Abstract:
During a survey of endophytic fungi from the cactus Tacinga inamoena in a Brazilian tropical
dry forest (Caatinga) some undescribed ascomycetous fungi were isolated. These fungi are
characterized by superficial and immersed, globose to subglobose, smooth or hairy
ascomata, bitunicate asci, and muriformly septate, ellipsoidal ascospores. Multigene
phylogenetic analyses using sequences from partial ITS, SSU and LSU nrDNA and the
translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene (tef1) demonstrated a monophyletic clade
accommodating these endophytic fungi in the class Dothideomycetes, closely related to the
order Tubeufiales. Based on morphological features and phylogenetic analyses, these fungi
could not be placed in the order Tubeufiales, in the new order Wiesneriomycetales, or any
other known genus in the class Dothideomycetes. Thus, two new genera (Bezerromyces,
with B. brasiliensis and B. pernambucoensis, and Xiliomyces with X. brasiliensis), a new
family (Bezerromycetaceae) and a new order (Bezerromycetales) are introduced to
accommodate these novel taxa. Our phylogenetic analyses also demonstrated that the clade
accommodating Wiesneriomycetaceae represents a new order, here introduced as
Wiesneriomycetales.
