Revising the Schizoparmaceae : Coniella and its synonyms Pilidiella and Schizoparme

The asexual genera Coniella (1918) and Pilidiella (1927), including their sexual morphs in Schizoparme (1923), have a cosmopolitan distribution and are associated with foliar, fruit, leaf, stem and root diseases on a wide variety of hosts. Species of these genera sometimes occur as secondary invaders of plant tissues infected by other organisms or that are injured by other causes. Several studies published over the last few decades had conflicting ideas as to whether Coniella, Pilidiella and Schizoparme should be regarded as synonymous or as separate genera. The present study aims to resolve the generic classification of these genera through phylogenetic analyses of the concatenated alignment of partial LSU nrDNA, rpb2, ITS nrDNA and tef1 sequence data of 117 isolates, combined with their morphology. Results revealed that all strains cluster in a single well-supported clade. Conidial colour, traditionally the distinguishing character between Coniella and Pilidiella, evolved multiple times throughout the clade, and is not a good character at generic level in Schizoparmaceae. The three genera should therefore be regarded as synonymous, with the older name Coniella having priority. Furthermore, this study delineated 13 new species, and new combinations were proposed for a further 15 species.Lourdes V. Alvarez wishes to thank the Department of Science and Technology, Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development, Department of Science and Technology (DOSTPCIEERD), Bicutan, Taguig City, Philippines through the BCDA Fund for the financial grant awarded to her through the “DOST Administrative Order No. 002, Series of 2014” to undertake this research at the CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands.http://www.studiesinmycology.orgam2017Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)Microbiology and Plant Patholog

Pestalotioid fungi from Restionaceae in the Cape Floral Kingdom

Eight pestalotioid fungi were isolated from the Restionaceae growing in the Cape Floral Kingdom of South Africa. Sarcostroma restionis, Truncatella megaspora, T. restionacearum and T. spadicea are newly described. New records include Pestalotiopsis matildae, Sarcostroma lomatiae, Truncatella betulae and T. hartigii. To resolve generic affiliations, phylogenetic analyses were performed on ITS (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) and part of 28S rDNA. DNA data support the original generic concept of Truncatella, which encompasses Pestalotiopsis species having 3-septate conidia. The genus Sarcostroma is retained as separate from Seimatosporium

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

Eucalyptus microfungi known from culture. 1. Cladoriella and Fulvoflamma genera nova, with notes on some other poorly known taxa

A study of microfungi associated with living Eucalyptus leaves and leaf litter revealed several novel and interesting taxa. Cladoriella eucalypti gen. et sp. nov. is described as a Cladosporium-like genus associated with litter collected in South Africa, while Fulvoflamma eucalypti gen. et. sp. nov. is newly described from leaf litter collected in Spain. Beta-conidia are newly reported for species of Pestalotiopsis, namely Pestalotiopsis disseminata in New Zealand, and a Pestalotiopsis sp. from Colombia. Satchmopsis brasiliensis is reported from litter in Colombia and Indonesia, while Torrendiella eucalypti is reported from leaf litter in Indonesia, and shown to have a Sporothrix-like anamorph. Leptospora rubella is reported from living Eucalyptus leaves in Colombia, where it is associated with leaf spots of Mycosphaerella longibasalis, while Macrohilum eucalypti is reported from leaf spots of Eucalyptus in New Zealand

«Phaeomoniella chlamydospora» Gen. et Comb. Nov., a Causal Organism of Petri Grapevine Decline and Esca

Phaeomoniella is proposed as a new hyphomycete genus to accommodate Phaeoacremonium chlamydosporum, the most important fungal organism associated to Petri grapevine decline. Morphologically the genus is similar to Phaeoacremonium, but is distinguished from the latter based on its cultural characteristics, conidiophore morphology, and its uniformly straight, and slightly pigmented conidia. Petri grapevine decline is seen as an important component of the esca disease complex of grapevines

