Host range of Phytophthora parsiana: a new high temperature pathogen of woody plants

Among several Phytophthora spp. reported previously from Pistacia vera in Iran, a high temperature species recently identified as P. parsiana (formerly known as high temperature P. cryptogea) is becoming important in woody plants, including P. vera. The host range of this newly recognised species, including both annual and perennial plants, is reported here. The pathogen infected 4–5 month-old glasshouse grown seedlings of P. vera, Ficus carica, Malus pumila and Prunus dulcis, and detached stems of 23 woody plants collected during dormant and growing seasons. Nineteen field and vegetable crops and 17 weed species were not infected by  P. parsiana in these pathogenicity assays

Vegetative compatibility groups among isolates of Aspergillus flavus from sesame seed in Iran and mycotoxin production

The genetic diversity of a population of Aspergillus fl avus isolated from sesame seeds collected in 2004 and 2005 from various parts of Iran was studied through vegetative compatibility, and their mycotoxin production was determined. Sixteen vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) were identified among the nit mutants. VCGs were not evenly distributed through Iran. With few exceptions, there was a relationship between a VCG and the amount of mycotoxins produced by its isolates

Short communication: Dieback of rose caused by Acremonium sclerotigenum as a new causal agent of rose dieback in Iran

Severe dieback of rose has been recently observed in several rose greenhouses in Fars province of Iran. During 2014 and 2015, stems of rose plants showing yellow to brown discoloration and dieback were collected from rose greenhouses. Coniothyrium fuckelii, Botrytis cinerea and Acremonium were subsequently isolated from the margin between healthy and symptomatic tissue. B. cinerea and C. fuckelii isolates were similar to those previously reported for dieback of rose worldwide. Morphological and cultural characters along with molecular analysis based on partial sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal RNA genome allowed confirming the affiliation of the Acremonium isolates, corresponding to A. sclerotigenum as a new causal agent of rose dieback. To determine its pathogenicity on rose, Koch's postulates were fulfilled by stem inoculation of nine rose cultivars under greenhouse conditions. While A. sclerotigenum is considered as a soil-born pathogen, and produces sclerotia that are resistant to adverse conditions enables the fungus to survive extended period in soil, propagule trapping in our study revealed that conidia can become airborn, imply that an aerial phase, forms an important component of the disease cycle

Mating system and role of pycnidiospores in biology of Polystigma amygdalinum, the causal agent of almond red leaf blotch

Polystigma amygdalinum is a serious leaf pathogen of almonds. Ascospores are believed to be the only inoculum of this pathogen. Ascocarp initials develop in infected leaves in contact with, or in close proximity to, filimentous spore-bearing bodies, which are the first to appear. While the aseptate filiform spores (scolecospores), are suspected of involvement in the sexual cycle of P. amygdalinum, there is no direct evidence of this. In order to study the role of the scolecospores, infected almond leaves, collected during the period from first appearance of symptoms to perithecium development, were sectioned by freezing microtome and the developmental anatomy was examined. Since ascogonia were not evident prior to the appearance of scolecospores, it was concluded that these were part of the sexual cycle of P. amygdalinum. This is supported by observations that perithecium initials always developed beside scolecospore fruit bodies, scolecospores failed to germinate in vitro, and almond leaves inoculated with them never became infected. We conclude that the filiform spores are spermatia essential to the sexual process and not asexual spores. Moreover, P. amygdalinum is likely to be homothallic, because single lesions in leaves infected by P. amygdalinum, assumed to have arisen from single ascospore infections, produced perithecia as abundantly as occurred in coalescing lesions caused by multiple ascospore infections

