Blueberries (Vacciniumspp.) have been widely cultivated in China because of their nutritional benefits and economic value. Blueberry stem blight has become one of the most severe diseases influencing blueberry productivity and quality in China. In this study, eight fungal isolates were obtained from twenty stem blight lesions of blueberry collected in Nanping, Fujian province, China. Asexual stage was observed after inducing sporulation, the morphology of which agrees withMacrophominain the black, smooth, hard sclerotia and ellipsoid to obovoid, smooth hyaline conidia with apical sheath. Furthermore, DNA sequences of concatenated ITS,tef1-α,TUB, andACTloci indicated that these isolates belong to a novel fungal species. The distinguishing morphological characteristics, such as the wider conidia and larger conidiomata pycnidial, also support its new status. Thus a novel fungus,Macrophominavaccinii, was described in this study. Pathogenicity tests indicated thatM.vacciniicould cause stem blight of blueberry.

Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are largely cultivated in China because of their nutritional benefits and economic value. Blueberry stem blight caused by members of the Botryosphaeriaceae has become one of the most severe diseases affecting blueberry cultivation in China. In this study, we examined the causal agent of blueberry stem blight at commercial greenhouse farms in the suburban area of Beijing, China. In total, 37 isolates of Botryosphaeriaceae were obtained from 100 stem blight samples of blueberry. Twelve of 37 strains were morphologically consistent with the genus Lasiodiplodia, showing ellipsoid to ovoid, one-celled, hyaline conidia that sometimes turned brown, with median septa and longitudinal striations when mature. These 12 strains were identified as belonging to a novel fungal species, Lasiodiplodia vaccinii, based on phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated internal transcribed spacer, RNA polymerase II gene, β-tubulin gene, and translation elongation factor-1α gene sequences as well as morphological characteristics. Pathogenicity tests indicated that L. vaccinii can cause twig blight on blueberry seedlings in the greenhouse. Mycelial growth of L. vaccinii occurred at pH values ranging from 3.0 to 10.0, with an optimum at 6.2, and at temperatures from 15 to 40°C, with an optimum at 30.3°C. Of the seven carbon sources tested, sucrose, fructose, and glucose were all highly efficient in supporting the mycelial growth of L. vaccinii, and xylose was the least effective. Of six nitrogen sources tested, yeast extract and tryptone best promoted mycelial growth of L. vaccinii. The ability of L. vaccinii to grow at high temperatures may help to explain its occurrence in Beijing greenhouses in this study.

The Clavicipitaceae family, including saprobes and insect and myco-pathogens, are widely distributed in nature across various trophic regions, and play important roles in insect population control, plant interactions, and symbiotic evolution. Members of the genus Moelleriella within this family primarily specialize in infecting scale insects and whiteflies. Using five genomic loci (SSU, LSU, tef1-α, rpb1, and rpb2), we report on the inferred divergence times among members of Clavicipitaceae using molecular dating analyses. Molecular clock estimates revealed that the ancestor of Moelleriella likely emerged in the Late Cretaceous (91.60 Mya; 95% highest posterior density of 79.29–100.13 Mya). Historical biogeographic reconstruction of Moelleriella, performed using the Bayesian Binary Markov chain Monte Carlo (BBM) method, indicates that it most likely originated in Asia. Moreover, based on taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses, we describe three species within the genus Moelleriella, including one new species (Moelleriella microstroma) and two new records for China (Moelleriella chiangmaiensis and Moelleriella phukhiaoensis).

Inonotus is a globally distributed genus within the Hymenochaetales, with certain species widely used in traditional herbal medicine. Here, a new species, I. chrysosporus, was identified as a sister clade to I. hispidus based on morphological, molecular, and vegetative incompatibility characteristics. The growth of I. chrysosporus on two substrate formulations—(1) 60% (wt:wt) Dicranopteris dichotoma, mixed with 18% corncob, 20% wheat bran, 1% gypsum, and 1% lime (GS), and (2) 78% sawdust wood chips (SS)—was compared in terms of the accumulation of bioactive components and the corresponding biological activities. On both substrates, I. chrysosporus exhibited high nutritional value, with high protein and mineral contents, low fat content, and a high proportion of medicinal amino acids. However, significant variations in the profiles of active constituents were observed, with cultivation on the GS formulation promoting the accumulation of bioactive polysaccharides, whereas growth on SS resulted in the accumulation of polyphenols. Aqueous extracts of I. chrysosporus mushrooms derived from both growth substrates exhibited potent antioxidant activities. Correlation analyses indicated that polysaccharide content was positively associated with ·OH scavenging activity and that polyphenol content was correlated with strong DPPH radical scavenging activity and high ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). This study provides a foundation for the comprehensive development and utilization of the newly described I. chrysosporus species.

Subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests dominated by Fagaceae are key hotspots of East-Asian macrofungal diversity, harboring numerous undescribed ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic agarics. Four new agaric species, Amanita subkitamagotake, Entoloma nigrocentrostriatum, Lactarius pallidobrunneus, and Lactarius parviluteus, were uncovered during field surveys in subtropical forests of Sanming, Fujian Province. Multigene phylogenetic analyses–based on nucleotide sequences of the large subunit of ribosomal RNA (LSU), the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (rpb2), and the translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1-α)–combined with morphological studies of basidiomata and microstructures (basidiospores, basidia, cystidia, hyphae), confirmed them as distinct lineages. All taxa are formally described and illustrated. By integrating molecular and morphological evidence to delimit four previously undescribed species, this study provides new baseline data for subtropical Chinese macrofungi and highlights the underexplored diversity of ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic agarics in Fagaceae-dominated forests.