Five new species of Allographa discovered in the Western Ghats

Researchers from the MACS Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, using combined morphological and multi‑locus DNA sequencing (mtSSU, nrLSU, RPB2), discovered and described five new lichen‑forming fungal species of the genus Allographa from the Western Ghats. The study, the first comprehensive molecular phylogenetic investigation of Allographa in this region, also generated new molecular data for several known species and highlighted that morphologically similar species may not be closely related. An updated checklist and molecular reference sequences were compiled, providing a baseline for biodiversity assessments, conservation planning, and future taxonomic work.