This study explores the diversity of hyphomycetous fungi associated with decaying plant material in freshwater habitats of Southwestern China. Approximately 100 specimens were analyzed using combined morphological and multi-locus phylogenetic approaches. The ITS, SSU, LSU, rpb2, tub2, and tef1-α loci were employed for phylogenetic analyses of the treated taxa. This study has identified 36 taxa, including a new genus, Bulbocatenulomyces, 28 new species, and 8 new geographical records. Most of these, 24 species belong to Sordariomycetes, followed by Dothideomycetes (11 species) and Orbiliomycetes (1 species). The new species include Acremonium nigrobrunneum, Bactrodesmium wumengense, Bulbocatenulomyces nigricans, Chloridium tongrense, Conlarium phaeoconidium, Distoseptispora longissima, D. quinqueseptata, D. tongrensis, Helminthosporium dichoramosum, H. undecimseptatum, Hawksworthiomyces cylindroconidius, Mariannaea alba, Memnoniella anliuensis, Xenopleopunctum muriformis, Phragmocephala wuliangshanensis, Polyplosphaeria chinensis, Protocreopsis alba, Pyricularia puerensis, Rhamphoriopsis globularis, R. yunnanensis, R. zhaotongensis, Rostriconidium fuscum, R. yunnanense, Sarocladium bambusicola, Torula puerensis, Triplosphaeria irregularis, Tubeufia chinensis, and Xylolentia yibinensis. The new geographical records are Chloridium chlamydosporum, C. fuscum, Dictyocheirospora chiangmaiensis, Nectriella rusci, Orbilia ellipsospora, Parasympodiella cryptomeriae, Pleurothecium lignicola, and Volutella minutissima. In addition, Pseudolophiotrema is synonymized under Clematidis, with its species recombined as C. elymicola comb. nov. These findings significantly enhance the understanding of hyphomycetous fungal diversity in Southwestern China. The discovery of numerous novel species highlights the presence of many undescribed taxa, especially in freshwater habitats, presenting compelling opportunities for further mycological research.

The family Boletaceae (Boletales) comprises ecologically and economically vital macrofungi with a global distribution in forest ecosystems. Although China is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot for Boletaceae due to its floristic and topographic complexity, its taxonomy remains incompletely understood with numerous new taxa awaiting discovery. Morphological examinations and multi-locus phylogenetic analysis (28S, TEF1, RPB1, and RPB2) were integrated using specimens collected from subtropical and tropical China. Studies have demonstrated that three novel genera (Boletellopsis, Chenrenyua, Sudongpoa) were established to accommodate four newly identified species (C. longispora, C. verrucosa, S. rubicarpos, S. rubripes) and one previously described taxon (B. elata). Twenty-two additional taxa were described, comprising fourteen new species in the genera Aureoboletus and Hemileccinum, viz. A. applanatus, A. atrotomentosus, A. canceriformis, A. exiguisquamatus, A. hainanensis, A. macrocarpus, A. magniporus, A. pallidorubellus, A. phaeosquamus, A. urceopileus, H. brunneoalbum, H. dilutibrunneum, H. lutosum, and H. verrucatum. Taxonomic clarifications resolved the A. solus complex into five species; confirmed the phylogenetic distinctness of A. pallidorubellus from A. rubellus; and synonymized A. pseudorussellii with A. wusangongii and H. squamipes with H. parvum. These findings significantly advance Boletaceae systematics, revealing substantial undocumented diversity in China and providing critical data for fungal conservation and sustainable resource utilization. Keys to accepted species of Aureoboletus and Hemileccinum in China were also provided.

