New species of Humicola and Parahumicola (Chaetomiaceae) from caves in Brazil

Abstract

Caves harbour a vast diversity of fungi, including so far undescribed species. Chaetomiaceae are often encountered in cave ecosystems and some have significant biotechnological potential. In Brazil, 60% of catalogued caves are concentrated in the Cerrado and Amazon biomes, but little information about their fungal diversity exists. This study describes two new Chaetomiaceae species discovered in one Cerrado and one Amazon cave based on morphological data and multilocus phylogenetic analyses (ITS, LSU, SSU, TUB, and RPB2): Humicola cerradensis sp. nov. and Parahumicola amazonica sp. nov. Parahumicola amazonica, the second species described in the genus Parahumicola, produces a sexual morph in culture. It resembles the sexual morph of Guanomyces polythrix, a cave-dwelling fungus overlooked in recent taxonomic studies. We also provide a checklist for Chaetomiaceae fungi found in caves worldwide.