DNA phylogeny reveals polyphyly of Phoma section Peyronellaea and multiple taxonomic novelties

Didymellaceae species associated with tea plant (Camelliasinensis) in China

Tea plant is one of the most important commercial crops worldwide. The Didymellaceae fungi can cause leaf blight disease of tea plant. In this study, 240 isolates were isolated from tea plant leaves of 10 provinces in China. Combined with multi-locus (ITS, LSU, RPB2 and TUB2) phylogenetic analysis and morphological characteristics, these isolates were identified as 25 species of six genera in Didymellaceae, including 19 known species Didymellacoffeae-arabicae, D.pomorum, D.segeticola, D.sinensis, Epicoccumcatenisporum, E.dendrobii, E.draconis, E.italicum, E.latusicollum, E.mackenziei, E.oryzae, E.poaceicola, E.rosae, E.sorghinum, E.tobaicum, Neoascochytamortariensis, Paraboeremialitseae, Remotididymellaanemophila and Stagonosporopsiscaricae, of which 15 species were new record species and six novel species, named D.yunnanensis, E.anhuiense, E.jingdongense, E.puerense, N.yunnanensis and N.zhejiangensis. Amongst all isolates, D.segeticola was the most dominant species. Pathogenicity tests on tea plant leaves showed that E.anhuiense had the strongest virulence, while E.puerense had the weakest virulence. Besides, D.pomorum, D.yunnanensis, E.dendrobii, E.italicum, E.jingdongense, E.mackenziei, E.oryzae, E.rosae, E.tobaicum, N.mortariensis, N.yunnanensis, N.zhejiangensis and R.anemophila were non-pathogenic to the tea plant.

Characterization and Pathogenicity of Fungal Species Associated with Dieback of Apple Trees in Northern Italy

Severe dieback symptoms were recently observed on apple (Malus × domestica) trees in Northern Italy, representing a growing concern for producers. Surveys were conducted over a 3-year period (2019 to 2021), and five apple orchards, from 5 to 12 years old, were monitored. A total of 33 fungal isolates isolated from symptomatic plants was selected for characterization. The species identification was achieved through multilocus phylogenetic analyses performed on sequences of three genomic loci (ITS, tub2, and tef1). Morphological features were assessed, and the average growth rate at different temperatures was determined. Seven species were identified in association with dieback of apple trees: Botryosphaeria dothidea, Cadophora luteo-olivacea, Diaporthe rudis, Diplodia seriata, Eutypa lata, Kalmusia longispora, and Paraconiothyrium brasiliense. All the species were pathogenic when inoculated on healthy apple plants. B. dothidea resulted in the most aggressive infections. This study provides an insight into the fungal species diversity associated with apple dieback and provides basis for further investigations to assess the phytosanitary status of plant materials to recommend and implement effective management strategies.

Morphological characteristics and phylogenetic evidence reveal two new species and the first report of Comoclathris (Pleosporaceae, Pleosporales) on dicotyledonous plants from China

Two novel Comoclathris species were identified from dicotyledonous plants (Clematis sp. and Xanthocerassorbifolium) in China. The results were supported by morphological characters and Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses. Multi-gene phylogenetic analyses of the ITS, LSU, SSU and rpb2 sequences revealed two new species Comoclathrisclematidis and C.xanthoceratis, which are phylogenetically distinct. The new species are phylogenetically closely related to C.arrhenatheri. However, they are distinguishable from C.arrhenatheri by having comparatively larger asci and ascospores. This study improves our knowledge of Comoclathris as no species has been previously described from China. This suggests such taxa may be rare and it is likely that new taxa will be discovered from hosts and environments that have not yet been extensively investigated.

Molecular and morphological diversity, qualitative chemical profile and antioxidant activity of filamentous fungi of the digestive tract of Phylloicus sp. (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae)

Abstract This study aimed to identify by molecular analysis, morphology, chemistry and antioxidant extracts of filamentous fungi isolated from the digestive tract of Phylloicus sp, an aquatic insect that lives on leaf packages in tropical streams and participates together with fungi of the decomposition of plant substrates in aquatic habitats. Insect larvae of Phylloicus sp. were collected in streams in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Fungi were isolated from the digestive tract of larvae after disinfection and dissection, then described and purified for identification purposes and testing for antioxidant activity. Molecular identity was performed of ITS1 and ITS4, TUB e TEF sequencing. Fungal extracts were produced in 70% ethanol solution and later lyophilized. For analysis of chemical groups of extracts, thin layer chromatography (TLC) was performed in two mobile phases and different developers. Morphology was performed by optical microscopy stained with Toluidine Blue and measurement performed using the ImageJ program. Antioxidant activity performed in TLC and by quantitative method for DPPH and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) radicals. Four fungi were identified: Endomelanconiopsis endophytica, Myxospora musae, Neopestalotiopsis cubana and Fusarium pseudocircinatum. The TLC showed several spots with acetone/chloroform mobile phase and UV 254 nm developers and I2 vapor. Fungal extracts demonstrate antioxidant action to reduce the DPPH free radical and especially for H2O2 above 50%, E. endophytica 91.6%, M. musae 87.8%, N. cubana 89.5% and 92.3% for F. pseudocircinatum. This study demonstrated that the molecular technique by PCR was satisfactory for identifying fungi, and extracts with numerous chemical groups and potent reducing agents. Thus future work, should be carried out evaluating these four species for industrial use.

