Cuniculitrema polymorpha (Tremellales, gen. nov and sp nov.), a heterobasidiomycete vectored by bark beetles, which is the teleomorph of Sterigmatosporidium polymorphuma

In a study of the mycobiota associated with bark beetles, a dimorphic fungus producing longitudinally septate basidia of the Tremella-type and yeast cells budding off from stalks, was collected. Detailed morphological, physiological and molecular studies revealed that this fungus represents the teleomorph of Sterigmatosporidium polymorphum. Consequently, a new genus, Cuniculitrema gen. nov., and a new species, C. polymorpha sp. nov., are proposed. Comparative morphological and molecular studies indicated that the new taxon belongs to a group that also comprises species of the stalk-forming anamorphic genera Fellomyces and Kockovaella. The new family Cuniculitremaceae is proposed for this group.