Occultocarpon, a new monotypic genus of Gnomoniaceae on Alnus nepalensis from China

Microfungi in the Gnomoniaceae (Diaporthales, Ascomycetes) comprise species commonly reported as pathogens and endophytes on trees and herbaceous hosts primarily from temperate forests of North America, Europe, and Japan. The diversity of Gnomoniaceae in China is poorly known, although several plant families that occur there specifically the Betulaceae are considered important hosts. An exploratory trip to Yunnan, China, resulted in the discovery of several members of the Gnomoniaceae. In this paper a new monotypic genus, Occultocarpon and its species, O. ailaoshanense, are described and illustrated. A phylogeny based on three genes (LSU, rpb2, tef1-α) reveals that O. ailaoshanense belongs to the Gnomoniaceae and forms a branch distinct from the currently known genera. Occultocarpon ailaoshanense is characterized by perithecia with thin, central to eccentric necks in groups embedded in a stroma and oblong elliptical-elongated, one-septate ascospores. Occultocarpon ailaoshanense occurs on the bark of branches of Alnus nepalensis (Betulaceae) in Yunnan, ChinaMicrofungi in the Gnomoniaceae (Diaporthales, Ascomycetes) comprise species commonly reported as pathogens and endophytes on trees and herbaceous hosts primarily from temperate forests of North America, Europe, and Japan. The diversity of Gnomoniaceae in China is poorly known, although several plant families that occur there specifically the Betulaceae are considered important hosts. An exploratory trip to Yunnan, China, resulted in the discovery of several members of the Gnomoniaceae. In this paper a new monotypic genus, Occultocarpon and its species, O. ailaoshanense, are described and illustrated. A phylogeny based on three genes (LSU, rpb2, tef1-α) reveals that O. ailaoshanense belongs to the Gnomoniaceae and forms a branch distinct from the currently known genera. Occultocarpon ailaoshanense is characterized by perithecia with thin, central to eccentric necks in groups embedded in a stroma and oblong elliptical-elongated, one-septate ascospores. Occultocarpon ailaoshanense occurs on the bark of branches of Alnus nepalensis (Betulaceae) in Yunnan, Chin

Phomopsis bougainvilleicola prepatellar bursitis in a renal transplant recipient

Prepatellar bursitis is typically a monomicrobial bacterial infection. A fungal cause is rarely identified. We describe a 61-year-old man who had received a renal transplant 21 months prior to presentation whose synovial fluid and surgical specimens grew Phomopsis bougainvilleicola, a pycnidial coelomycete

Fungal Planet description sheets: 154–213

Novel species of microfungi described in the present study include the following from South Africa: Camarosporium aloes, Phaeococcomyces aloes and Phoma aloes from Aloe, C. psoraleae, Diaporthe psoraleae and D. psoraleae-pinnatae from Psoralea, Colletotrichum euphorbiae from Euphorbia, Coniothyrium prosopidis and Peyronellaea prosopidis from Prosopis, Diaporthe cassines from Cassine, D. diospyricola from Diospyros, Diaporthe maytenicola from Maytenus, Harknessia proteae from Protea, Neofusicoccum ursorum and N. cryptoaustrale from Eucalyptus, Ochrocladosporium adansoniae from Adansonia, Pilidium pseudoconcavum from Greyia radlkoferi, Stagonospora pseudopaludosa from Phragmites and Toxicocladosporium ficiniae from Ficinia. Several species were also described from Thailand, namely: Chaetopsina pini and C. pinicola from Pinus spp., Myrmecridium thailandicum from reed litter, Passalora pseudotithoniae from Tithonia, Pallidocercospora ventilago from Ventilago, Pyricularia bothriochloae from Bothriochloa and Sphaerulina rhododendricola from Rhododendron. Novelties from Spain include Cladophialophora multiseptata, Knufia tsunedae and Pleuroascus rectipilus from soil and Cyphellophora catalaunica from river sediments. Species from the USA include Bipolaris drechsleri from Microstegium, Calonectria blephiliae from Blephilia, Kellermania macrospora (epitype) and K. pseudoyuccigena from Yucca. Three new species are described from Mexico, namely Neophaeosphaeria agaves and K. agaves from Agave and Phytophthora ipomoeae from Ipomoea. Other African species include Calonectria mossambicensis from Eucalyptus (Mozambique), Harzia cameroonensis from an unknown creeper (Cameroon), Mastigosporella anisophylleae from Anisophyllea (Zambia) and Teratosphaeria terminaliae from Terminalia (Zimbabwe). Species from Europe include Auxarthron longisporum from forest soil (Portugal), Discosia pseudoartocreas from Tilia (Austria), Paraconiothyrium polonense and P. lycopodinum from Lycopodium (Poland) and Stachybotrys oleronensis from Iris (France). Two species of Chrysosporium are described from Antarctica, namely C. magnasporum and C. oceanitesii. Finally, Licea xanthospora is described from Australia, Hypochnicium huinayensis from Chile and Custingophora blanchettei from Uruguay. Novel genera of Ascomycetes include Neomycosphaerella from Pseudopentameris macrantha (South Africa), and Paramycosphaerella from Brachystegia sp. (Zimbabwe). Novel hyphomycete genera include Pseudocatenomycopsis from Rothmannia (Zambia), Neopseudocercospora from Terminalia (Zambia) and Neodeightoniella from Phragmites (South Africa), while Dimorphiopsis from Brachystegia (Zambia) represents a novel coelomycetous genus. Furthermore, Alanphillipsia is introduced as a new genus in the Botryosphaeriaceae with four species, A. aloes, A. aloeigena and A. aloetica from Aloe spp. and A. euphorbiae from Euphorbia sp. (South Africa). A new combination is also proposed for Brachysporium torulosum (Deightoniella black tip of banana) as Corynespora torulosa. Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa

First Report of Tilletia pulcherrima Bunt on Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in Texas

Switchgrass seed samples of ‘Blackwell’ and ‘Alamo’ from Bailey County, TX were examined for bunt fungi. Fourteen completely bunted seeds of ‘Blackwell’ and four of ‘Alamo’ were found. No partially bunted seeds were found. Bunted seeds were darker and occasionally slightly swollen relative to noninfected seeds. Teliospores were globose to subglobose, 21 to 28 × 20 to 27 μm in diameter, dark reddish brown to nearly black, with blunt warts 1 to 1.8 μm long, enveloped in a hyaline sheath, and often with a short apiculus. Sterile cells were globose to subglobose, 17.5 to 22 μm, with smooth, laminated walls as much as 2.6 μm thick, and often with a short apiculus. This bunt was identified as Tilletia pulcherrima Ellis & Galloway on the basis of host and spore morphology (2). The internal transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2, including the 5.8S rDNA, were sequenced from bunted ‘Blackwell’ seeds (GenBank Accession No. EU915293, WSP 71501). The sequence was distinct from all Tilletia sequences in GenBank, including Tilletia barclayana (Bref.) Sacc. & Syd. on Panicum obtusum Kunth (GenBank Accession No. AF 310169) (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. pulcherrima from switchgrass in Texas. Plant pathologists and regulatory officials should be aware of the potential for misidentification of T. pulcherrima as T. indica Mitra, the Karnal bunt pathogen of wheat that has similar spores, occurs in Texas, and has quarantine status. References: (1) R. Durán and G. W. Fischer. The Genus Tilletia, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 1961. (2) K. Vánky, Mycotaxon 91:217, 2005

Diaporthe gulyae: The New Pathogen on Common Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)

A fungus associated with stem disease on common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) was shown to be pathogenic on this crop, with differences in reaction of buckwheat varieties to causal agent. Sequence analyses support identification of the pathogen as Diaporthe gulyae, which has also been shown to be a pathogen on soybean and sunflower. As a result, the use of buckwheat in rotations with sunflower or soybean may need to be reconsidered

Foliar pathogenic fungi: growing threats to global food security and ecosystem health

