The family Saccotheciaceae ( Dothideales ) encompasses a diverse fungal group displaying a wide ecological plasticity and morphological diversity. During a study focusing on the microbiological evaluation of Arbutus unedo fruits from Portugal, an unknown Saccotheciaceae isolate was retrieved, for which achieving a consensus identification proved to be challenging. Preliminary molecular analysis pointed to a close relationship with Banningia maryelizabethiae , a genus and species for which the original description lacked detailed morphological traits. The aim of this work was thus to understand the taxonomic status of this isolate through an integrative polyphasic approach. In parallel, the ex-type strain of B. maryelizabethiae was also re-examined, allowing its first comprehensive morphological characterization and enabling an emended circumscription of the genus. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated internal transcribed spacer and LSU ribosomal rDNA gene fragments placed the recovered strain in a well-supported lineage sister to B. maryelizabethiae within Saccotheciaceae . Further comparative morphological examinations, MALDI-TOF MS profiles and biogeographical and ecological data also demonstrated a clear differentiation between both taxa. These results supported the introduction of a novel species, Banningia arbuti sp. nov., while also providing amended descriptions for both the genus Banningia and B. maryelizabethiae . Moreover, this work also contributes to improved taxonomic resolution within the phylogenetically complex Saccotheciaceae family.
Domingues et al. (Wed,) studied this question.