First report of Paecilomyces marquandii from Iran

Abstract During 2008, the presence of Paecilomyces species was studied in fields in Fars province. Soil samples were collected from 0-20 cm depth. The isolates were recovered using a soil dilution plate method directly from soil. Isolation was performed from soil using malt extract agar, rice agar, oat-meal agar and potato dextrose agar. Anamorphic characteristics such as morphology of conidiophores, phialides, conidia and chlamydospores were investigated. Based on morphological and molecular characteristic the fungus was identified as Paecilomyces marquandii. The species is a new report for Iran. The isolates are kept in fungal collection of the Department of Plant Protection, Razi University, Kermanshah (Iran)

Effect of water potential on sclerotial germination and mycelial growth of <em>Macrophomina phaseolina</em>

The effect of the osmotic (Ψs) and matric (Ψm) potential on the sclerotial germination and mycelial growth of Macrophomina phaseolina was examined at room temperature. Sclerotial germination was determined in 0.1% water agar and mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and potato dextrose broth (PDB) amended with sodium chloride and polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000). Treatments consisted of 6 levels of osmotic and matric potentials (0, -0.3, -0.6, -0.9, -1.2, and -1.5 MPa) arranged in a factorial manner in a completely randomized design. Decreasing the matric and the osmotic potentials to -1.2 and -0.6 MPa, respectively, increased sclerotial germination and mycelial growth, but any further decrease caused both sclerotial germination and mycelial growth to decline again. It was concluded that the matric potential was more important as a factor than the osmotic potential in promoting the vegetative growth of M. phaseolina