Globally, foliar pathogenic fungi cause serious losses of annual and perennial crops, ornamentals, landscape plants and forest trees. Plant pathogens that infect foliage are a diverse assemblage of fungi representing both phyla: Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Although most of the species found on living leaves have been well studied by mycologists and plant pathologists, recent studies have remarkably enhanced the current understanding of species numbers and their evolutionary relationships. The impact of global climate change, the increasing international exchange of plant material and the lack of proper phytosanitary practices have resulted in the potential re-emergences of formerly known destructive fungi, infecting new hosts in new geographic locations. Routinely inspecting diseased plants and accurately identifying and naming causative agents are vital for mitigating the impact of invasive and other non-indigenous pathogens on crops and native flora. It is also necessary to characterise foliar pathogenic fungi based on molecular phylogeny, morphology, pathogenicity and the comparative analysis of fungal genomic data. This review provides an overview of prevalent groups of foliar pathogenic fungi, their diversity and economic impact, while emphasising emerging and destructive species that threaten global food security and ecosystem health

Standards of Diagnostic Validation: Recommendations for Reference Collections

Agricultural and ecosystem biosecurity requires accurate and reliable diagnostic data provided by systems of people, technologies, and validated diagnostic assays. Biological reference collections, including living and preserved microbe culture collections, and authenticated sequence databases are essential for development and validation of robust diagnostic assays, as well as breeding for disease resistance. However, the lack of standardized requirements for long-term preservation, curation, recordkeeping, and data provenance of collections poses a significant risk to this research. Several examples of successful collections and funding models exist, but these are disparate, disconnected, and lack standards for harmonization among them. We recommend a framework for coordinated development, long-term maintenance, and accessibility of curated sets of pathogen data representing cultures and other reference material that could serve the needs of pathogen diagnostics development, population studies, and resistance breeding efforts. [Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license

New and Interesting Fungi. 3

Seven new genera, 26 new species, 10 new combinations, two epitypes, one new name, and 20 interesting new host and / or geographical records are introduced in this study. New genera are: Italiofungus (based on Italiofungus phillyreae) on leaves of Phillyrea latifolia (Italy); Neolamproconium (based on Neolamproconium silvestre) on branch of Tilia sp. (Ukraine); Neosorocybe (based on Neosorocybe pini) on trunk of Pinus sylvestris (Ukraine); Nothoseptoria (based on Nothoseptoria caraganae) on leaves of Caragana arborescens (Russia); Pruniphilomyces (based on Pruniphilomyces circumscissus) on Prunus cerasus (Russia); Vesiculozygosporium (based on Vesiculozygosporium echinosporum) on leaves of Muntingia calabura (Malaysia); Longiseptatispora (based on Longiseptatispora curvata) on leaves of Lonicera tatarica (Russia). New species are: Barrmaelia serenoae on leaf of Serenoa repens (USA); Chaetopsina gautengina on leaves of unidentified grass (South Africa); Chloridium pini on fallen trunk of Pinus sylvestris (Ukraine); Cadophora fallopiae on stems of Reynoutria sachalinensis (Poland); Coleophoma eucalyptigena on leaf litter of Eucalyptus sp. (Spain); Cylindrium corymbiae on leaves of Corymbia maculata (Australia); Diaporthe tarchonanthi on leaves of Tarchonanthus littoralis (South Africa); Elsinoe eucalyptorum on leaves of Eucalyptus propinqua (Australia); Exophiala quercina on dead wood of Quercus sp., (Germany); Fusarium californicum on cambium of budwood of Prunus dulcis (USA); Hypomyces gamsii on wood of Alnus glutinosa (Ukraine); Kalmusia araucariae on leaves of Araucaria bidwillii (USA); Lectera sambuci on leaves of Sambucus nigra (Russia); Melanomma populicola on fallen twig of Populus canadensis (Netherlands), Neocladosporium syringae on branches of Syringa vulgarishorus (Ukraine); Paraconiothyrium iridis on leaves of Iris pseudacorus (Ukraine); Pararoussoella quercina on branch of Quercus robur (Ukraine); Phialemonium pulveris from bore dust of deathwatch beetle (France); Polyscytalum pinicola on needles of Pinus tecunumanii (Malaysia); Acervuloseptoria fraxini on Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Russia); Roussoella arundinacea on culms of Arundo donax (Spain); Sphaerulina neoaceris on leaves of Acer negundo (Russia); Sphaerulina salicicola on leaves of Salix fragilis (Russia); Trichomerium syzygii on leaves of Syzygium cordatum (South Africa); Uzbekistanica vitis-viniferae on dead stem of Vitis vinifera (Ukraine); Vermiculariopsiella eucalyptigena on leaves of Eucalyptus sp. (Australia)