New Mucorales from opposite ends of the world

The Mucorales is a group of ancient fungi with global distribution. In the current study we accessed mucoralean fungi isolated from two countries on opposite sides of the Earth and in different hemispheres: South Korea and Brazil. Mucorales isolates were obtained from freshwater, soil, invertebrates, and fruit seeds and identified using phenotypic techniques combined with the DNA sequence data. These analyses revealed 15 new species including one that we affiliated to a newly proposed genus, Neofennellomyces. Names proposed for these 15 new species are Absidia cheongyangensis, A. fluvii, A. kunryangriensis, A. paracylindrospora, A. tarda, A. variiprojecta, A. variispora, Backusella varians, Mucor albicolonia, M. aurantiacus, M. cryophilus, M. glutinatus, M. paraorantomantidis, M. timomeni, and Neofennellomyces jeongsukae. Of these new species, 12 were isolated from South Korea: A. cheongyangensis, A. fluvii, A. kunryangriensis, A. paracylindrospora, B. varians, M. albicolonia, M. aurantiacus, M. cryophilus, M. glutinatus, M. paraorantomantidis, M. timomeni, and N. jeongsukae, and three from Brazil: A. tarda, A. variiprojecta, and A. variispora. Niche specificity of these fungi is discussed including newly recorded invertebrate hosts and a new geographic distribution for species of Backusella, Circinella, Cunninghamella, and Mucor. Given these findings, we provide an inventory of Mucorales. Taxonomic novelties: New genus: Neofennellomyces Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen. New species: Absidia cheongyangensis Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Absidia fluvii Hyang B. Lee, A.L. Santiago, P.M. Kirk, K. Voigt & T.T.T. Nguyen, Absidia kunryangriensis Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Absidia paracylindrospora Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Absidia tarda T.R.L. Cordeiro, Hyang B. Lee & A.L. Santiago, Absidia variiprojecta T.R.L. Cordeiro & A.L. Santiago, Absidia variispora T.R.L. Cordeiro & A.L. Santiago, Backusella varians Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Mucor aurantiacus Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Mucor cryophilus Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Mucor albicolonia Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Mucor glutinatus Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Mucor paraorantomantidis Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Mucor timomeni Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen, Neofennellomyces jeongsukae Hyang B. Lee & T.T.T. Nguyen. Citation: Nguyen TTT, de A. Santiago ALCM, Hallsworth JE, Cordeiro TRL, Voigt K, Kirk PM, Crous PW, Júnior MAM, Elsztein C, Lee HB (2024). New Mucorales from opposite ends of the world. Studies in Mycology 109: 273-321. doi: 10.3114/sim.2024.109.04.