Taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus Mycosphaerella and its anamorphs

Historically plant pathogenic species of Mycosphaerella have been regarded as host-specific, though this hypothesys has proven difficult to test largely due to the inavailability of fungal cultures. During the course of the past 20 years a concerted effort has been made to collect these fungi, and devise methods to cultivate them. Based on subsequent DNA sequence analyses the majority of these species were revealed to be host-specific, though some were not, suggesting that no general rule can be applied. Furthermore, analysis of recent molecular data revealed Mycosphaerella to be poly- and paraphyletic. Teleomorph morphology was shown to be too narrowly defined in some cases, and again too widely in others. Mycosphaerella and Teratosphaeria as presently circumscribed represent numerous different genera, many of which can be recognised based on the morphology of their 30 odd associated anamorph genera. Although Mycosphaerella is generally accepted to represent one of the largest genera of ascomycetous fungi, these data suggest that this is incorrect, and that Mycosphaerella should be restricted to taxa linked to Ramularia anamorphs. Furthermore, other anamorph form genera with Mycosphaerella-like teleomorphs appear to represent genera in their own right

How do agroforest trees affect the supply of regulating ecosystem services?

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Niche sharing reflects a poorly understood biodiversity phenomenon

Eucalyptus spp. are susceptible to a large number of foliar pathogens, some of which can cause serious defoliation and die-back. In this study, a single leaf spot on a Eucalyptus leaf collected in Madagascar revealed an unusual association of microfungi with disease symptoms. Initial observations indicated that the leaf spot was associated with Mycosphaerella marksii, a common pathogen of eucalypts. However, more intensive scrutiny showed the presence of several other microfungi co-occurring in this, and other leaf spots on the leaf. A total of 41 single conidial propagules were subsequently obtained from a single lesion for morphological study and DNA sequence comparisons. Based on these data, 11 members of the Capnodiales, including one species of Pestalotiopsis (Xylariales), were observed. Of the capnodialean taxa, nine could be cultivated, which revealed one known species, M. marksii, two taxa in the Cladosporium cladosporioides species complex that were not treated here, and six new species, including Passalora intermedia, Pseudocercospora madagascariensis, Teratosphaeria hortaea, Toxicocladosporium chlamydosporum, T. rubrigenum and T. veloxum. Results of this study highlight a remarkable fungal biodiversity that can occur within a very specific niche. Furthermore, the results emphasise the importance of verifying the identity of fungal isolates in culture, as many taxa, especially those of the Capnodiales, frequently co-occur in the same niche, lesion or leaf spo

A tough nut to crack: performance measurement in specialist policing

  As police forces worldwide increase the number of specialist units within their organisational structures, they require innovative performance measurement frameworks to properly evaluate the effectiveness of these units within the broader policing context. Specialist units are generally either technical in nature (eg forensics) or operational (eg drug or fraud squads). This report describes the development of a performance measurement framework for Auckland Metropolitan Crime and Operational Support (AMCOS), a specialist policing unit of the New Zealand Police. AMCOS encompasses a range of technical and niche units supporting policing operations in New Zealand. The performance framework reflects the roles and functions of the unit and covers forensic performance measures, operations support performance measures, intelligence performance measures and investigations performance measures. The authors have written at a practical level that will assist practitioners to develop similar frameworks that can meet the needs of their specialist units, but they also reflect on analytical and theoretical aspects of performance measurement systems

Mycosphaerella is polyphyletic

Mycosphaerella, one of the largest genera of ascomycetes, encompasses several thousand species and has anamorphs residing in more than 30 form genera. Although previous phylogenetic studies based on the ITS rDNA locus supported the monophyly of the genus, DNA sequence data derived from the LSU gene distinguish several clades and families in what has hitherto been considered to represent the Mycosphaerellaceae. Several important leaf spotting and extremotolerant species need to be disposed to the genus Teratosphaeria, for which a new family, the Teratosphaeriaceae, is introduced. Other distinct clades represent the Schizothyriaceae, Davidiellaceae, Capnodiaceae, and the Mycosphaerellaceae. Within the two major clades, namely Teratosphaeriaceae and Mycosphaerellaceae, most anamorph genera are polyphyletic, and new anamorph concepts need to be derived to cope with dual nomenclature within the Mycosphaerella complex