During a survey of microfungi associated with grassland vegetation in Yunnan Province, China, various fungal taxa belonging to Dothideomycetes and Sordariomycetes were isolated. This study presents detailed morphological descriptions, illustrations, and multigene phylogenetic analyses of those fungal species to understand their taxonomic placements. Based on 138 fungal collections, the present work introduces a new genus (Keisslerielloides), 31 new species, four new combinations, the first sexual morph record for two species, the first asexual morph record for four species, both morphs for three species, and new host or geographic records for 47 species. Among them, Apiospora poacearum, Camarosporioides kunmingensis, Dinemasporium poacearum, Epicoccum kunmingense, Heterosporicola qujingensis, Keissleriella graminicola, K. lolii, K. zhaotongensis, Leptosphaeria chinensis, Massarina yunnanensis, Neoascochyta zhaotongensis, Ne. dactylidis, Nigrospora dactylidis, Occultitheca yunnanensis, Ophiobolopsis dipsaci, O. poacearum, Paraophiobolus bidentis, Periconia poacearum, P. todei, Phaeosphaeria kunmingensis, Ph. lolii, Pseudocyclothyriella lolii, Ps. yunnanensis, Pseudolophiostoma kunmingense, Schizothecium dactylidis, Septoriella graminearum, S. longispora, S. yunnanensis, S. zhaotongensis, Setophoma dactylidis, and Stagonospora dactylidis are introduced as new Ascomycota species. The new combinations are Keisslerielloides bambusicola (= Keissleriella bambusicola), K. caraganae (= Keissleriella caraganae), K. yonaguniensis (= Keissleriella yonaguniensis), K. yunnanensis (= Keissleriella yunnanensis). We also introduce new host or geographical records for Apiospora arundinis, A. locuta-pollinis, A. rasikravindrae, Aplosporella javeedii, Astrocystis sublimbata, Catenuliconidia uniseptata, Comoclathris sedi, Cucurbitaria lijiangensis, Dinemasporium americanum, Discosia macrozamiae, Epicoccum dendrobii, E. mackenziei, E. viciae-villosae, Floricola sulcata, Keissleriella gloeospora, K. poagena, Keisslerielloides yunnanensis, Letendraea helminthicola, Lophiopoacea paramacrostoma, Montagnula shangrilana, Neoascochyta humicola, Neoleptosporella camporesiana, N. fusiformispora, Occultibambusa jonesii, Ophiosphaerella aquatica, Paraphaeosphaeria michotii, Periconia cortaderiae, P. wurfbainiae, Phaeosphaeria septata, Ph. tabebuiae, Phaeosphaeriopsis aloes, Pha. grevilleae, Plenodomus artemisiae, Pl. sinensis, Praeclarispora herbicola, Pseudopithomyces chartarum, Ps. rosae, Sclerostagonospora rosae, Septoriella paradactylidis, S. tridentina, S. vagans, Stagonospora poaceicola, Torula chromolaenae, T. fici, Tremateia arundicola, Truncatella angustata, and Xylaria xylarioides. The new sexual/asexual links are reported in Keissleriella gloeospora, Neoascochyta humicola, Paraphaeosphaeria michotii, Phaeosphaeriopsis grevilleae, Praeclarispora herbicola, Pseudocyclothyriella lolii, and Stagonospora poaceicola. This study enhances the understanding of microfungal diversity in grassland ecosystems and highlights the rich, yet understudied, fungal biodiversity of Yunnan Province.

The taxonomy and phylogeny within the order Hymenochaetales have advanced considerably worldwide, however, knowledge of their global fungal diversity and distribution patterns remains limited. In this study, we compiled a checklist of Hymenochaetales using the Fungal Names Database, and validated the records with MycoBank, Index Fungorum, and authoritative literatures. The result revealed that Hymenochaetales comprises 1,651 species belonging to 101 genera across 18 families, with 25 genera classified as incertae sedis. Among these taxa, the family Hymenochaetaceae has the greatest species richness, encompassing 44 genera and 973 species, which account for 59.12% of all species in the order. The most species-rich genera were Hymenochaete, Xylodon, Fuscoporia, Inonotus, Phylloporia, Fulvifomes, Fomitiporia, Coltricia, Lyomyces, and Tropicoporus. At the continental scale, Asia exhibited the highest species richness, while Africa had the lowest. The number of families, genera, and species shared across the six continents showed a decreasing trend, with Europe and North America displaying the highest similarity, whereas Asia and South America exhibited the lowest. Across climate zones, species richness was highest in temperate zones, followed by tropical, subtropical, and boreal zones. Distribution patterns of Hymenochaetales species across four climatic zones on the six continents demonstrated three main trends: 1) dominance of temperate species, 2) dominance of tropical species, and 3) continuous distributed from temperate to tropical regions. Morphologically, the species were primarily poroid, followed by corticioid, hydnoid, and others. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the global diversity and distribution patterns of the order Hymenochaetales, offering a valuable foundation for resource utilization and ecological conservation.

