Morphological and molecular characterization of a novel species of Simplicillium from China

An interesting co-cultured fungus was discovered when isolating freshwater fungi on water agar. It is morphologically characterized by solitary phialides and oval, obclavate to ellipsoidal conidia that often form in chains. Its relationships with morphologically similar and phylogenetically closely related taxa are discussed, based on which a new species, Simplicillium chinense, is established in this paper. Phylogenetic analyses using 28S and ITS rDNA sequences indicate that S. chinense and all other species in the genus belong to Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales. A key to currently known species in Simplicillium is provided.