Phaeoacremonium microsporus sp. nov., isolated from air in China

Two strains of a new fungus (WLY-1 and WLY-L2) were collected from the air, Yibin, Sichuan province, P.R. China. Phylogenetic analyses based on the actin ( ACT ) and β-tubulin ( TUB2 ) genes sequence revealed that these strains represent a new species within the genus Phaeoacremonium. Similar to Phaeoacremonium alvesii CBS 110034 ^T , the novel species exhibited good growth at 30 ℃; however it differed from P. alvesii CBS 110034 ^T in that it cannot produce yellow pigment on Oatmeal Agar (OA). The most distinct characteristic of the new species is its lack of a host requirement, which distinguishes it from all previously reported Phaeoacremonium strains. The novel species differed by 10.77% sequence divergence in the ACT gene and by 11.53% sequence divergence in the TUB2 gene from its closest known species P. alvesii CBS 110034 ^T its closest relative, respectively. Here, we present the new category Phaeoacremonium microsporus sp. nov. Its holotype is HMAS 353418, the ex-type culture is WLY-1 ^T (= CICC 41812 ^T ), and the other culture examined was WLY-2 (= CICC 41813).