Fungal pathogens associated with branch and trunk cankers of nut crops in Iran

[EN] Branch and trunk canker diseases have become prevalent on nut crops in Iran. During 2015 to 2018, extensive field surveys were conducted on 58 almond, 43 pistachio and 80 walnut orchards in Iran to study fungal pathogens associated with symptomatic trees. One hundred and fifty-six representative fungal isolates were selected and identified based on morphological characteristics and by phylogenetic comparison of DNA sequence data. Fungal species found were Collophorina hispanica, Pleurostoma richardsiae, nine species of Phaeoacremonium (namely P. angustius, P. cinereum, P. italicum, P. fraxinopennsylvanicum, P. minimum, P. parasiticum, P. scolyti, P. tuscanum and P. viticola), 11 species of Botryosphaeriaceae (namely Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diplodia gallae, D. mutila, D. seriata, Dothiorella plurivora, Do. sarmentorum, Do. viticola, Lasiodiplodia citricola, L. mahajangana, L. theobromae and Neofusicoccum parvum), four species of Diatrypaceae (namely Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis, Diatrype whitmanensis, Eutypella citricola and E. vitis) and two non-identified Eutypella spp. (Eutypella sp. 1 and Eutypella sp. 2). Some of these species represent new reports in Iran and/or are reported for the first time in their respective hosts. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that most of these fungi were pathogenic to inoculated almond, pistachio and walnut shoots. Therefore, more importance should be given to fungal trunk pathogens in Iran, and specific management strategies should be included within the nut crops IPM management programs, with the aim of improving their sustainability.Financial support by the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT) for the first author during her 4 months stay in Spain as a part of her PhD project is greatly acknowledged.Sohrabi, M.; Mohammadi, H.; León Santana, M.; Armengol Fortí, J.; Banihashemi, Z. (2020). Fungal pathogens associated with branch and trunk cankers of nut crops in Iran. European Journal of Plant Pathology. 157(2):327-351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-020-01996-wS3273511572Abdollahzadeh, J., Javadi, A., Mohmammadi Goltapeh, E., Zare, R., & Phillips, A. J. L. (2010). Phylogeny and morphology of four new species of Lasiodiplodia from Iran. Persoonia, 25, 1–10.Abdollahzadeh, J., Zare, R., & Phillips, A. J. L. (2013). Phylogeny and taxonomy of Botryosphaeria and Neofusicoccum species in Iran, with description of Botryosphaeria scharifii sp. nov. Mycologia, 105, 210–220.Abdollahzadeh, J., Javadi, A., Zare, R., & Phillips, A. J. L. (2014). A phylogenetic study of Dothiorella and Spencermatinsia species associated with woody plants in Iran, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. Persoonia, 32, 1–12.Adesemoye, A. O., Mayorquin, J. S., Wang, D. H., Twizeyimana, M., Lynch, S. C., & Eskalen, A. (2014). Identification of species of Botryosphaeriaceae causing bot gummosis in citrus in California. Plant Disease, 98, 55–61.Alves, A., Crous, P. W., Correia, A., & Phillips, A. J. L. (2008). Morphological and molecular data reveal cryptic speciation in lasiodiplodia theobromae. Fungal Diversity, 28, 1–13.Armengol, J., Vicent, A., Torne, L., Garcia-Figueres, F., & Garcia-Jimenez, J. (2001). Fungi associated with esca and grapevine declines in Spain: A three-year survey. Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 40, 325–329.Armengol, J., Gramaje, D., Perez-Sierra, A., Landeras, E., Alzugaray, R., Luque, J., & Martos, S. (2008). First report of canker disease caused by Neofusicoccum australe on eucalyptus and pistachio in Spain. Plant Disease, 92, 980.Aroca, A., García-Figueres, F., Bracamonte, L., Luque, J., & Raposo, R. (2006). A survey of trunk disease pathogens within rootstocks of grapevines in Spain. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 115, 195–202.Arzanlou, M., Narmani, A., Khodaei, S., & Moshari, S. (2014). Pome and stone fruit trees as possible reservoir hosts for Phaeoacremonium spp., the causal agents of grapevine esca disease, in Iran. Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection, 47, 717–727.Arzanlou, M., Ghasemi, S., & Baradaran Bagheri, M. (2016). Collophora hispanica, a new pathogen and potential threat to the almond industry in Iran. Journal of Phytopathology, 164, 833–839.Baradaran Bagheri, M., Arzanlou, A., & Babai-ahari, A. (2015). Identification of the fungal agents associated with almond trunk diseases in east Azerbeijan province. Applied Research on Plant Protection, 4, 27–41.Bayazit, S., Kazan, K., Gulbitti, S., Çevik, V., Ayanoglu, H., & Ergul, A. (2007). AFLP analysis of genetic diversity in low chill requiring walnut (Juglans regia L.) genotypes from Hatay, Turkey. Science of Horticulture, 111, 394–398.Begoude, B. A. D., Slippers, B., Wingfield, M. J., & Roux, J. (2011). The pathogenic potential of endophytic Botryosphaeriaceous fungi on Terminalia species in Cameroon. Forest Pathology, 41, 281–292.Britton, K. O., & Hendrix, F. F. (1989). Infection of peach buds by Botryosphaeria obtusa. Plant Disease, 73, 65–68.Canale, M. C., Nunes Nesi, C., Falkenbach, B. R., Hunhoff Da Silva, C. A., & Brugnara, E. C. (2019). Pleurostomophora richardsiae associated with olive tree and grapevine decline in southern Brazil. Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 58, 201–205.Carbone, I., & Kohn, L. M. (1999). A method for designing primer sets for speciation studies in filamentous ascomycetes. Mycologia, 91, 553–556.Carlucci, A., Raimondo, M. L., Cibelli, F., Phillips, A. J. L., & Lops, F. (2013). Pleurostomophora richardsiae, Neofusicoccum parvum and Phaeoacremonium aleophilum associated with a decline of olives in southern Italy. Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 52, 517–527.Carlucci, A., Cibelli, F., Lops, F., Phillips, A. J. L., Ciccarone, C., & Raimondo, M. L. (2015a). Pleurostomophora richardsiae associated with trunk diseases of grapevine in southern Italy. Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 54, 109–123.Carlucci, A., Cibelli, F., Lops, F., Luisa, M., & Raimondo, D. (2015b). Characterization of Botryosphaeriaceae species as causal agents of trunk diseases on grapevines. Plant Disease, 99, 1678–1688.Carter, M. V. (1982). Additional hosts of Eutypa arrneniacae in Australia. Australasian Plant Pathology, 11, 46–48.Chen, S. F., Fichtner, E., Morgan, D. P., & Michailides, T. J. (2013a). First report of Lasiodiplodia citricola and Neoscytalidium dimidiatum causing death of graft union of English walnut in California. Plant Disease, 97, 993.Chen, S. F., Morgan, D. P., Beede, R. H., & Michailides, T. J. (2013b). First report of Lasiodiplodia theobromae associated with stem canker of almond in California. Plant Disease, 97, 994.Chen, S. F., Morgan, D. P., Hasey, J. K., & Michailides, T. J. (2013c). First report of Lasiodiplodia citricola associated with stem canker of peach in California, USA. Journal of Plant Pathology, 95, 659–659.Chen, S. F., Morgan, D. P., Hasey, J. K., Anderson, K., & Michailides, T. J. (2014a). Phylogeny, morphology, distribution, and pathogenicity of Botryosphaeriaceae and Diaporthaceae from English walnut in California. Plant Disease, 98, 636–652.Chen, S. F., Morgan, D. P., & Michailides, T. J. (2014b). Botryosphaeriaceae and Diaporthaceae associated with panicle and shoot blight pistachio in California, USA. Fungal Diversity, 67, 157–179.Chen, S. F., Li, G. Q., Liu, F. F., & Michailides, T. J. (2015). Novel species of Botryosphaeriaceae associated with shoot blight of pistachio. Mycologia, 107, 780–792.Chicau, G., Aboim-Inglez, M., Cabral, S., & Cabral, J. P. S. (2000). Phaeoacremonium chlamydosporum and Phaeoacremonium angustius associated with esca and grapevine decline of Vinho verde grapevines in Northwest Portugal. Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 39, 80–86.Cloete, M., Fourie, P. H., Damm, U., Crous, P. W., & Mostert, L. (2011). Fungi associated with dieback symptoms of apple and pear trees with a special reference to grapevine trunk disease pathogens. Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 50, 176–190.Croghan, C. F., & Robbins, K. (1986). Cankers caused by Botryodiplodia gallae associated with oak sprout mortality in Michigan. Plant Disease, 70, 76–77.Crous, P. W., Gams, W., Wingfield, M. J., & van Wyk, P. S. (1996). Phaeoacremonium gen. nov. associated with wilt and decline diseases of woody hosts and human infections. Mycologia, 88, 786–796.Damm, U., Crous, P. W., & Fourie, P. H. (2007). Botryosphaeriaceae as potential pathogens of Prunus species in South Africa, with descriptions of Diplodia africana and Lasiodiplodia plurivora sp. nov. Mycologia, 99, 664–680.Damm, U., Mostert, L., Crous, P. W., & Fourie, P. H. (2008). Novel Phaeoacremonium species associated with necrotic wood of Prunus trees. Persoonia, 