Additions to the Mycosphaerella complex

Species in the present study were compared based on their morphology, growth characteristics in culture, and DNA sequences of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene operon (including ITS1, ITS2, 5.8S nrDNA and the first 900 bp of the 28S nrDNA) for all species and partial actin and translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene sequences for Cladosporium species. New species of Mycosphaerella (Mycosphaerellaceae) introduced in this study include M. cerastiicola (on Cerastium semidecandrum, The Netherlands), and M. etlingerae (on Etlingera elatior, Hawaii). Mycosphaerella holualoana is newly reported on Hedychium coronarium (Hawaii). Epitypes are also designated for Hendersonia persooniae, the basionym of Camarosporula persooniae, and for Sphaerella agapanthi, the basionym of Teratosphaeria agapanthi comb. nov. (Teratosphaeriaceae) on Agapathus umbellatus from South Africa. The latter pathogen is also newly recorded from A. umbellatus in Europe (Portugal). Furthermore, two sexual species of Cladosporium (Davidiellaceae) are described, namely C. grevilleae (on Grevillea sp., Australia), and C. silenes (on Silene maritima, UK). Finally, the phylogenetic position of two genera are newly confirmed, namely Camarosporula (based on C. persooniae, teleomorph Anthracostroma persooniae), which is a leaf pathogen of Persoonia spp. in Australia, belongs to the Teratosphaeriaceae, and Sphaerulina (based on S. myriadea), which occurs on leaves of Fagaceae (Carpinus, Castanopsis, Fagus, Quercus), and belongs to the Mycosphaerellaceae

Phylogenetic reassessment of Mycosphaerella spp. and their anamorphs occurring on Eucalyptus. II.

Species of Eucalyptus are widely planted as exotics in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere and to some extent in southern Europe, for timber and fibre production. Species of Mycosphaerella are commonly associated with leaves and twigs of Eucalyptus and can result in defoliation, dieback, and even tree death. In the present study, numerous isolates of Mycosphaerella species were collected from leaf litter, living leaves exhibiting leaf spot symptoms or severe Mycosphaerella leaf blotch symptoms. Isolates were compared based on DNA sequence data for the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1 & ITS2) and the 5.8S gene. These data, together with characteristics of the fungal growth on three different media, morphology of the anamorph and teleomorph structures as well as ascospore germination patterns were used to describe 21 new species

Multigene phylogeny and mating tests reveal three cryptic species related to Calonectria pauciramosa

Calonectria pauciramosa is a pathogen of numerous plant hosts worldwide. Recent studies have indicated that it included cryptic species, some of which are identified in this study. Isolates from various geographical origins were collected and compared based on morphology, DNA sequence data of the ß-tubulin, histone H3 and translation elongation factor-1 regions and mating compatibility. Comparisons of the DNA sequence data and mating compatibility revealed three new species. These included Ca. colombiana sp. nov. from Colombia, Ca. polizzii sp. nov. from Italy and Ca. zuluensis sp. nov. from South Africa, all of which had distinguishing morphological features. Based on DNA sequence data, Ca. brasiliensis is also elevated to species leve

Cercosporoid leaf pathogens from whorled milkweed and spineless safflower in California

Two cercosporoid species are respectively described from Mexican whorled milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis), and spineless safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) from California. Passalora californica represents a new pathogen on Asclepias fascicularis, while Ramularia cynarae is confirmed on Carthamus tinctorius and Cynara cardunculus (Asteraceae), and an epitype designated. Pathogenicity is also established for both pathogens based on Koch’s postulate

The enigma of Calonectria species occurring on leaves of Ilex aquifolium in Europe

Species of Calonectria are common saprobes and plant pathogens on a wide range of hosts occurring in subtropical to tropical regions of the world. The aim of the present study was to resolve the status of new Calonectria collections obtained on Ilex leaves from France. Based on DNA sequence data of their b-tubulin and histone gene regions, as well as morphology, the new collections matched the ex-type strain of Cylindrocladium ilicicola. On the host and in culture, yellow to brownish-yellow perithecia were observed that did not strain red in 3 % KOH. Based on these results, C. ilicicola and its purported teleomorph, Ca. pyrochroa, were shown to represent two distinct species, as the latter has bright red perithecia that strain purple in KOH. A new combination, Ca. lauri, based on Tetracytum lauri, is subsequently proposed for C. ilicicola. Calonectria lauri is distinct from Ca. ilicicola, a pathogen commonly associated with Cylindrocladium black rot of peanut. Finally, Ca. canadiana is proposed asnew name for Cy. canadiense, which is a nursery pathogen involved with root rot of several tree genera in Quebec, Canada