incl. Banksiophoma gen. nov.) on Banksia coccinea, Davidiellomyces australiensis (incl. Davidiellomyces gen. nov.) on Cyperaceae, Didymocyrtis banksiae on Banksia sessilis var. cygnorum, Disculoides calophyllae on Corymbia calophylla, Harknessia banksiae on Banksia sessilis, Harknessia banksiae-repens on Banksia repens, Harknessia banksiigena on Banksia sessilis var. cygnorum, Harknessia communis on Podocarpus sp., Harknessia platyphyllae on Eucalyptus platyphylla, Myrtacremonium eucalypti (incl. Myrtacremonium gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus globulus, Myrtapenidiella balenae on Eucalyptus sp., Myrtapenidiella eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus sp., Myrtapenidiella pleurocarpae on Eucalyptus pleurocarpa, Paraconiothyrium hakeae on Hakea sp., Paraphaeosphaeria xanthorrhoeae on Xanthorrhoea sp., Parateratosphaeria stirlingiae on Stirlingia sp., Perthomyces podocarpi (incl. Perthomyces gen. nov.) on Podocarpus sp., Readeriella ellipsoidea on Eucalyptus sp., Rosellinia australiensis on Banksia grandis, Tiarosporella corymbiae on Corymbia calophylla, Verrucoconiothyrium eucalyptigenum on Eucalyptus sp., Zasmidium commune on Xanthorrhoea sp., and Zasmidium podocarpi on Podocarpus sp. Brazil: Cyathus aurantogriseocarpus on decaying wood, Perenniporia brasiliensis on decayed wood, Perenniporia paraguyanensis on decayed wood, and Pseudocercospora leandrae-fragilis on Leandra fragilis. Chile: Phialocephala cladophialophoroides on human toe nail. Costa Rica: Psathyrella striatoannulata from soil. Czech Republic: Myotisia cremea (incl. Myotisia gen. nov.) on bat droppings. Ecuador: Humidicutis dictiocephala from soil, Hygrocybe macrosiparia from soil, Hygrocybe sangayensis from soil, and Polycephalomyces onorei on stem of Etlingera sp. France: Westerdykella centenaria from soil. Hungary: Tuber magentipunctatum from soil. India: Ganoderma mizoramense on decaying wood, Hodophilus indicus from soil, Keratinophyton turgidum in soil, and Russula arunii on Pterigota alata. Italy: Rhodocybe matesina from soil. Malaysia: Apoharknessia eucalyptorum, Harknessia malayensis, Harknessia pellitae, and Peyronellaea eucalypti on Eucalyptus pellita, Lectera capsici on Capsicum annuum, and Wallrothiella gmelinae on Gmelina arborea. Morocco: Neocordana musigena on Musa sp. New Zealand: Candida rongomai-pounamu on agaric mushroom surface, Candida vespimorsuum on cup fungus surface, Cylindrocladiella vitis on Vitis vinifera, Foliocryphia eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus sp., Ramularia vacciniicola on Vaccinium sp., and Rhodotorula ngohengohe on bird feather surface. Poland: Tolypocladium fumosum on a caterpillar case of unidentified Lepidoptera. Russia: Pholiotina longistipitata among moss. Spain: Coprinopsis pseudomarcescibilis from soil, Eremiomyces innocentii from soil, Gyroporus pseudocyanescens in humus, Inocybe parvicystis in humus, and Penicillium parvofructum from soil. Unknown origin: Paraphoma rhaphiolepidis on Rhaphiolepsis indica. USA: Acidiella americana from wall of a cooling tower, Neodactylaria obpyriformis (incl. Neodactylaria gen. nov.) from human bronchoalveolar lavage, and Saksenaea loutrophoriformis from human eye. Vietnam: Phytophthora mekongensis from Citrus grandis, and Phytophthora prodigiosa from Citrus grandis. Morphological and culture characteristics along with DNA barcodes are provided.

