Unearthing Limestone Fungal Diversity: Description of Seven Novel Species from Portugal

Stone–built heritage is found worldwide, and despite stony surfaces being considered a stressful environment with challenging conditions to overcome, research has demonstrated that it can support diverse fungal communities, fostering a unique array of peculiar yet crucial species. These species exhibit a dual nature, being both foe and friend. While these fungi play a considerable role in the deterioration of cultural heritage, their mechanisms of adaptation to unfavourable environments hold great promise for biotechnology. Despite their importance, there is limited information available about these stone dwellers in Portugal. During an experimental survey aimed at isolating fungal species thriving in a deteriorated limestone funerary art piece at the Lemos Pantheon, a national monument located in Águeda, Portugal, several fungal specimens were isolated that could not be identified as any currently known species. Through morphological characteristics and multilocus phylogenetic analyses, seven new species (<i>Aspergillus albicolor sp. nov.</i>, <i>Banksiophoma dissensa sp. nov.</i>, <i>Knufia lusitanica sp. nov.</i>, <i>Microascus lausatensis sp. nov.</i>, <i>Neodevriesia saximollicula sp. nov.</i>, <i>Paramicrodochium filiforme</i> <i>sp. nov.</i> and <i>Talaromyces benedictus sp. nov.</i>) are here proposed, illustrated, and compared to closely related species. These newly discovered fungal taxa form distinct lineages independent of other previously described species and are classified into seven families across six orders within the phylum <i>Ascomycota</i>. This paper also provides additional evidence that the stone harbours a diverse range of new species, deserving additional focus in the future.