Taxonomy and evolution history of two new litter-decomposing Ciliochorella (Amphisphaeriales, Sporocadaceae)

By

Song, Jia-Yu
Wu, Haixia
Li, Jin-Chen
Ding, Wei-Feng
Gong, Cui-Ling
Zeng, Xiang-Yu
Wijayawardene, Nalin
Yang, Da-Xin

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023

Original Publication

MycoKeys

Volume

100

Pages

95--121

Subjects

Ancestral biogeography , leaf litter degradation , Morphology , new taxa , time dating

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2011-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.100.108863

 

Abstract

The genus Ciliochorella is a group of pestalotioid fungi, which typically occurs in subtropical and tropical areas. Species from the Ciliochorella genus play important roles in the decomposition of litter. In this study, we introduce two new species (Ciliochorella chinensissp. nov. and C. savannicasp. nov.) that were found on leaf litter collected from savanna-like vegetation in hot dry valleys of southwestern China. Phylogenetic analyses of combined LSU, ITS and tub2 sequence datasets indicated that C. chinensis and C. savannica respectively form a distinct clade within the Ciliochorella genus. The comparison of the morphological characteristics indicated that the two new species are well differentiated within this genus species. Analysis of the evolutionary history suggests that Ciliochorella originated from the Eurasian continent during the Paleogene (38 Mya). Further, we find that both new species can produce cellulase and laccase, playing a decomposer role.