Additions to the Knowledge of the Fungal Order Eurotiales in Korea: Eight Undescribed Species

Eurotiales is a relatively large order of Ascomycetes, well-known for their ability to produce secondary metabolites with potential beneficial applications. To understand their diversity and distribution, different environmental sources including soil, freshwater, insect, and indoor air were investigated. Eight strains of Eurotiales were isolated and identified based on their morphological characters and a multi-gene phylogenetic analysis of the ITS, BenA, CaM, and RPB2 regions. We identified eight taxa that were previously not reported from Korea: Aspergillus baeticus, A. griseoaurantiacus, A. spinulosporus, Penicillium anthracinoglaciei, P. labradorum, P. nalgiovense, Talaromyces atroroseus, and T. georgiensis. Detailed descriptions, illustrations, and phylogenetic tree for the eight new records species are presented, and information regarding the records is also discussed.

The Wheat Endophyte Epicoccum layuense J4-3 Inhibits Fusarium graminearum and Enhances Plant Growth

Fungal endophytes are well-known for their ability to promote plant growth and hinder fungal diseases, including Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum. This study aimed to characterize the biocontrol efficacy of strain J4-3 isolated from the stem of symptomless wheat collected from Heilongjiang Province, China. It was identified as Epicoccum layuense using morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and beta-tubulin (TUB). In a dual culture assay, strain J4-3 significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of F. graminearum strain PH-1 and other fungal pathogens. In addition, wheat coleoptile tests showed that lesion symptoms caused by F. graminearum were significantly reduced in wheat seedlings treated with hyphal fragment suspensions of strain J4-3 compared to the controls. Under field conditions, applying spore suspensions and culture filtrates of strain J4-3 with conidial suspensions of F. graminearum on wheat spikes resulted in the significant biocontrol efficacy of FHB. In addition, wheat seedlings previously treated with spore suspensions of strain J4-3 before sowing successfully resulted in FHB reduction after the application of conidial suspensions of F. graminearum at anthesis. More importantly, wheat seedlings treated with hyphal fragments and spore suspensions of strain J4-3 showed significant increases in wheat growth compared to the controls under greenhouse and field conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that E. layuense J4-3 could be a promising biocontrol agent (BCA) against F. graminearum, causing FHB and a growth-promoting fungus in wheat.

A New Species and Five New Records of Talaromyces (Eurotiales, Aspergillaceae) Belonging to Section Talaromyces in Korea

Talaromyces is a genus within the phylum Ascomycota (class Eurotiomycetes, order Eurotiales, family Trichocomaceae). Many species in this genus are known to produce diverse secondary metabolites with great potential for agricultural, medical, and pharmaceutical applications. During a survey on fungal diversity in the genus Talaromyces in Korea, six strains were isolated from soil, indoor air, and freshwater environments. Based on morphological, physiological, and multi-locus (ITS, BenA, CaM, and RPB2) phylogenetic analyses, we identified five previously unrecorded species in Korea (T. brevis, T. fusiformis, T. muroii, T. ruber, and T. soli) and a new species (T. echinulatus sp. nov.) belonging to section Talaromyces. Herein, detailed descriptions, illustrations, and phylogenetic tree are provided.

Genomic Characteristics and Comparative Genomics Analysis of the Endophytic Fungus Paraphoma chrysanthemicola DS-84 Isolated from Codonopsis pilosula Root

Paraphoma chrysanthemicola is a newly identified endophytic fungus. The focus of most studies on P. chrysanthemicola has been on its isolation, identification and effects on plants. However, the limited genomic information is a barrier to further research. Therefore, in addition to studying the morphological and physiological characteristics of P. chrysanthemicola, we sequenced its genome and compared it with that of Paraphoma sp. The results showed that sucrose, peptone and calcium phosphate were suitable sources of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus for this strain. The activities of amylase, cellulase, chitosanase, lipase and alkaline protease were also detected. Sequencing analysis revealed that the genome of P. chrysanthemicola was 44.1 Mb, with a scaffold N50 of 36.1 Mb and 37,077 protein-coding genes. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation showed that mannose-modified glycosylation was predominant in monosaccharide utilisation. The percentage of glycoside hydrolase (GH) modules was the highest in the carbohydrate-active enzymes database (CAZy) analysis. Secondary metabolite-associated gene cluster analysis identified melanin, dimethylcoprogen and phyllostictine A biosynthetic gene clusters (>60% similarity). The results indicated that P. chrysanthemicola had a mannose preference in monosaccharide utilisation and that melanin, dimethylcoprogen and phyllostictine A were important secondary metabolites for P. chrysanthemicola as an endophytic fungus.

