Multigene phylogeny of the Coronophorales: morphology and new species in the order.

The phylogenetic relationships within Coronophorales have been debated because of uncertainty over the taxonomic usefulness of characteristics such as quellkörper, number of ascospores per ascus, presence of ascospore appendages, presence of subiculum and ascomatal vestiture. The phylogenetic relationships are examined with DNA sequence data from three nuclear genes targeting 69 taxa and 130 new sequences representing collections from Africa and the Americas. Analyses recovered monophyletic Bertiaceae, Chaetosphaerellaceae and Scortechiniaceae and a paraphyletic Nitschkiaceae.

Two new genera in the Magnaporthaceae, a new addition to Ceratosphaeria and two new species of Lentomitella.

Ceratosphaerella is described as a new genus for C. castillensis and C. rhizomorpha.

Cercophora rubrotuberculata sp. nov., a new pyrenomycete from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

An interesting wood-inhabiting pyrenomycete was discovered while collecting for the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory currently being conducted in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This species is unique in possessing superficial ascomata with reddish tubercles and ascospores that develop an apical swollen brown cell and a long, basal hyaline cell. Because these ascospore characters fit the traditional morphological circumscription of Cercophora, this species is described as a new species within this genus.