Leptosphaeriaceae, a diverse family in the order Pleosporales, is remarkable for its scleroplectenchymatous or plectenchymatous peridium cells. Four Leptosphaeriaceae species were discovered and studied during the investigation of saprobic fungi from plant substrates in China. Novel taxa were defined using multiloci phylogenetic analyses and are supported by morphology. Based on maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses, these isolates represent three novel taxa and one new record within Leptosphaeriaceae. A new genus, Angularia, is introduced to accommodate Angularia xanthoceratis, with a synopsis chart for 15 genera in Leptosphaeriaceae. This study also revealed a new species, Plenodomus changchunensis, and a new record of Alternariaster centaureae-diffusae. These species add to the increasing number of fungi known from China.

Molecular barcoding and morphological characters were used to identify a new saprotrophic species in Pestalotiopsis, which was associated with senescent leaves of Eleutherococcus brachypus (Araliaceae) in Jilin Province, China. The matrix of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1-α), and β-tubulin (tub2) were used in the maximum likelihood (ML), maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. The new collections formed a distinct clade with Pestalotiopsis lijiangensis. The new species differs from P. lijiangensis by its conidial length/width ratio. Detailed description and micrographs revealed that the species is unique in its olivaceous concolorous median cells and has significantly smaller conidia compared to other related species. The position of the apical appendages of Pestalotiopsis eleutherococci are distinct and are slightly shorter while the basal appendage is slightly longer compared to P. lijiangensis. Therefore, we introduce Pestalotiopsis eleutherococci as a novel species.

Cucurbitariaceae has a high biodiversity worldwide on various hosts and is distributed in tropical and temperate regions. Woody litters collected in Changchun, Jilin Province, China, revealed a distinct collection of fungi in the family Cucurbitariaceae based on morphological and molecular data. Phylogenetic analyses of the concatenated matrix of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the large subunit (LSU) of ribosomal DNA, the RNA polymerase II subunit (rpb2), the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1-α) and β-tubulin (β-tub) genes indicated that the isolates represent Allocucurbitaria and Parafenestella species based on maximum likelihood (ML), maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian analysis (BPP). We report four novel species: Allocucurbitaria mori, Parafenestella changchunensis, P. ulmi and P. ulmicola. The importance of five DNA markers for species-level identification in Cucurbitariaceae was determined by Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning (ASAP) analyses. The protein-coding gene β-tub is determined to be the best marker for species level identification in Cucurbitariaceae.

Cladobotryum dendroides, which causes cobweb disease in edible mushrooms, is one of the major fungal pathogens. Our previous studies focused on the genetic and morphological characterization of this fungus, as well as its pathogenicity and the identification of appropriate fungicides. However, little is known about the genome characters, pathogenic genes, and molecular pathogenic mechanisms of C. dendroides. Herein, we reported a high-quality de novo genomic sequence of C. dendroides and compared it with closely-related fungi. The assembled C. dendroides genome was 36.69 Mb, consisting of eight contigs, with an N50 of 4.76 Mb. This genome was similar in size to that of C. protrusum, and shared highly conserved syntenic blocks and a few inversions with C. protrusum. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that, within the Hypocreaceae, Cladobotryum was closer to Mycogone than to Trichoderma, which is consistent with phenotypic evidence. A significant number of the predicted expanded gene families were strongly associated with pathogenicity, virulence, and adaptation. Our findings will be instrumental for the understanding of fungi–fungi interactions, and for exploring efficient management strategies to control cobweb disease.

Two novel Comoclathris species were identified from dicotyledonous plants (Clematis sp. and Xanthoceras sorbifolium) in China. The results were supported by morphological characters and Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses. Multi-gene phylogenetic analyses of the ITS, LSU, SSU and rpb2 sequences revealed two new species Comoclathris clematidis and C. xanthoceratis, which are phylogenetically distinct. The new species are phylogenetically closely related to C. arrhenatheri. However, they are distinguishable from C. arrhenatheri by having comparatively larger asci and ascospores. This study improves our knowledge of Comoclathris as no species has been previously described from China. This suggests such taxa may be rare and it is likely that new taxa will be discovered from hosts and environments that have not yet been extensively investigated.

Pleosporales, the largest order within Ascomycota, is globally distributed and exhibits remarkable host diversity. Fagaceae, a plant family of significant ecological importance in the Northern Hemisphere, harbors a wide array of fungal species. During an investigation of pleosporalean fungi associated with woody litter from Fagaceae plants, dead wood samples with fungal fruiting bodies were collected in Henan and Jiangxi provinces, China. In this study, we describe two novel species, Pseudothyridariella fagacearum and Phaeoseptum biyangense, and report a new host record for Byssosphaeria siamensis. These taxa are formally characterized using an integrative taxonomic approach, which combines detailed morphological characterization with maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) phylogenetic analyses of multi-locus sequence data (ITS, LSU, SSU, rpb2, and tef1-α). The newly designated species can be morphologically distinguished from other members of the respective genera based on the size of the asci and ascospores. This comprehensive study enhances our understanding of microfungi associated with Fagaceae, contributing to the knowledge of China’s biodiversity.