Additions to the Genus <i>Helicosporium</i> (Tubeufiaceae, Tubeufiales) from China with an Identification Key for <i>Helicosporium</i> Taxa

Abstract

Helicosporous hyphomycetes is a group of filamentous fungi that shows promising application prospects in metabolizing bioactive natural compounds. During a study of helicosporous fungi in China, six new helicosporous taxa were collected and isolated from decaying wood in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Morphological comparisons with multi-gene phylogenetic analyses revealed that these six taxa belong to Helicosporium (Tubeufiaceae, Tubeufiales), and they were recognized as three novel species and were named Helicosporium liuzhouense, H. multidentatum, and H. nanningense. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the newly discovered taxa and comparisons with similar fungi are provided. In addition, a list and a key to accepted Helicosporium species are provided.

Keywords

• six new taxa
• ascomycetes
• asexual morph
• filamentous fungi
• phylogeny
• taxonomy