20, 87–102.Damm, U., Fourie, P. H., & Crous, P. W. (2010). Coniochaeta (Lecythophora), Collophora gen. nov. and Phaeomoniella species associated with wood necroses of Prunus trees. Persoonia, 24, 60–80.Dissanayake, A. J., Phillips, A. J. L., Li, X. H., & Hyde, K. D. (2016). Botryosphaeriaceae: Current status of genera and species. Mycosphere, 7, 1001–1073.Doll, D. A., Rolshausen, P. E., Pouzoulet, J., & Michailides, T. J. (2015). First report of Dothiorella iberica causing trunk and scaffold cankers of almond in California. Plant Disease, 99, 1185.Doyle, J. J., & Doyle, J. L. (1990). Isolation of plant DNA from fresh tissue. Focus, 12, 13–15.Dupont, J., Laloui, W., Magnin, S., Larignon, P., & Roquebert, M. F. (2000). Phaeoacremonium viticola, a new species associated with esca disease of grapevine in France. Mycologia, 92, 499–504.Eichmeier, A., Pecenka, J., Necas, T., Ondrasek, I., Armengol, J., Leon, M., Berlanas, C., & Gramaje, D. (2019). Fungal trunk pathogens associated with Juglans regia in the Czech Republic. Plant Disease, 104, 761–771. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-06-19-1308-RE.Ellis, M. B., & Ellis, J. P. (1997). Microfungi on land plants: An identification handbook (818pp). New York: The Richmond Publishing Co..English, H., Davis, J. R., & DeVay, J. E. (1966). Dothiorella canker, a new disease of almond trees in California. Phytopathology, 56, 146.Ershad, J. (2009). Fungi of Iran. Tehran: Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, 558pp.Essakhi, S., Mugnai, L., Crous, P. W., Groenewald, J. Z., & Surico, G. (2008). Molecular and phenotypic characterization of novel Phaeoacremonium species isolated from esca diseased grapevines. Persoonia, 21, 119–134.FAOSTAT (2018). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/faostat/es/#dat.Felsenstein, J. (1985). Confidence limits on phylogenies: An approach using the bootstrap. Evolution, 39, 783–791.Garcıa-Benavides, B., Martin-Zamorano, P., Ocete-Perez, C. A., Maistrello, L., & Ocete-Rubio, R. (2013). Biodiversity of pathogenic wood fungi isolated from Xylotrechus arvicola (Olivier) galleries in vine shoots. Journal International des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin, 47, 73–81.Gierl, L., & Fischer, M. (2017). Grapevine trunk disease in German viticulture II. Associated fungi occurring on non-Vitis hosts, and first report of Phaeoacremonium angustius. Vitis, 56, 103–110.Glass, N. L., & Donaldson, G. C. (1995). Development of primer sets designed for use with the PCR to amplify conserved genes from filamentous ascomycetes. Applied and Environment Microbiology, 61, 1323–1330.Glawe, D. A. (1984). Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis, a new species from Washington state. Mycologia, 76, 166–169.Glawe, D. A., & Rogers, J. D. (1984). Diatrypaceae in the Pacific northwest. Mycotaxon, 20, 401–460.Gramaje, D., Alaniz, S., Pérez-Sierra, A., Abad-Campos, P., García-Jiménez, J., & Armengol, J. (2008). First report of Phaeoacremonium scolyti causing petri disease of grapevine in Spain. Plant Disease, 92, 835.Gramaje, D., Armengol, J., Mohammadi, H., Banihashemi, Z., & Mostert, L. (2009). Novel Phaeoacremonium species associated with petri disease and esca of grapevine in Iran and Spain. Mycologia, 101, 920–929.Gramaje, D., Agustí-Brisach, C., Pérez-Sierra, A., Moralejo, E., Olmo, L., Mostert, L., et al. (2012). Fungal trunk pathogens associated with wood decay of almond trees on Mallorca (Spain). Persoonia, 28, 1–13.Gramaje, D., Mostert, L., Groenewald, J. Z., & Crous, P. W. (2015). Phaeoacremonium: From esca disease to phaeohyphomycosis. Fungal Biology, 119, 759–783.Gramaje, D., Baumgartner, K., Halleen, F., Mostert, L., Sosnowsk, M. R., Urbez-Torres, J. R., & Armengol, J. (2016). Fungal trunk diseases: A problem beyond grapevines? Plant Pathology, 65, 355–356.Groenewald, M., Kang, J. C., Crous, P. W., & Gams, W. (2001). ITS and betatubulin phylogeny of Phaeoacremonium and Phaeomoniella species. Mycological Research, 105, 651–657.Haggag, W. M., Abou Rayya, M. S. M., & Kasim, N. E. (2007). First report of a canker disease of walnut caused by Botryodiplodia theobromae in Egypt. Plant Disease, 91, 226.Halleen, F., Mostert, L., & Crous, P. W. (2007). Pathogenicity testing of lesser known vascular fungi of grapevines. Australasian Plant Pathology, 36, 277–285.Hamrouni, N., Nouri, M. T., Trouillas, F. P., Said, A., Sadfi-Zouaoui, N., & Hajlaoui, M. R. (2018). Dothiorella gummosis caused