Bryocentria insolens (Hypocreales) – a new bryophilous ascomycete on Lewinskya and a preliminary phylogenetic analysis of European Bryocentria

The bryophilous genus Bryocentria comprises nineteen species of mostly hepaticolous parasites exhibiting a range of distinctive ascospore features and host-parasite interactions. While Bryocentria has been relatively well studied in Europe, with several common and well-known species, new taxa continue to be encountered and most species lack molecular data. Here, we describe a new, muscicolous species of Bryocentria and provide molecular barcoding data for most European species. Bryocentria insolens sp. nov. parasitizes the mosses Lewinskya affinis and L. speciosa, with records from Switzerland and Belgium. The new species deviates from most congenerics by parasitising mosses rather than liverworts, and its ascospores lack the medial, cyanophilous band-like structures typical of most species in the genus. New molecular data from the LSU locus from Bryocentria insolens, B. hypothallina, B. metzgeriae and B. cyanodesma are combined with recent data from B. brongniartii and B. confusa in a preliminary phylogenetic analysis of the genus. These data support the hypothesis that the sequenced species form a natural group. Furthermore, they suggest that the distinctive transverse band-like structures in the medial regions of the ascospores of most Bryocentria species is a trait that arose after the acquisition of a bryophilous lifestyle by a likely necrotrophic hypocrealean ancestor. Finally, a key to the European members of the genus is provided to aid with identification.