New Species of Didymellaceae within Aquatic Plants from Southwestern China

Members of Didymellaceae have a wide geographical distribution throughout different ecosystems, and most species are associated with fruit, leaf, stem and root diseases of land plants. However, species that occur in aquatic plants are not clearly known. During a survey of the diversity of endophytes in aquatic plants in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces, we obtained 51 isolates belonging to Didymellaceae based on internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) sequences. Further, the phylogenetic positions of these isolates were determined by combined sequences composed of ITS, partial large subunit nrRNA gene (28S nrDNA; LSU), RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2) and partial beta-tubulin gene (tub2). Combining morphological characteristics and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses, two new varieties belong to Boeremia and 12 new species distributed into seven genera were recognized from 51 isolates, i.e., Cumuliphoma, Didymella, Dimorphoma, Ectophoma, Leptosphaerulina, Remotididymella, and Stagonosporopsis. Among these species, only one species of Stagonosporopsis and two species of Leptosphaerulina show teleomorphic stages on OA, but have no anamorphic state. Each new species is described in detail, and the differences between new species and their phylogenetically related species are discussed here. The high frequency of new species indicates that aquatic plants may be a special ecological niche which highly promotes species differentiation. At the same time, the frequent occurrence of new species may indicate the need for extensive investigation of fungal resources in those aquatic environments where fungal diversity may be underestimated.

Characteristics of Leaf Spot Disease Caused by Didymella Species and the Influence of Infection on Tea Quality

Leaf spots are the most damaging and common foliar diseases of tea and are caused by several species of fungi. During 2018 to 2020, leaf spot diseases showing different symptoms (large and small spots) were observed in commercial tea plantations in Guizhou and Sichuan provinces of China. The pathogen causing the two different sized leaf spots was identified as the same species (Didymella segeticola) based on morphological characteristics, pathogenicity, and multilocus phylogenetic analysis using the combined ITS, TUB, LSU, and RPB2 gene regions. Microbial diversity analysis of lesion tissues from small spots on naturally infected tea leaves further confirmed Didymella to be present as the main pathogen. Results of sensory evaluation and quality-related metabolite analysis of tea shoots infected with the small leaf spot symptom indicated that D. segeticola negatively affected the quality and flavor of tea by changing the composition and content of caffeine, catechins, and amino acids. In addition, the significantly reduced amino acid derivatives in tea are confirmed to be positively associated with the enhanced bitter taste. The results improve our understanding of the pathogenicity of Didymella species and the influence of Didymella on the host plant, Camellia sinensis.

Plant-Associated Novel Didymellaceous Taxa in the South China Botanical Garden (Guangzhou, China)

The South China Botanical Garden (SCBG), one of the largest and oldest botanical gardens in China, conserves important plant germplasms of endangered species. Therefore, ensuring tree health and studying the associated mycobiome of the phyllosphere is essential to maintaining its visual aesthetics. During a survey of plant-associated microfungal species in SCBG, we collected several coelomycetous taxa. Phylogenetic relationships were evaluated based on the analyses of ITS, LSU, RPB2, and β-tubulin loci. The morphological features of the new collections were compared with those of existing species, emphasizing close phylogenetic affinities. Based on the morphological comparisons and multi-locus phylogeny, we introduce three new species. These are Ectophoma phoenicis sp. nov., Remotididymella fici-microcarpae sp. nov., and Stagonosporopsis pedicularis-striatae sp. nov. In addition, we describe a new host record for Allophoma tropica in the Didymellaceae. Detailed descriptions and illustrations are provided along with notes comparing allied species.

Diversity of Endophytic Fungi in Annual Shoots of Prunus mandshurica (Rosaceae) in the South of Amur Region, Russia

Prunus mandshurica is a rare species of the Russian Far East; it is cultivated for fruits and as an ornamental tree. The objective was to determine the fungi associated with young shoots of the Manchurian apricot, which is an important biotic factor for plant viability and productivity. Fungi were isolated by incubation of shoot fragments (unsterilized or surface-sterilized) on a growth medium and identified according to their cultural and morphological characteristics. Diaporthe eres and Nothophoma quercina isolates were identified by multilocus phylogenetic analysis (apn2, cal, tef1-α, tub2 for D. eres, and ITS, rpb2, tub2 for N. quercina). In total, 12 species (Alternaria alternata, A. tenuissima, Aureobasidium pullulans, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. herbarum, D. eres, Epicoccum nigrum, Fusarium graminearum, F. oxysporum, N. quercina, Sarocladium strictum, and Tripospermum myrti) and one genus (Gliocladium sp.) were found. Alternaria alternata, N. quercina, and D. eres were the most frequent species of the shoots. Alternaria tenuissima and F. oxysporum were also frequent in some collections, while all other species were rare or occasional in occurrence. Molecular analysis of D. eres and N. quercina revealed redundancy of some species within the D. eres species complex and the genus Nothophoma. This is the first report on the fungal inhabitants of asymptomatic shoots of P. mandshurica. Nothophoma quercina was identified in Russia for the first time.