by Dothiorella viticola, first record from citrus in Tunisia. New Disease Reports, 38, 10.Hashemi, H., Mohammadi, H., & Abdollahzadeh, J. (2017). Symptoms and fungi associated with elm trees decline in Iran. European Journal of Forest Research, 136, 857–879.Hennion, B., Baudry, A., Lecomte, P., Durpaire, M. P., Mouyon, M., Tailleur, J. L., & Larignon, P. (2001). Deperissement du kiwi par maladie du bois. Infos-Ctifl, 176, 25–27.Holland, L. A., Nouri, M. T., Crespo, M. P., Holtz, B. A., Yaghmour, M. A., Doll, D. A., & Trouillas, F. P. (2018). First report of Collophora hispanica and Collophora paarla causing branch cankers of almond in California. Plant Disease, 102, 1663.Inderbitzin, P., Bostock, R. M., Trouillas, F. P., & Michailides, T. J. (2010). A six locus phylogeny reveals high species diversity in Botryosphaeriaceae from California almond. Mycologia, 102, 1350–1368.Jabbari Firoozjah, M., & Mohammadi, H. (2015). First report of Eutypella vitis associated with persimmon trees in Iran. Plant Disease, 99, 1181.Jordan, S., & Schilder, A. (2005). Eutypella vitis, a potential pathogen of grapevines in Michigan. (Abstract) Phytopathology, 95, 51.Kazemzadeh Chakusary, M. (2017). Etiology and distribution of forest trees decline in Guilan province with emphasis on isolation and identification of Phaeoacremonium and Botryosphaeriaceae species and the potential role of woody debris on the survival of the pathogens. Ph.D. Dissertation. Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran, 300 pp.Kazemzadeh Chakusary, M., Mohammadi, H., & Khodaparast, S. A. (2017). Decline-associated Phaeoacremonium species occurring on forest trees in the north of Iran. Forest Pathology, 47, 1–15.Kazemzadeh Chakusary, M., Mohammadi, H., & Khodaparast, S. A. (2019). Diversity and pathogenicity of Botryosphaeriaceae species on forest trees in the north of Iran. European Journal of Forest Research, 138, 685–704.Kumar, S., Stecher, G., Li, M., Knyaz, C., & Tamura, K. (2018). MEGA X: Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis across computing platforms. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 35, 1547–1549.Leavitt, G. M. (1990). The occurrence, distribution, effects and control of Botryodipodia theobromae on Vitis vinifera in California, Arizona and northern Mexico. Ph.D. dissertation. Riverside: University of California.Li, G. Q., Liu, F. F., Li, J. Q., Liu, Q. L., & Chen, S. F. (2016). Characterization of Botryosphaeria dothidea and Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae from English walnut in China. Journal of Phytopathology, 164, 348–353.Luque, J., Martos, S., Aroca, A., Raposo, R., & Garcia-Figueres, F. (2009). Symptoms and fungi associated with declinin mature grapevine in Northeast Spain. Journal of Plant Pathology, 91, 381–390.Ma, R., Zhu, Y. F., Fan, X. L., & Tian, C. M. (2016). Canker disease of willow and poplar caused by Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis recorded in China. Forest Pathology, 46, 327–335.Marín-Terrazas, M., Ramos-Sáez de Ojer, J. L., López-Manzanares, B., & Gramaje, D. (2016). First report of Phaeoacremonium minimum causing wood decay in nursery plants of almond in Spain. Plant Disease, 100, 1244.Mayorquin, J., Wang, D., Twizeyimana, M., & Eskalen, A. (2016). Identification, distribution and pathogenicity of Diatrypaceae and Botryosphaeriaceae associated with citrus branch canker in the Southern California desert. Plant Disease, 100, 2402–2413.McDonald, V., Lynch, S., & Eskalen, A. (2009). First report of Neofusicoccum australe, N. luteum, and N. parvum associated with avocado branch canker in California. Plant Disease, 93, 967.McGranahan, G. H., & Leslie, C. (1991). Walnuts ‘Juglans regia’. Acta Horticulturae, 290, 901–951.Michailides, T. J. (1991). Pathogenicity, distribution, sources of inoculum, and infection courts of Botryosphaeria dothidea on pistachio. Phytopathology, 81, 566–573.Michailides, T. J., & Morgan, D. P. (2004). Panicle and shoot blight of pistachio: A major threat to the California pistachio industry. APS net Feature. https://doi.org/10.1094/APSnetFeature-2004-0104.Miller, M. A., Pfeiffer, W., & Schwartz, T. (2010). Creating the CIPRES science gateway for inference of large phylogenetic trees. SC10 Workshop on Gateway Computing Environments (GCE10), pp. 1–10.Mohammadi, H. (2011). First report of Phaeoacremonium mortoniae associated with grapevine decline in Iran. Plant Disease, 95, 1043.Mohammadi, H. (2012). First report of Phaeoacremonium tuscanum causing petri disease of grapevine in Iran. New Disease Report, 25, 21.Mohammadi, H., Ezati, Gh., & Alaei, H. (2013). Diplodia seriata and Phaeoacremonium species associated with walnut trees showing dieback symptoms in Ardabil province. 