Three novel species and new records of Kirschsteiniothelia (Kirschsteiniotheliales) from northern Thailand.

ABSTRACT

Kirschsteiniothelia (Kirschsteiniotheliales, Pleosporomycetidae) includes 39 saprobic species recorded from dead or decaying wood in terrestrial and freshwater habitats. This study focuses on exploring Kirschsteiniothelia diversity in woody litter in Thailand. Wood samples were collected from forest areas in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai Provinces in Thailand and examined for fungal fructifications. Fungal isolates were obtained and their morphological and sequence data were characterised. Micromorphology associated with multilocus phylogeny of ITS, LSU and SSU sequence data identified three isolates as novel species (Kirschsteiniotheliainthanonensis, K.saprophytica and K.zizyphifolii) besides new host records for K.tectonae and K.xishuangbannaensis. The placement of the new taxa and records are supported by morphological illustrations, descriptions and molecular phylogenies and the implications of these findings are discussed. Our findings provide information for understanding Kirschsteiniothelia diversity and ecology.