Biodiversity of Fungi Inhabiting European Blueberry in North-Western Russia and in Finland

European blueberry is a common plant in coniferous and mixed forests that grows in Russia, Northern Europe, Asia, United States, and Canada. Among the fungi that cause blueberry diseases, the most harmful are Diaporthe vaccinii and Colletotrichum acutatum. These fungi are included in the consolidated list of quarantine objects of the Eurasian Economic Union and their occurrence and spread in the territory of countries of this Union is subject to strict control. Most taxa of micromycetes, particularly, Diaporthe and Colletotrichum species, can be correctly identified to the species level based on solely molecular phylogenetic features. The aim of the present work was to assess the biodiversity of fungi associated with blueberry growing in North-Western Russia and in Finland using morphological and molecular genetic features. Altogether, the study included 17 specimens of wild blueberry exhibiting necrotic spots on leaves and stem lesions that were collected in 2017 in St. Petersburg and in five districts of Leningrad region, as well as in the Republic of Karelia and in Finland. Analysis of the morphological and molecular genetic features of the fungal strains isolated from these blueberry specimens led to identification of 11 species: Boeremia exigua, Colletotrichum salicis, Diaporthe eres, Fusarium avenaceum, F. incarnatum, F. sporotrichioides, Heterophoma sylvatica, Kalmusia longispora, Microsphaeropsis olivacea, Neocucurbitaria cava, and Sporocadus rosigena. There were also fungi representing two sections of the genus Alternaria: Alternaria and Infectoriae, and micromycetes of the genera Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Coniothyrium, Curvularia, Epicoccum, Penicillium, Pestalotiopsis, Sordaria, and Trichoderma. The species Colletotrichum salicis, Heterophoma sylvatica, Kalmusia longispora, Microsphaeropsis olivacea, and Neocucurbitaria cava were for the first time found in Russia. The species Sporocadus rosigena was for the first time detected in Finland. Fusarium avenaceum, F. incarnatum, and F. sporotrichioides were for the first time observed in association with blueberry plants. The species Diaporthe vaccinii and Colletotrichum acutatum included in the consolidated list of quarantine objects of the Eurasian Economic Union were not detected in this study.

Anthracnose: A New Leaf Disease on Radermachera sinica (China Doll) in China

Radermachera sinica (China doll) is a popular evergreen horticultural crop worldwide. However, little information has been provided to describe the anthracnose disease of R. sinica. In 2018, symptoms suspected of leaf anthracnose were observed on R. sinica in gardens and commercial greenhouses in Guangzhou, China. Lesions on diseased leaves showed thinned and grayish white centers, dark-brown to black borders, and raised black spots. Twenty-seven single-conidia isolates were obtained from symptomatic leaf lesions. Based on morphological characteristics and multilocus phylogenetic analysis, 19 isolates were identified as Colletotrichum siamense and six and two isolates were identified as C. fructicola and C. karstii, respectively. An in vivo pathogenicity test was conducted on leaves of R. sinica plants, and it was discovered that C. siamense was more aggressive under wounded conditions than under unwounded conditions, and caused symptomatic necrotic lesions on the leaf. Afterward, the same pathogen was reisolated from lesions of inoculated leaves to fulfill Koch's postulates. However, neither C. fructicola nor C. karstii caused visible lesions on leaves of R. sinica under wounded or unwounded conditions, indicating that they may be asymptomatic endophytes or opportunistic pathogens on R. sinica. To our knowledge, this study is the first report of Colletotrichum spp. associated with anthracnose disease on R. sinica in China.

First Report of Colletotrichum endophyticum, a Causal Agent of Leaf Spot of Bauhinia blakeana in Southwest China

The Bauhinia blakeana is originated in South Asia and is widely planted in Chinese cities. It is distributed in Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan, Guangxi, Sichuan, and other places in China (Gu S et al. 2019). It is applied to urban greening as the street trees, garden trees, and scenic forest trees, and is an excellent landscaping tree species in South China. In August 2021, the new leaf spot disease was found in Chengdu (30°42'N, 103°51'E), and the incidence rate was about 70%. The symptoms began to appear from April to May, the worst from June to August. Firstly, the typical symptom is that round, oval, or irregular, brown and slightly concave necrotic spots begin to appear at the edge of the leaves, and the color of the spots changes from light brown to dark brown. Gradually, the number of necrotic spots increases and the spots spread from the edge of the leaf to the middle of the leaf. There is an obvious dark brown boundary between the diseased part and the healthy part, and their yellow-green halos around the spots. Finally, the leaves turn yellow and fall off. On September 1, 2021, infected tissue from samples was cut into small pieces 5 × 5 mm, surface sterilized for 30 seconds in 3% NaClO, 60seconds in 75% ethanol, rinsed three times in sterile water, placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with streptomycin sulfate (50 μg/mL), and incubated at 25°C in a dark. Finally, 10 typical isolates exhibited the morphology described as Colletotrichum endophyticum (De Silva et al. 2019). After 6 days, the colony diameter reached 63.4 to 67.7mm and had white to pale orange aerial mycelium, but was grey-green at the base. Black conidia formed after 10 days, which were round, oval, elongated spindle-shaped, with sharp ends, measuring 3.25 to 5.85 x 1.95 to 2.60μm (average: 6.18 x 2.28μm). Since the 10 isolated strains were consistent in morphology, a representative strain was selected from the 10 isolated strains to continue the next test. For molecular identification, DNA was extracted from 10 fungal colonies (the 10 fungal colonies used to isolate genomic DNA were derived from single isolates) using a plant genomic DNA extraction kit (Solarbio, Beijing). The 5.8S nuclear ribosomal genes with the two flanking internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), partial sequences of the actin (ACT) and beta-tubulin (TUB2) genes were amplified and sequenced using the primer pairs ITS4/ITS5 (White et al. 1990), ACT-512F/ACT-783R (Carbone and Kohn. 1999), GDF1/GDR1 (Guerber et al. 2003) and T1/Btub4R (O'Donnell and Cigelink. 1997; Aveskamp et al. 2009), respectively (Fang Qiu et al. 2021). Sequences were deposited in GenBank (ITS:OK560626; ACT:OK562583; GAPDH:OK562584; TUB2:OK562585). BLAST analysis showed >98% identity with several reference sequences of C. endophyticum previously deposited in GenBank. To confirm pathogenicity and fulfill Koch's postulates, the pathogenic fungal cakes were inoculated on the leaves of 5-year-old B. blakeana, and the sterile medium was used as a control. Three fungal cakes were placed on each leaf and repeated three times. Five days later, the inoculated plants showed the similar symptoms observed in diseased plants; controls remained asymptomatic. The C. endophyticum was re-isolated from the infected leaves and identified by morphological characteristics and DNA sequence analysis. The pathogenicity test was repeated three times with similar results, confirming Koch's postulates. This is the first report of B. blakeana leaf spot caused by C. endophyticum in China.