1th Iranian mycological congress, Rasht, Iran, 102p.Mohammadi, H. (2014). Phaeoacremonium spp. and Botryosphaeriaceae spp. associated with date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) decline in Iran. Journal of Phytopathology, 162, 575–581.Mohammadi, H., Kazemi, S., & Farahmand, H. (2014). Phaeoacremonium and Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) decline in Kerman province (Iran). Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 53, 27–39.Mohammadi, H., Sarcheshmehpour, M., & Mafi, E. (2015). Fungal trunk pathogens associated with wood decay of pistachio trees in Iran. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 13, 10 pp.Mohammadi, H., & Sharifi, S. (2016). Association of Botryosphaeriaceae and Phaeoacremonium species with insect-damaged quince shoots. Journal of Plant Pathology, 98, 31–38.Moral, J., Muñoz-Díez, C., González, N., Trapero, A., & Michailides, T. J. (2010). Characterization and pathogenicity of Botryosphaeriaceae species collected from olive and other hosts in Spain and California. Phytopathology, 100, 1340–1351.Moral, J., Morgan, D., Trapero, A., & Michailides, T. J. (2019). Ecology and epidemiology of diseases of nut crops and olives caused by Botryosphaeriaceae fungi in California and Spain. Plant Disease, 103, 1809–1827.Mostert, L., Halleen, F., Creaser, M. L., & Crous, P. W. (2004). Cryptovalsa ampelina, a forgotten shoot and cane pathogen of grapevines. Australasian Plant Pathology, 33, 295–299.Mostert, L., Groenewald, J. Z., Summerbell, R. C., Gams, W., & Crous, P. W. (2006). Taxonomy and pathology of Togninia (Diaporthales) and its Phaeoacremonium anamorphs. Studies in Mycology, 54, 1–115.Mousavi M., Mohammadi H., & Soltaninejad N. (2014). First report of Phaeoacremonium minimum (Ascomycota, Calosphaeriales) on almond and cherry trees in Kerman province. 21th Iranian Plant Protection Congress, Urmia, Iran, pp. 28.Moyo, P., Damm, U., Mostert, L., & Halleen, F. (2018). Eutypa, Eutypella and Cryptovalsa species (Diatrypaceae) associated with Prunus species in South Africa. Plant Disease, 102, 1402–1409.Nouri, M. T., Lawrence, D. P., Yaghmour, M. A., Michailides, T. J., & Trouillas, F. P. (2018). Neoscytalidium dimidiatum causing canker, shoot blight and fruit rot of almond in California. Plant Disease, 102, 1638–1647.Nouri, M. T., Lawrence, D. P., Holland, L. A., Doll, D. A., Kallsen, C. E., Culumber, C. M., & Trouillas, F. P. (2019). Identification and pathogenicity of fungal species associated with canker diseases of pistachio in California. Plant Disease, 103, 2397–241.Olmo, D., Armengol, J., León, M., & Gramaje, D. (2015). Pathogenicity testing of lesser-known fungal trunk pathogens associated with wood decay of almond trees. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 143, 607–611.Olmo, D., Armengol, J., León, M., & Gramaje, D. (2016). Characterization and pathogenicity of Botryosphaeriaceae species isolated from almond trees on the island of Mallorca (Spain). Plant Disease, 100, 2483–2491.Panahandeh, S., Mohammadi, H., & Gramaje, D. (2019). Trunk disease fungi associated with Syzygium cumini in Iran. Plant Disease, 103, 711–720.Pavlic, D., Slippers, B., Coutinho, T. A., & Wingfield, M. J. (2007). The Botryosphaeriaceae occurring on Syzygium cordatum in South Africa, and their potential threat to Eucalyptus. Plant Pathology, 56, 624–636.Pérez, C. A., Altier, N., Simeto, S., Wingfield, M. J., Slippers, B., & Blanchette, R. A. (2008). Botryosphaeriaceae from Eucalyptus and native Myrtaceae in Uruguay. Agrociencia, 12, 19–30.Phillips, A. J. L., Alves, A., Abdollahzadeh, J., Slippers, B., Wingfield, M. J., Groenewald, J. Z., & Crous, P. W. (2013). The Botryosphaeriaceae: Genera and species known from culture. Studies in Mycology, 76, 51–167.Pitt, W. M., Huang, R., Trouillas, F. P., Savocchia, S., & Steel, C. C. (2009). Evidence that Eutypa lata and other diatrypaceous species occur in New South Wales vineyards. Australasian Plant Pathology, 39, 97–106.Pitt, W. M., Trouillas, F. P., Gubler, W. D., Savocchia, S., & Sosnowski, M. R. (2013). Pathogenicity of diatrypaceous species on grapevine in Australia. Plant Disease, 97, 749–756.Punithalingam, E. (198