Phosphatidylcholines (PC) are the main membrane lipid constituents comprising more than 50% of total glycerophospholipids. They coordinate a number of cell functions, particularly cell growth, homeostasis, secretion, recognition and communication. In basidial fungi PC are synthesized via the Kennedy pathway as well as through methylation of phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) and then undergo remodeling in Lands cycle that replaces fatty acids in PC molecules. The molecular profile of PC is determined by the genetic features that are characteristic for every species and depend on the environment. Here we present the results of ESI-MS based analyses of PC profiles of 38 species of basidiomycetes belonging to Agaricales (12), Polyporales (17), Russulales (5), Gleophyllales (2), Cantharellales (1), Auriculariales (1), Phallales (1). Although the variety of PC molecular species of basidiomycetes is rather diverse (20–38 molecular species in every profile), only 1–3 main molecular species represent 70–90% of total PC content. The most abundant of them are C36:4 and C36:3, followed by C34:1, C34:2, C36:5, C36:2. In the majority of basidiomycetes, C36:4 reaches up to 50–70% of total PC molecular species. Based on the results of hierarchical cluster analysis four main types of PC profiles which characterized the studied fungi independently from their taxonomic position, ecology, trophic status, and hyphal differentiation have been revealed. Comparative analyses of studied fungi using PCA method have shown that species of Polyporales differ from those of Agaricales by higher variability of PC profiles.

Culture collections (CCs) play an important role in the ex situ conservation of biological material and maintaining species and strains, which can be used for scientific and practical purposes. The Komarov Botanical Institute Basidiomycetes Culture Collection (LE-BIN) preserves a large number of original dikaryon strains of various taxonomical and ecological groups of fungi from different geographical regions. Started in the late 1950s for the investigation of Basidiomycetes’ biological activity, today, in Russia, it has become a unique specialized macromycetes collection, preserving 3680 strains from 776 species of fungi. The Collection’s development is aimed at ex situ conservation of fungal diversity, with an emphasis on preserving rare and endangered species, ectomycorrhizal fungi, and strains useful for biotechnology and medicine. The main methods applied in the collection for maintaining and working with cultures are described, and the results are presented. Some problems for the isolation and cultivation of species are discussed. The taxonomical structure and variety of the strains in the collection fund are analyzed, and they show that the taxonomical diversity of fungi in the LE-BIN is commensurable with the largest CCs in the world. The achievements from the ex situ conservation of the diversity of macromycetes and the main results from the screening and investigation of the collection’s strains demonstrate that a number of strains can be prospective producers of enzymes (oxidoreductases and proteases), lipids, and biologically active compounds (terpenoids, phthalides, etc.) for biotechnology and medicine.

The diversity and resource potential of macroscopic fungi in tropical regions remain understudied. Vietnam, being in a biodiversity hotspot, has a large number of new fungal species that are of interest for biotechnology and medicine. The presence of a large number of protected areas in Vietnam creates favorable opportunities for the study and ex situ conservation of tropical biodiversity. From 2012 to 2023, 785 strains of macrofungi from National Parks of Vietnam were preserved in the LE-BIN collection, 327 of which were barcoded with the sequences deposited in the NCBI GenBank. A taxonomic analysis demonstrated that many of the preserved isolates are potentially new or poorly studied species, representing a useful resource for taxonomical studies and a search for new medicinal mushrooms. More than 180 strains were studied for the first time for growth rate and enzymatic activities. Of these, 53 strains showed high growth rate, 43—high cellulolytic activity, 73—high oxidative enzymes activity, and 27 showed high proteolytic activity, making them promising candidates for biotechnological and medical applications and opening new opportunities for sustainable biomass management, discovery of new enzymes and bioactive substances, development of new drugs and efficient plant waste treatment technologies. The results confirm the importance of the ex situ conservation of fungal diversity in tropical regions as a valuable source for scientific and commercial applications and suggest certain new active strains for biotechnological study.

This study presents the first case of an ectoparasitic fungal infection of ants from southern Russia with the description of a new species Xenomorphomyces formicartus V.A. Iliushin & I.Y. Kirtsideli, sp. nov. of a new genus Xenomorphomyces gen. nov. belonging to the family Readerielliopsidaceae. The new species was found on Lasius distinguendus worker ants within a single nest in the Botanical Garden of the Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Region, Russia. The paper evaluates the phylogenetic position of the parasitic fungus within the Readerielliopsidaceae family based on the morphological observations and multilocus phylogenetic analysis. The family Readerielliopsidaceae belongs to the Capnodiales order, the class Dothideomycetes. Partial sequences of the loci encoding ribosomal polymerase II second-largest subunit (RPB2), 28S rDNA (LSU) and internal transcribed spacer rDNA region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) were analyzed. The asexual morph of X. formicartus was described. A comprehensive analysis of pathogenicity was performed using live ants, histological and micro-CT studies. The sequence data, as well as macro- and micromorphological characteristics, distinguish X. formicartus from all known species in the Readerielliopsidaceae.