First Report of Leaf blight Caused by Stagonosporopsis citrulli on Garden Geranium in China

Garden geranium (Pelargonium × hortorum L.H. Bailey, Geraniaceae) is a popular ornamental plant cultivated worldwide, whose extracts are used in cosmetics and medicine (Jugulam et al. 2001). On the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China campus (Chengdu, China), leaf blight on the garden geranium was observed during April-September 2021. The average disease incidence was around 40%-50%, which caused severe loss of ornamental value. Initially, circular, brown necrotic areas appear on the margin of the leaves. In the advanced stage of infection, lesions may enlarge rapidly, become irregular in shape, with the central portion of the lesion falling out and defoliation. To isolate the pathogen, symptomatic tissues obtained from diseased leaves were surface-sterilized for 1 min with 0.3% NaClO, rinsed in sterile distilled water, and plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA). The inoculated plates were incubated for 7 days at 25°C. Successively, pure cultures were obtained by transferring hyphal tips to new PDA plates. A total of 20 isolates were obtained across 25 garden geranium plants investigated. The colonies on the PDA plates reached a diameter of 60-70 mm after 10 days at 25°C, spreading with a regular margin, aerial mycelium white, and black mycelia on the undersides cottony and solitary and globose pycnidia were produced after ten days. Conidia were either cylindrical or short cylindrical, hyaline 4-11 μm × 2-5 μm. These morphologies corresponded to those of Stagonosporopsis species. Sequence data for the 28S nrDNA, the internal transcribed spacer, β-tubulin, and RNA polymerase II subunit (White et al. 1990, Liu et al. 1999, Aveskamp et al. 2009) were obtained randomly for one of the pure isolates (P1-L4-1-L1-1), which resulted in the GenBank accession numbers ON667723, ON667722, ON677462, and ON677463, respectively. The RAxML analysis (Stamatakis 2014) of the combined sequence data of the isolate P1-L4-1-L1-1 and the reference sequences obtained from GenBank demonstrated that the isolate P1-L4-1-L1-1 formed a strongly support clade with the type isolates (C5-5) of Stagonosporopsis citrulli M.T. Brewer & J.E. Stewart, which has been found on cucurbits (Stewart et al. 2015). The procedure for Koch's postulates was followed to confirm fungal pathogenicity using 4-day-old mycelial disks. A total of 15 same-aged healthy leaves were divided into three groups, and each group received a different treatment. Artificial wounds were created on one group of leaves using a sterile pin, and a 5-mm mycelial plug of the fungus was placed on the injured tissues. Mycelial plugs were also placed on the surfaces of the sets of unwounded leaves. The remaining leaves were maintained as control and inoculated with sterile PDA plugs. The test was repeated three times. Both the wounded and non-wounded leaves exhibited symptoms after 4-9 days identical to those observed in the field. The control group remained asymptomatic, and the morphology of the fungus reisolated from the inoculated leaves was similar to that of S. citrulli. The phylogeny, together with morphological identification and inoculation results, confirmed the identity of the pathogen on garden geranium as S. citrulli. To our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf spot caused by S. citrulli in the garden geranium in the world. Our results may help to provide crucial information for studying the epidemiology and management of this disease.

Control of Phoma Leaf Spot and Root Decay of Table Beet in New York

Disease caused by Neocamarosporium betae (syn. Phoma betae, Pleospora betae) results in reductions in plant populations, foliar disease (Phoma leaf spot [PLS]), and root disease and decay in table beet. Disease caused by N. betae has reemerged as prevalent in organic table beet production in New York. The disease can also cause substantial issues in conventional table beet production. To evaluate in-field control options for conventional and organic table beet production, small-plot, replicated trials were conducted in each of two years (2019 and 2021). The fungicides, propiconazole and difenoconazole, and premixtures, pydiflumetofen + fludioxonil or pydiflumetofen + difenoconazole, provided excellent PLS and root decay control. Azoxystrobin provided excellent (69.9%) control of PLS in 2019 and lesser (40%) control in 2021. Field trial results complemented in vitro sensitivity testing of 30 New York N. betae isolates that were all highly sensitive to azoxystrobin (mean effective concentration to reduce mycelial growth by 50%, EC₅₀ = 0.0205 µg/ml) and propiconazole (mean EC₅₀ = 0.0638 µg/ml). Copper octanoate and microbial biopesticides containing either Bacillus amyloliquefaciens D747 or B. mycoides strain J provided moderate (68.5 to 74.6%) PLS control as reflected in epidemic progress. The Gompertz model provided the best fit to PLS epidemics reflecting a polycyclic epidemic. Reductions in PLS severity were associated with significant decreases in Phoma root decay and increases in canopy health and the time-to-death of leaves compared with nontreated control plots. Prolonging leaf survival is critical for mechanical harvest of roots. These findings underpin the design of programs for foliar disease control in conventional and organic table beet production. Assessment of PLS severity in the field will better inform postharvest management decisions.

