Abstract:
In the course of taxonomic studies on saprobic microfungi from Spain, several slow-growing,
dematiaceous hyphomycetes were isolated from soil, submerged plant material and river
sediments. Sixteen of these strains were identified as members of the ascomycete order
Chaetothyriales on the basis of morphology and DNA sequence analyses of the internal
transcribed spacer region and partial large subunit ribosomal RNA gene. These included
three novel species (Cladophialophora pseudocarrionii, Cyphellophora chlamydospora, and
Rhinocladiella amoena) and five interesting, little-known or clinically-relevant species
(Cyphellophora suttonii, Exophiala aquamarina, E. lacus, E. radicis, and Rhinocladiella
similis). In addition, Exophiala oligosperma, an emerging opportunistic fungus, was found
for the first time in an aquatic freshwater environment (river sediments). Cladophialophora
pseudocarrionii resembles C. carrionii in the branching pattern of its conidial chains, but
differs from the latter species in its inability to grow at 30 °C. Cyphellophora chlamydospora
differs from other species of the genus in the absence of conidiation, producing only
chlamydospores in vitro. Rhinocladiella amoena shows branched conidiophores similar to
those of R. anceps, R. atrovirens, R. basitona and R. similis, but differs from them in conidial
shape and size. The ex-type strain of Phialophora livistonae, included in the phylogenetic
study, clustered with high statistical support with members of the genus Cyphellophora and
is transferred to this genus.