Three New Fungal Species Discovered in Recent MycoKeys Studies

Recent open‑access journal MycoKeys has added several novel fungi to the global mycology catalogue. In its volume 138, three distinct studies reported new taxa that span lichen communities in Italy, endophytic associations on Itea plants in Thailand, and Pleosporales isolates from northern Thai forests.

The first study examined lichens in the Italian Alps and Northern Apennines. Field sampling combined with a re‑analysis of herbarium specimens yielded 518 occurrences covering 288 infrageneric taxa. Of these, 33 were new to Italy and 255 represented newly recorded regional records. The authors provide integrated occurrence, ecological and molecular data for each taxon, clarifying their distribution patterns and supporting conservation priorities. This work underscores how climate change can affect mountain ecosystems by shifting lichen distributions. ¹.net]

A second paper focused on endophytic fungi associated with Itea japonica and I. riparia in Northern Thailand. Using morphology, multilocus phylogenetics, and nucleotide polymorphism comparison, researchers identified two new species—Diaporthe iteae (Sordariomycetes) and Neptunomyces iteae (Dothideomycetes)—and documented Diaporthe coracoralinae as a new host record on I. japonica. These findings expand knowledge of fungal diversity within economically important plant hosts and may inform sustainable agriculture practices through potential biocontrol agents or beneficial endophytes. ¹.net]

The third article reported two Pleosporales species from northern Thai microfungi surveys: Anastomitrabeculia chiangraiensis sp. nov., isolated from an unidentified woody host’s dead stem, and Roussoella chiangraiensis sp. nov., collected from dead bamboo stems. Both were distinguished morphologically and supported by multigene phylogenetic analyses (28S, ITS, 18S, tef1‑α, rpb2). The new taxa broaden the global biodiversity database for Dothideomycete species and highlight their ecological roles as pathogens or symbionts; further research will determine any practical applications such as biological control strategies or medicinal properties. ¹.net]