Diaporthe citri: A Fungal Pathogen Causing Melanose Disease

Citrus melanose is a fungal disease caused by Diaporthe citri F.A. Wolf. It is found in various citrus-growing locations across the world. The host range of D. citri is limited to plants of the Citrus genus. The most economically important hosts are Citrus reticulata (mandarin), C. sinensis (sweet orange), C. grandis or C. maxima (pumelo), and C. paradisi (grapefruit). In the life cycle of D. citri throughout the citrus growing season, pycnidia can be seen in abundance on dead branches, especially after rain, with conidia appearing as slimy masses discharged from the dead twigs. Raindrops can transmit conidia to leaves, twigs, and fruits, resulting in disease dispersion throughout small distances. Persistent rains and warm climatic conditions generally favor disease onset and development. The melanose disease causes a decline in fruit quality, which lowers the value of fruits during marketing and exportation. High rainfall areas should avoid planting susceptible varieties. In this article, information about the disease symptoms, history, geographic distribution, epidemiology, impact, and integrated management practices, as well as the pathogen morphology and identification, was reviewed and discussed.

Diaporthe species infecting sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in Russia, with the description of two new species

Phomopsis stem canker is economically important sunflower disease that caused by multiple Diaporthe species. Recent investigations resulted in the resolution that there are at least 13 Diaporthe species that can infect sunflower. A comprehensive analysis of the biodiversity and geographic distribution of Diaporthe species in Russia, particularly those that infect sunflower, has not been undertaken. For this study, 16 Diaporthe isolates were obtained from samples of stem canker and visually healthy seeds of Helianthus annuus from northwestern, central European, southern European Russia, North Caucasus, and the Urals in 2016-2019. The aim of this study was to identify these Diaporthe isolates based on morphology and sequence analyses of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, partial calmodulin (cal), DNA-lyase (apn2), histone H3 (his3), translation elongation factor-1α gene (tef1), and ß-tubulin (tub2) genes. The phylogenetic reconstruction revealed well-supported monophyletic clades corresponding to six Diaporthe species: D. eres, D. gulyae, D. helianthi, and D. phaseolorum. Two new species were described: Diaporthe monetii sp. nov. and Diaporthe vangoghii sp. nov. The isolates of D. gulyae and D. phaseolorum collected represent the first records of these species in Russia.

First report of anthracnose on Ophiopogon jaburan caused by Colletotrichum liriopes in China

Ophiopogon jaburan (Liliaceae), named white lilyturf, is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in south China. During 2017-2019, leaf spots on O. jaburan were observed all year in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China (N21°9'3"; E110°17'47"). Almost all plants were infected and the disease incidence on affected leaves was about 80% in the field. Initially, spots were brown, round or oval, and gradually enlarged to irregular shapes. The color of the spots changed from rusty-brown to grayish-white with rusty-brown borders. Subsequently, the spots expanded until the leaves withered and died. Infected tissues were surface-sterilized with 75% ethanol for 30s followed by 1% NaClO solution for 1 min, then rinsed thrice with sterile water, before placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) containing 50mg/L ampicillin, and incubated in darkness at 25℃ with 90% relative humidity. Colonies growing on PDA were cushion-like, pale greenish grey to grayish black on the front side and clearly dark gray on the reverse. Colony diameter was av. 86.0 mm (n = 15) grown in the dark at 25 ℃ for 10 days. Conidia with oil droplets were colorless, hyaline, smooth-walled, aseptate, slightly curved, and tapered gradually to each end, 12.3-28.9 × 2.2-6.6 μm (av. 20.9×4.2μm, n=200). Setae were brown to dark brown, 2-4 septate, with the base slightly inflated, and measured 40.0-130.3 × 2.2-5μm (av. 84.3 × 3.3μm, n=23). On PDA, scattered or loosely clustered appressoria were elliptical or irregular, smooth-walled, aseptate, and dark brown. To confirm the identification, partial regions of the internal transcribed spacer (White et al. 1990), beta-tubulin (Aveskamp et al. 2009) and actin (Carbone et al 1999) were amplified and sequenced (MW989743, MZ014461 and MZ014462). The blast results showed these sequences had >99.59% homology with sequences of Colletotrichum liriopes holotype strain CBS 119444 (NR_111449, GU228098 and GU227902). Maximum likelihood analysis and Bayesian inference were performed from concatenated sequences using RAxML v.1.0.0 and MrBayes v.3.2.1 software respectively. Several C. liriopes strains clustered in the same clade. Based on morphological-molecular characteristics, the fungus was identified as C. liriopes (Damm et al 2009; Chen et al. 2019). To confirm pathogenicity, healthy leaves were surface disinfected with 75% ethanol and rinsed thrice with sterile water. On ten leaves, three sites were wounded by pricking with needles, and inoculated 20 μL of 106 conidia/ml suspension or mycelium in contact with blade surface using 6-mm mycelial plugs. Similarly, the inoculation was done for three unwounded sites each leaf. Sterile water and medium plugs (without fungus) served as controls. All leaves were incubated on sterile wet filter paper at 25-28℃ with 90% relative humidity. After 7 days, all the inoculated leaves showed symptoms similar to those of field diseases, whereas control leaves remained healthy. The fungus with morphological-molecular features identical to the original isolate was reisolated from the disease lesions. C. liriopes causes anthracnose on Bletilla ochracea, Eria coronaria, Hemerocallis fulva, Pleione bulbocodioides (Jayawardena et al 2016) and Liriope sp. (Yang et al 2020; Chen et al 2019) in China. This is the first report of C. liriopes causing anthracnose on O. jaburan in China. Anthracnose could greatly affect ornamental value of O. jaburan, and this work can alert gardeners to prevent and control of the disease.

Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Baccharis linearis and Echinopsis chiloensis with Antifungal Activity against Botrytis cinerea

Botrytis cinerea is one of the most important phytopathogens in agriculture worldwide, infecting economically important crops. The main control of this fungus is by synthetic fungicides, causing the selection of resistant isolates. Compounds produced by endophytic fungi have been shown to have antifungal activity against this pathogen and can be used as an alternative to synthetic fungicides. The aim of this work was to isolate endophytic fungi from Chilean foothills in the Metropolitan Region. Ten fungi were isolated from Echinopsis chiloensis and Baccharis linearis, however, only two isolates inhibited the mycelial growth of B. cinerea by antibiosis and were identified as Epicoccum sp. and Pleosporales sp. Extracts at 200 mg L⁻¹ from Epicoccum sp. and Pleosporales sp. showed antifungal activity against B. cinerea of 54.6 and 44.6% respectively. Active compounds in the Epicoccum sp. extracts were mainly alkaloids and phenolic compounds; meanwhile, in the Pleosporales sp. extracts, terpenes and/or saponins were responsible for the antifungal activity.

A Novel Real Time PCR Method for the Detection and Quantification of Didymella pinodella in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Plant Hosts

Didymella pinodella is the major pathogen of the pea root rot complex in Europe. This wide host range pathogen often asymptomatically colonizes its hosts, making the control strategies challenging. We developed a real-time PCR assay for the detection and quantification of D. pinodella based on the TEF-1 alpha gene sequence alignments. The assay was tested for specificity on a 54-isolate panel representing 35 fungal species and further validated in symptomatic and asymptomatic pea and wheat roots from greenhouse tests. The assay was highly consistent across separate qPCR reactions and had a quantification/detection limit of 3.1 pg of target DNA per reaction in plant tissue. Cross-reactions were observed with DNA extracts of five Didymella species. The risk of cross contamination, however, is low as the non-targets have not been associated with pea previously and they were amplified with at least 1000-fold lower sensitivity. Greenhouse inoculation tests revealed a high correlation between the pathogen DNA quantities in pea roots and pea root rot severity and biomass reduction. The assay also detected D. pinodella in asymptomatic wheat roots, which, despite the absence of visible root rot symptoms, caused wheat biomass reduction. This study provides new insights into the complex life style of D. pinodella and can assist in better understanding the pathogen survival and spread in the environment.

