Integrating Different Lines of Evidence to Establish a Novel Ascomycete Genus and Family (Anastomitrabeculia, Anastomitrabeculiaceae) in Pleosporales

A novel genus, Anastomitrabeculia, is introduced herein for a distinct species, Anastomitrabeculia didymospora, collected as a saprobe on dead bamboo culms from a freshwater stream in Thailand. Anastomitrabeculia is distinct in its trabeculate pseudoparaphyses and ascospores with longitudinally striate wall ornamentation. A new family, Anastomitrabeculiaceae, is introduced to accommodate Anastomitrabeculia. Anastomitrabeculiaceae forms an independent lineage basal to Halojulellaceae in Pleosporales and it is closely related to Neohendersoniaceae based on phylogenetic analyses of a combined LSU, SSU and TEF1α dataset. In addition, divergence time estimates provide further support for the establishment of Anastomitrabeculiaceae. The family diverged around 84 million years ago (MYA) during the Cretaceous period, which supports the establishment of the new family. The crown and stem age of Anastomitrabeculiaceae was also compared to morphologically similar pleosporalean families.