<i>Cladobotryum rhodochroum</i> sp. nov. (Hypocreales, Ascomycota): A New Fungicolous Species Revealed by Morphology, Phylogeny, and Comparative Genomics.

ABSTRACT: Species of the ascomycetous genus Cladobotryum (Hypocreales, Hypocreaceae) are ecologically and economically important mycoparasites that cause cobweb disease in cultivated and wild mushrooms. Despite their significance as fungal pathogens and producers of bioactive metabolites, the taxonomy of Cladobotryum remains unresolved due to extensive morphological plasticity, complex teleomorph-anamorph connections, and the presence of cryptic species. This study employs an integrative approach combining micro- and macromorphological characterization, multi-locus phylogeny (ITS, rpb2, and tef-1a), and comparative genomics to clarify the taxonomic position of the Greek isolate Cladobotryum sp. ATHUM 6904, previously designated as an unclassified red-pigmented (URP

SUBMITTER: Christinaki AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12941566 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature