Menisporopsis aquatica sp. nov. (Sordariomycetes, Chaetosphaeriales, Chaetosphaeriaceae), from freshwater habitat in China

Background Freshwater fungi are an integral part of freshwater ecosystems. They promote the carbon cycle of the ecosystem by decomposing wood substrates. Menisporopsis is a fungal genus of Chaetosphaeriales in Sordariomycetes, which has been commonly collected from aquatic and marine environments. Most species of this genus are saprophytes.New information Here, a new freshwater hyphomycetous fungus, Menisporopsis aquatica, reported from submerged rotten wood samples collected in a stream in Zhejiang Province, south-eastern China. The new species is characterised by hyaline conidia appendiculate with 1-2 setulae at each end and synnematous conidiophores growing closely around a black central seta. Molecular phylogeny of Menisporopsis was studied using a combined two-loci dataset, including the internal transcribed spacer sequences (ITS) and the nuclear ribosomal large subunit gene sequences (nrLSU). The new species is illustrated and a synopsis of the Menisporopsis species is presented in this paper.

Automated summary

This study reports a new freshwater fungus species, Menisporopsis aquatica, with detailed description of its characteristics, as well as molecular phylogeny analysis and synopsis of Menisporopsis species.