Blastobotrys sasensis M. Kolarik & R. Vadkertiova 2026, sp. nov.

Blastobotrys sasensis M. Kolařík & R. Vadkertiová sp. nov. Fig. 8 Etymology. The epithet sasensis is derived from the acronym SAS (Slovak Academy of Sciences) combined with the Latin suffix - ensis (i. e., originating from). The name honours the institution’s role in advancing scientific research in Slovakia. Diagnosis. Blastobotrys sasensis differs from the closely related species B. muscicola by its ability to utilise d-xylose, erythritol, sorbose, glucitol, and ribitol. Another related species, B. robertii, differs by its ability to assimilate glycerol (Suppl. material 13: table SS 1). It also differs from both closely related species in its origin. B. muscicola was isolated from a moss growing on a fallen log in USA (Kurtzman 2007) and B. robertii was isolated from rotten pine wood (Pinus sylvestris) in the Netherlands (Middelhoven and Kurtzman 2007). Type. SLOVAKIA • Zvolen region, Tŕnie, 48.627397°N, 19.029675°E; alt. 665 m.; from thorax of Treptoplatypus oxyurus feeding in the base (40 cm diam) of a decaying Abies alba; 10. June 2024; leg. M. Knížek, J. Vakula, M. Zúbrik, isol. M. Kolařík Tox- 13 (holotype CCY 100-1-1, culture preserved in a metabolically inactive state in the Culture Collection of Yeasts, Bratislava, Slovakia, ex-type culture CCF 6841). Sequence Accessions: ITS – PX 523827, LSU - PX 591253, WGS - ERZ 28669457. Description. On YMA, after 7 days of incubation at 28 ° C, the culture is slightly beige, dry and wrinkled. On MEA under the same incubation conditions, the culture is white, dry and powdery. On YMA, after 21 days of cultivation, the colony is raised, crateriform, cerebriform, with an undulate margin and a cream-coloured centre. On MEA, after 21 days of cultivation, the colony is raised, filamentous, and fluffy, with an undulate margin and a cream-coloured centre (Fig. 8 E, F). In both ME medium and YM, after 7 days of incubation at 28 ° C, the cells are oval to elongate, often spindle-shaped, 1.5–3 × 2.5–17 µm (Fig. 8 A, B). A sediment and a thick pellicle are formed in both media after 7 days of incubation at 28 ° C. Conidiophores with primary and secondary conidia are formed on MEA after 7 days, abundant hyphae are present. Multiple budding of mother cells occurs (Fig. 8 C, D). No sexual reproduction is observed. Physiological and biochemical characteristics. Fermentation of glucose and d-xylose is absent. The following carbon compounds are assimilated: glucose, fructose, mannose, galactose, maltose, saccharose, lactose, raffinose, d-xylose, cellobiose, trehalose, soluble starch, melibiose, l-sorbose, salicin, ribitol, d-mannitol, d-glucitol, erythritol, glycerol, n-acetyl-d-glucosamine (w), succinic acid, and citrate. The other compounds- melezitose, l-arabinose, inulin, l-rhamnose, d-arabinose, d-ribose, xylitol, myo - inositol, ethanol, methanol, glycerol and dl-lactate - are not assimilated. The nitrogen compounds - ethylamine, l-lysine, cadaverine and n-acetyl-d-glucosamine are assimilated, whereas nitrate, nitrite, and creatinine are not assimilated. The urease reaction is negative. Starch-like polysaccharides are not produced. Growth in a vitamin-free medium (w), 10 % NaCl + 5 % glucose and 50 % glucose is positive. Growth at a temperature range from 5 ° C to 30 ° C is positive, growth at 35 ° C is negative. Distribution. The species is currently known only from a culture at the type locality in Slovakia. The NCBI GenBank contains the LSU sequence KF 617761, which has a 99.4 % identity and may represent our species. It is a sequence of an uncultured fungus obtained from Picea mariana forest soil in Alaska by Taylor et al. (2014). Based on the GlobalFungi exact hit, it was found in 54 samples, all originating from deadwood of Picea abies (53 samples) or an undetermined tree (one sample) collected in Finland (53 samples) by Ovaskainen (2010) and Korhonen (2022) and in the Asian part of Russia (Mikryukov et al. 2021). This suggests that it is associated with conifers in temperate and boreal Eurasia, not necessarily with T. oxyurus, which is specific to Abies alba. Notes. Based on the phylogenomic and ITS- LSU rDNA analyses, it forms a lineage sister to B. muscicola and B. robertii (Figs 4, 5).