Taxonomic novelties of Dothiorella and additions to Botryosphaeriaceae from Yunnan, China

Botryosphaeriaceae is the largest family in Botryosphaeriales, consisting of 22 genera. Members of this family have cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in various life modes: endophytic, saprobic and pathogenic, mainly associated with plants. This study aims to investigate plant-associated saprobic microfungi in Yunnan, China.

Here, we establish two novel species in Dothiorella, namely D. fusiformis and D. swieteniae. Both sexual and asexual morphs are provided for D. fusiformis. Additionally, we report two new host records of Barriopsis archontophoenicis S. Konta, Boonmee & K. D. Hyde and D. camelliae W. Li Li & Jian K. Liu.

Taxonomic boundaries were confirmed based on morphological characteristics coupled with phylogenetic analyses using maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses of combined SSU, LSU, ITS, β-tubulin and tef 1 - α sequences. Furthermore, the detailed illustrations, comprehensive descriptions, and taxonomic justifications are provided for each species. This study expands our understanding of the taxonomy, diversity and ecological relationships of Botryosphaeriaceae species in China by introducing new species and reporting new host and geographic records.