Phylogenetic analysis of Polystigma and its relationship to Phyllachorales

Polystigma amygdalinum, which causes red leaf blotch of almond, is one of the few fungal plant pathogens to remain a taxonomic enigma, primarily because it has resisted cultivation and causes almond leaf blotch only in restricted regions of the world. To place this species in the evolutionary tree of life, we amplified its ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), 18S small-subunit of ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) and 28S large-subunit of ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA). Our phylogenetic analyses indicate that P. amygdalinum does not group with Phyllachora species (Phyllachorales) which have been thought to be its close relative. Polystigma amygdalinumis here shown to be a relative of Trichosphaeriales and Xylariales and placed in the Xylariomycetidae

Host range of <I>Phytophthora parsiana</I>: a new high temperature pathogen of woody plants

Among several Phytophthora spp. reported previously from Pistacia vera in Iran, a high temperature species recently identified as P. parsiana (formerly known as high temperature P. cryptogea) is becoming important in woody plants, including P. vera. The host range of this newly recognised species, including both annual and perennial plants, is reported here. The pathogen infected 4–5 month-old glasshouse grown seedlings of P. vera, Ficus carica, Malus pumila and Prunus dulcis, and detached stems of 23 woody plants collected during dormant and growing seasons. Nineteen field and vegetable crops and 17 weed species were not infected by  P. parsiana in these pathogenicity assays