This is the 14th in a series of Mycosphere notes where we provide entries on new species and higher taxa, including new host records, and geographical (country) records of fungi and fungi-like species. In this study, we introduce 51 new taxa including one new genus, viz. Roseosporodochia and eight new species in Ascomycota, viz. Occultibambusa guizhouensis, Periconia baotouensis, Teichospora pini (Dothideomycetes), Basingstokeomyces cryptomeriae (Leotiomycetes), Apiospora dongruensis, Pseudolachnella chinensis, Roseosporodochia magnoliae, Trichoderma zhuangii (Sordariomycetes); two new genera, viz. Grandicium, Membranohymenium, and 39 new species in Basidiomycota, viz. Agaricus wadidarbaticus, Amyloxenasma cremeum, Am. tenuissimum, Athelopsis albofarinaceus, Burgella yunnanensis, Byssocorticium yunnanense, Cerioporus nigromarginatus, Crepidotus pusillus, Cylindrobasidium subbifidum, Grammothele albobadia, Grandicium tenuissimum, Gymnopus linzhiensis, Hymenochaete malaysiana, Hyphoderma fragilissimum, Hyp. punctatum, Hyp. yingjiangense, Inocybe griseum, Lopharia fissurata, Mariorajchenbergia yunnanensis, Membranohymenium grandinioides, Microporellus oblongosporus, Phanerochaete yingjiangensis, Phlegmacium sinovariecolor, Physisporinus pingbianensis, Punctularia fragilis, Scleroderma roseobrunneum, Sebacina yunnanensis, Sistotrema albofarinaceum, Si. fissuratum, Skeletocutis fissurata, Sk. wumenshanensis, Thelephora tropica, Trechispora alborhizomorpha, Tre. mangensis, Tubulicium yunnanense, Vuilleminia bambusicola, V. punctata (Agaricomycetes), Solicoccozyma humicola (Tremellomycetes); one new species in Mucoromycota, Cunninghamella variabilis (Mucoromycetes); and one new species of fungi-like organisms in Amoebozoa, Dictyostelium gracilidiscobasis (Dictyosteliomycetes). We further discussed two new records of Solicoccozyma aeria (Agaricomycetes) and Ophiocordyceps vespulae (Sordariomycetes) by expanding their ecology and geographic relationships. The taxonomic boundaries of these 53 taxa of fungi and fungi-like organisms, which belong to 42 genera, were confirmed using detailed morphology combined with molecular genetics. They were associated with plants, insects, and soil microhabitats with high substrate diversity, e.g., on plants (dead or decaying wood, roots, living infected leaves, leaf litter-associated insects), even in desert habitats, on basidiomata, on soil (in, on), even in frozen soil from Chinese, Omani, and Malaysian collecting sites. This study encourages mycologists, especially taxonomists to explore the undocumented fungal diversity across under-surveyed geographical sites, habitats, hosts, and substrates worldwide.

Fungal infections, especially invasive candidiasis caused by Candida species, have been shown to increase mortality rates among critically ill patients. However, there remains a dearth of epidemiological data on invasive Candida infections in Southwest China. This retrospective study sought to address this gap by investigating species distribution, underlying diseases, and risk factors among hospitalized patients with confirmed Candida infections in hospitals of Southwest China from 2019-2023. Additionally, we systematically analyzed the virulence properties of strains isolated from different clinical sources and action of cytokines involved in inflammatory and immune responses. A total of 4662 patients were included in the present study, with 174 identified as having bloodstream infection. Our data revealed that Candida albicans was the predominant infecting organism. Univariate analysis showed significant differences in ICU admission, respiratory dysfunction, solid tumors, neurological disorders, and gastrointestinal pathology between patients with C. albicans infections and those with non-albicans Candida infections. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that non-albicans Candida species are common pathogens in central venous catheter associated bloodstream infections [OR (2.488; 95% CI, 1.043-5.934)]. The invasive virulence determinants of the clinical Candida strains were also determined in vitro and in vivo (Galleria mellonella and murine models). And cytokine profiles in mice with C. albicans infections varied by the source of the isolate. The prevalence of non-albicans Candida infections in Southwest China is progressively rising annually, exacerbated by underlying comorbidities in infected individuals. Thus, our work underscores the significance of prompt identification, diagnosis and management of Candida infections in clinical practice.