Species of Diaporthe on Camellia and Citrus in the Azores Islands

Species of Diaporthe are important plant pathogens, saprobes, and endophytes on a wide range of plant hosts. Species such as D. citri are well-known on Citrus, as agents of pre- or post-harvest infections, causing dieback, melanose and stem-end rot on fruit. In this study we explored the occurrence and diversity of Diaporthe associated with tropical and sub-tropical plants. In particular, species of Camellia and Citrus were sampled. Surveys were carried out during 2017 in the Azores Islands, Portugal. Ten Diaporthe strains were isolated from symptomatic twigs and leaves. Five representative isolates were subjected to morphological characterization and multi-locus phylogeny based on five genomic loci (ITS, tef1, cal, his3 and tub2). Diaporthe citri was found associated with shoot blight on Citrus reticulata, which represents a new record for Europe. A new species, Diaporthe portugallica sp. nov. was isolated and described from leaf spots on Camellia sinensis

Re-evaluating the taxonomic status of Phaeoisariopsis griseola, the causal agent of angular leaf spot of bean

Angular leaf spot of Phaseolus vulgaris is a serious disease caused by Phaeoisariopsis griseola, in which two major gene pools occur, namely Andean and Middle-American. Sequence analysis of the SSU region of nrDNA revealed the genus Phaeoisariopsis to be indistinguishable from other hyphomycete anamorph genera associated with Mycosphaerella, namely Pseudocercospora and Stigmina. A new combination is therefore proposed in the genus Pseudocercospora, a name to be conserved over Phaeoisariopsis and Stigmina. Further comparisons by means of morphology, cultural characteristics, and DNA sequence analysis of the ITS, calmodulin, and actin gene regions delineated two groups within P. griseola, which are recognised as two formae, namely f. griseola and f. mesoamericana

Cylindrocarpon root rot: multi-gene analysis reveals novel species within the Ilyonectria radicicola species complex

Abstract Ilyonectria radicicola and its Cylindrocarpon-like anamorph represent a species complex that is commonly associated with root rot disease symptoms on a range of hosts. During the course of this study, several species could be distinguished from I. radicicola sensu stricto based on morphological and culture characteristics. DNA sequence analysis of the partial β-tubulin, histone H3, translation elongation factor 1-α and nuclear ribosomal RNA-Internal Transcribed Spacer (nrRNA-ITS) genes were employed to provide further support for the morphological species resolved among 68 isolates associated with root rot disease symptoms. Of the various loci screened, nrRNA-ITS sequences were the least informative, while histone H3 sequences were the most informative, resolving the same number of species as the combined dataset across the four genes. Within the Ilyonectria radicicola species complex, 12 new taxa are delineated occurring on a diverse range of hosts, the most common being Cyclamen, Lilium, Panax, Pseudotsuga, Quercus and Vitis

A multi-gene phylogeny for species of Mycosphaerella occurring on Eucalyptus leaves

Species of the ascomycete genus Mycosphaerella are regarded as some of the most destructive leaf pathogens of a large number of economically important crop plants. Amongst these, approximately 60 Mycosphaerella spp. have been identified from various Eucalyptus spp. where they cause leaf diseases collectively known as Mycosphaerella Leaf Disease (MLD). Species concepts for this group of fungi remain confused, and hence their species identification is notoriously difficult. Thus, the introduction of DNA sequence comparisons has become the definitive characteristic used to distinguish species of Mycosphaerella. Sequences of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal RNA operon have most commonly been used to consider species boundaries in Mycosphaerella. However, sequences for this gene region do not always provide sufficient resolution for cryptic taxa. The aim of this study was, therefore, to use DNA sequences for three loci, ITS, Elongation factor 1-alpha (EF-1α) and Actin (ACT) to reconsider species boundaries for Mycosphaerella spp. from Eucalyptus. A further aim was to study the anamorph concepts and resolve the deeper nodes of Mycosphaerella, for which part of the Large Subunit (LSU) of the nuclear rRNA operon was sequenced. The ITS and EF-1α gene regions were found to be useful, but the ACT gene region did not provide species-level resolution in Mycosphaerella. A phylogeny of the combined DNA datasets showed that species of Mycosphaerella from Eucalyptus cluster in two distinct groups, which might ultimately represent discrete genera