Murispora purpurea, sp. nov., and the aeroaquatic fungus Brocchiosphaera microspora from freshwater habitats in Egypt

Mahmoud S. Bakhit, Ahmed E. Abdel-Aziz, Asmaa F. Mahmoud & Faten A. Abdel-Aziz

Sydowia 76: 149-160

Published online on May 17th, 2024

We report a new species, Murispora purpurea sp. nov., and the first record of an aeroaquatic fungus, Brocchiosphaera microspora from the Nile river, Sohag, Egypt. The combined SSU and LSU gene analysis established the placement of M. purpurea as a distinct branch within Murispora. It is the second species that lacks a sexual morph in this genus. The new species differs from the three asexual morphs in Murispora by having erect, sub-cylindrical to fusoid sporodochia and very long, hyaline to brown, multiseptate, filiform conidia. An aeroaquatic fungus producing orange conidia with dichotomous branches was also recorded from submerged samples in freshwater habitats. Morphology and phylogenetic analyses based on combined SSU and LSU rDNA placed it with Brocchiosphaera microspora.

Keywords: Amniculicolaceae, aquatic fungi, asexual fungi, Dothideomycetes, Nile river.

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