Peat swamp forests are critical ecosystems that serve as significant carbon stores. However, they are increasingly threatened by deforestation and land-use changes. The peat swamp forests in Narathiwat, southern Thailand, represent the last remaining primary peat swamp ecosystems in the country, yet studies on microfungi in these habitats remain limited and mostly lack molecular data. This study focuses on identifying and characterizing fungi associated with palms, particularly Eleiodoxa conferta, in the peat swamp forests of Narathiwat, Thailand. Based on detailed morphological comparisons and multi-gene phylogenetic studies, we introduce one new genus, Narathiwatomyces, along with 25 new species, viz., Cancellidium narathiwatense, Chaetosphaeria narathiwatensis, Chloridium narathiwatense, Conioscypha narathiwatensis, Daldinia narathiwatensis, Gongromerizella palmicola, Helicoma narathiwatense, H. eleiodoxae, Javarisimilis narathiwatensis, Lentistoma narathiwatense, Longivarius narathiwatensis, Narathiwatomyces confertae, Nawawia narathiwatensis, Neohelicosporium narathiwatense, Ne. arecacearum, Neoleptodontidium narathiwatense, Pseudosaprodesmium narathiwatense, Savoryella narathiwatensis, Stanjehughesia narathiwatensis, Strossmayeria narathiwatensis, Tamhinispora narathiwatensis, Terriera narathiwatensis, Tubeufia narathiwatensis, Vamsapriya narathiwatensis and Yunnanomyces narathiwatensis. Furthermore, we report 16 new records based on host, geographical, or habitat associations. These include 11 previously described species — Ernakulamia cochinensis, Lasiodiplodia brasiliensis, La. theobromae, Linocarpon appendiculatum, Longicorpus striataspora, Megacapitula villosa, Neohelicosporium fusisporum, Nigrospora chinensis, Polyancora globosa, Pseudodactylaria longidenticulata, Trichoderma virens — as well as Conioscypha narathiwatensis, Longivarius narathiwatensis, Neoleptodontidium narathiwatense, Terriera narathiwatensis, and Vamsapriya narathiwatensis, which represent the first records of their respective genera on the host family Arecaceae. Each taxon is provided with detailed descriptions and illustrations, along with a concise summary for each family and genus. This study enhances our understanding of fungal diversity in peat swamp forests and validates the identification of species introduced in previous studies, which relied solely on morphological analysis. By incorporating molecular data, it ensures more accurate taxonomic placement

Southwestern China has been widely acknowledged as a global biodiversity hotspot, renowned for its high levels of floral, faunal and microbial diversity. However, research on fungi, particularly microfungi, remains limited with comparison to the other kingdoms i.e. Plantae and Animalia. Within the fungal kingdom, the subclass Xylariomycetidae (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota), presents a vast range of macro- and micro-morphological features, yet our knowledge of their taxonomy, diversity and geographical distribution is still lacking. To fill out this knowledge gap, our study focused on a survey of Xylariomycetidae taxa across diverse habitats in the Southwest of China, encompassing the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan. The primary objective of this study was to examine fresh collections of terrestrial Xylariomycetidae and to investigate their taxonomy and phylogeny via polyphasic approaches. Employing phylogenetic analysis of targeted DNA loci within specific families and genera, encompassing all accessible ex-type and non-type strains as well as holotypes and additional herbarium material, we elucidated novel taxonomic relationships among Xylariomycetidae in Southwestern China. Our analyses revealed 30 previously unidentified species and confirmed the existence of 20 known species within the Xylariomycetidae. We also validly publish Apiospora koreana as a new species as it was previously invalidly published. Fourteen new species are introduced to Amphisphaeriales viz. Amphisphaeria ailaoshanensis, A. kunmingensis, A. magna, A. shangrilaensis, A. xishuangbannaense (Amphisphaeriaceae), Apiospora arecacearum, A. koreana, A. menglaensis, A. senecionis and A. trachycarpi (Apiosporaceae), Neoamphisphaeria shangrilaensis (Appendicosporaceae), Iodosphaeria sichuanensis (Iodosphaeriaceae), Broomella meilishanguensis and Robillarda sichuanensis (Sporocadaceae). In Xylariales, 14 new species were introduced viz. Barrmaelia yunnanensis, B. shangrilaensis, Entosordaria shangrilana (Barrmaeliaceae), Diatrypella kunmingensis, Peroneutypa hongheensis (Diatrypaceae), Fasciatispora sichuanensis (Fasciatisporaceae), Hypoxylon guiyangense, H. guizhouense (Hypoxylaceae), Requienella shangrilana (Requienellaceae), Vamsapriya sichuanensis (Vamsapriyaceae), Collodiscula yunnanensis, Digitodochium ailaoshanense, D. yunnanensis and Nemania leishanensis (Xylariaceae). We identified three new Distoseptispora species, D. chishuiensis, D. liupanshuiensis and D. sichuanensis, in Sordariomycetidae. These findings greatly enhance our understanding of fungal diversity in the region, highlighting the presence of numerous potentially novel species and providing a compelling opportunity for mycologists to explore further research avenues. Additionally, the comprehensive morphological descriptions and molecular sequences generated by this study serve as valuable resources for future taxonomic studies and contribute to a broader understanding of fungal diversity in Southwestern China.