Unveiling species diversity within early-diverging fungi from China III: Six new species and a new record of Gongronella (Cunninghamellaceae, Mucoromycota) Wang, Yi-Xin Zhao, Heng Jiang, Yang Liu, Xin-Ye Tao, Meng-Fei Liu, Xiao-Yong MycoKeys 2024 2024-11-20 110 287 317 Yi Xin Wang, H. Zhao & X. Y. Liu Yi Xin Wang, H. Zhao & X. Y. Liu 2024 Mucoromycetes Cunninghamellaceae Gongronella Fungi Mucorales Zygomycota species inconstans sp. nov.   Fig. 5   Etymology. The epithet “ inconstans” (Latin) refers to the inconstant shape of apophyses.   Type.   China• Hainan Province, Lingshui Li Autonomous County(  18.69850 ° N, 109.88098 ° E), from soil sample, 7 Apr 72023, Yi-Xin Wang( holotype  HMAS352731, ex-holotype strain  CGMCC3.27029).   Description. Colonies growing slowly on PDAin darkness at 25 ° C, reaching 31.2–36.8 mmin diameter in seven days, white, regular at edge and cottony, reversely milky white. Rhizoids hyaline, branched, irregular, ubiquitous. Stolons absent. Sporangiophores on aerial mycelia, erect or slightly curved, unbranched or slightly branched (2–3 times), 1.7–3.9 μm width, hyaline, smooth, mostly aseptate. Fertile sporangia hyaline or light yellow, spherical, 8.8–21.4 μm in diameter, smooth and deliquescent-walled, leaving a collar after releasing sporangiospores. Columellae mostly hemispherical, 1.2–2.4 × 2.0–3.9 μm, sometimes spherical, 3.2–7.2 × 3.4–7.2 μm, hyaline, smooth. Collars distinct, 2.0–17.0 μm wide. Apophyses hyaline, smooth, variously shaped, mostly long fusiform, 7.6–17.4 × 4.7–5.4 μm, sometimes oval, 5.5–8.8 × 4.4–6.3 μm, rarely egg-shaped, 5.0–6.4 × 4.2–5.7 μm. Sporangiospores not uniform, hyaline, smooth, mostly ovoid, 2.7–4.9 × 1.8–3.5 μm, sometimes reniform, 3.1–4.1 × 2.0–4.5 μm or subglobose, 2.4–4.1 μm in diameter, occasionally irregular, 5.0–8.0 × 2.5–3.2 μm. Chlamydospores present, gourd-shaped and irregular. Giant cells intercalary, globular, 4.2–8.0 μm in diameter. Zygospores not found.   Figure 5.   Gongronella inconstansex-holotype  CGMCC3.27029 a, bcolonies on PDA( aobverse breverse) c, dan unbranched sporangiophore with a fertile sporangium ean unbranched sporangiophore with a premature sporangium fbranched sporangiophores with aborted sporangia g – icolumellae, collars, apophyses j – lbranched sporangiophores with fertile sporangia, columellae, collars and apophyses nfertile sporangium with protuberance o, pchlamydospores mgiant cells qrhizoids rsporangiospores. Scale bars: 10 μm ( c – r).   Additional specimen examined.   China• Hainan Province, Lingshui Li Autonomous County(  18.69850 ° N, 109.88098 ° E), from soil sample,  7 April 2023, Yi-Xin Wang(living culture  SAUCC4113-1).   GenBank accession numbers.   CGMCC3.27029( ITS,  PP1955849; LSU,  PP195950; TEF,  PP850091; ACT,  PP933941; RPB 1,  PP842874), and  SAUCC4113-1( ITS,  PP105850; LSU,  PP195951; TEF,  PP850092, ACT,  PP933942; RPB 1,  PP842873).   Note. Based on phylogenetic analyses of ITS+ LSU+ TEF+ ACT+ RPB 1 sequences, the two isolates of the new species  Gongronella inconstansform an independent clade with full support ( MLBV= 100, BIPP = 1; Fig. 1), which is closely related to  G. qichaensiswith high support ( BIPP= 0.96; Fig. 1). In ITS,  G. inconstansdiffers from  G. qichaensisby 28 base pairs. This new species differs morphologically from  G. inconstansin sporangium, columellae and apophysis. As for sporangium, the  G. inconstansis smaller than the  G. qichaensis, 8.8–21.4 μm vs. 7.9–36.7 μm. The  G. inconstansand  G. qichaensisare different in size and shape of columellae ( Wang et al. 2023a). The  G. inconstansmostly hemispherical, 1.2–2.4 × 2.0–3.9 μm, sometimes spherical, 3.2–7.2 × 3.4–7.2 μm. Additionally, the columellae of  G. qichaensisis mostly ellipsoidal, 0.8–6.5 × 1.2–8.1 µm, sometimes sub-hemispherical to curved, 1.0–2.0 × 2.5–4.5 µm.  G. inconstansand  G. qichaensisare evidently different in apophysis shape. The former mostly long fusiform, sometimes oval-shaped and rarely egg shaped. The latter mostly pear-shaped to oval, partially elliptical or sub-globose. Combining morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses, we classified the two isolates together as a new species:  G. inconstansallied to  G. qichaensis. 4981269307 from soil sample CGMCC Yi-Xin Wang China Lingshui Li Autonomous County 18.6985 Lingshui Li Autonomous County 1 109.88098 HMAS 352731, CGMCC 3.27029 1 Hainan Province holotype 4981269308 from soil sample 2023-04-07 SAUCC Yi-Xin Wang China Lingshui Li Autonomous County 18.6985 Lingshui Li Autonomous County 1 109.88098 SAUCC 4113-1 1 Hainan Province