Parasarocladium Yichunense, a New Species of Hypocreales in China

This study describes Parasarocladium yichunense, a new species of Hypocreales isolated from leaf cradles of Reynoutria japonica, which were constructed by the weevil Euops chinensis for oviposition and fungal cultivation. Its taxonomic position within the genus Parasarocladium was determined using an integrative approach combining morphological, cultural, and multi-locus analyses based on the ITS, LSU, ACT, tef1, and tub2 regions. Phylogenetically, P. yichunense forms a well-supported, distinct monophyletic clade sister to the clades comprising P. debruynii and P. dipikae. Parasarocladium yichunense differs from its phylogenetically close relative, P. debruynii, in exhibiting slower growth on culture media, longer conidiophores (up to 120 μm), longer phialidic conidiogenous cells (2.3-40 μm), and larger conidia [3-11.8(-13.4) × 1.5-4.6 μm]. This discovery expands the known diversity of Parasarocladium and contributes to the growing documentation of fungal symbionts in leaf-rolling weevil mutualisms.