Spegazzinia menglaensis, A Novel Species of Didymosphaeriaceae from Air in China.

A novel fungal species, viz. Spegazzinia menglaensis belonging to Didymosphaeriaceae (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes), was isolated from air samples in China. Spegazzinia menglaensis is characterized by basauxic conidiophores, with a light brown conidiophore mother cell, and 4-celled, stellate α conidia and disc-shaped β conidia. To further confirm its taxonomic placement, in-depth molecular analyses were conducted, utilizing multiple loci including internal transcribed spacers (ITS), large subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (LSU), translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1-α). The molecular analyses revealed that S. menglaensis formed distinct clade within Spegazzinia, which is close to S. jinghaensis. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the new fungal species, detailed descriptions, accompanied by illustrative images, as well as a phylogenetic tree showcasing the position of S. menglaensis within the taxonomic framework, have been included.