Fungal Planet description sheets: 1284-1382

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antartica, Cladosporium austrolitorale from coastal sea sand. Australia, Austroboletus yourkae on soil, Crepidotus innuopurpureus on dead wood, Curvularia stenotaphri from roots and leaves of Stenotaphrum secundatum and Thecaphora stajsicii from capsules of Oxalis radicosa. Belgium, Paraxerochrysium coryli (incl. Paraxerochrysium gen. nov.) from Corylus avellana. Brazil, Calvatia nordestina on soil, Didymella tabebuiicola from leaf spots on Tabebuia aurea, Fusarium subflagellisporum from hypertrophied floral and vegetative branches of Mangifera indica and Microdochium maculosum from living leaves of Digitaria insularis. Canada, Cuphophyllus bondii from a grassland. Croatia, Mollisia inferiseptata from a rotten Laurus nobilis trunk. Cyprus, Amanita exilis on calcareous soil. Czech Republic, Cytospora hippophaicola from wood of symptomatic Vaccinium corymbosum. Denmark, Lasiosphaeria deviata on pieces of wood and herbaceous debris. Dominican Republic, Calocybella goethei among grass on a lawn. France (Corsica), Inocybe corsica on wet ground. France (French Guiana), Trechispora patawaensis on decayed branch of unknown angiosperm tree and Trechispora subregularis on decayed log of unknown angiosperm tree. Germany, Paramicrothecium sambuci (incl. Paramicrothecium gen. nov.) on dead stems of Sambucus nigra. India, Aureobasidium microtermitis from the gut of a Microtermes sp. termite, Laccaria diospyricola on soil and Phylloporia tamilnadensis on branches of Catunaregam spinosa. Iran, Pythium serotinoosporum from soil under Prunus dulcis. Italy, Pluteus brunneovenosus on twigs of broadleaved trees on the ground. Japan, Heterophoma rehmanniae on leaves of Rehmannia glutinosa f. hueichingensis. Kazakhstan, Murispora kazachstanica from healthy roots of Triticum aestivum. Namibia, Caespitomonium euphorbiae (incl. Caespitomonium gen. nov.) from stems of an Euphorbia sp. Netherlands, Alfaria junci, Myrmecridium junci, Myrmecridium juncicola, Myrmecridium juncigenum, Ophioceras junci, Paradinemasporium junci (incl. Paradinemasporium gen. nov.), Phialoseptomonium junci, Sporidesmiella juncicola, Xenopyricularia junci and Zaanenomyces quadripartis (incl. Zaanenomyces gen. nov.), from dead culms of Juncus effusus, Cylindromonium everniae and Rhodoveronaea everniae from Evernia prunastri, Cyphellophora sambuci and Myrmecridium sambuci from Sambucus nigra, Kiflimonium junci, Sarocladium junci, Zaanenomyces moderatricis-academiae and Zaanenomyces versatilis from dead culms of Juncus inflexus, Microcera physciae from Physcia tenella, Myrmecridium dactylidis from dead culms of Dactylis glomerata, Neochalara spiraeae and Sporidesmium spiraeae from leaves of Spiraea japonica, Neofabraea salicina from Salix sp., Paradissoconium narthecii (incl. Paradissoconium gen. nov.) from dead leaves of Narthecium ossifragum, Polyscytalum vaccinii from Vaccinium myrtillus, Pseudosoloacrosporiella cryptomeriae (incl. Pseudosoloacrosporiella gen. nov.) from leaves of Cryptomeria japonica, Ramularia pararhabdospora from Plantago lanceolata, Sporidesmiella pini from needles of Pinus sylvestris and Xenoacrodontium juglandis (incl. Xenoacrodontium gen. nov. and Xenoacrodontiaceae fam. nov.) from Juglans regia. New Zealand, Cryptometrion metrosideri from twigs of Metrosideros sp., Coccomyces pycnophyllocladi from dead leaves of Phyllocladus alpinus, Hypoderma aliforme from fallen leaves Fuscopora solandri and Hypoderma subiculatum from dead leaves Phormium tenax. Norway, Neodevriesia kalakoutskii from permafrost and Variabilispora viridis from driftwood of Picea abies. Portugal, Entomortierella hereditatis from a biofilm covering a deteriorated limestone wall. Russia, Colpoma junipericola from needles of Juniperus sabina, Entoloma cinnamomeum on soil in grasslands, Entoloma verae on soil in grasslands, Hyphodermella pallidostraminea on a dry dead branch of Actinidia sp., Lepiota sayanensis on litter in a mixed forest, Papiliotrema horticola from Malus communis, Paramacroventuria ribis (incl. Paramacroventuria gen. nov.) from leaves of Ribes aureum and Paramyrothecium lathyri from leaves of Lathyrus tuberosus. South Africa, Harzia combreti from leaf litter of Combretum collinum ssp. sulvense, Penicillium xyleborini from Xyleborinus saxesenii, Phaeoisaria dalbergiae from bark of Dalbergia armata, Protocreopsis euphorbiae from leaf litter of Euphorbia ingens and Roigiella syzygii from twigs of Syzygium chordatum. Spain, Genea zamorana on sandy soil, Gymnopus nigrescens on Scleropodium touretii, Hesperomyces parexochomi on Parexochomus quadriplagiatus, Paraphoma variabilis from dung, Phaeococcomyces kinklidomatophilus from a blackened metal railing of an industrial warehouse and Tuber suaveolens in soil under Quercus faginea. Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Inocybe nivea associated with Salix polaris. Thailand, Biscogniauxia whalleyi on corticated wood. UK, Parasitella quercicola from Quercus robur. USA, Aspergillus arizonicus from indoor air in a hospital, Caeliomyces tampanus (incl. Caeliomyces gen. nov.) from office dust, Cippumomyces mortalis (incl. Cippumomyces gen. nov.) from a tombstone, Cylindrium desperesense from air in a store, Tetracoccosporium pseudoaerium from air sample in house, Toxicocladosporium glendoranum from air in a brick room, Toxicocladosporium losalamitosense from air in a classroom, Valsonectria portsmouthensis from air in men's locker room and Varicosporellopsis americana from sludge in a water reservoir. Vietnam, Entoloma kovalenkoi on rotten wood, Fusarium chuoi inside seed of Musa itinerans, Micropsalliota albofelina on soil in tropical evergreen mixed forests and Phytophthora docyniae from soil and roots of Docynia indica. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes. Citation: Crous PW, Osieck ER, Jurjević Ž, et al. 2021. Fungal Planet description sheets: 1284-1382. Persoonia 47: 178-374. https://doi.org/10.3767/persoonia.2021.47.06.

Fungi Associated with Postharvest Diseases of Sweet Potato Storage Roots and In Vitro Antagonistic Assay of Trichoderma harzianum against the Diseases

Sweet potato is the 11th most important food crop in the world and an excellent source of nutrition. Postharvest diseases were monitored in sweet potato storage roots collected from the local markets in Korea during 2021. Several diseases including Fusarium surface and root rot, charcoal rot, dry rot, and soft rot were observed in the postharvest sweet potatoes. A total of 68 fungal isolates were obtained from the diseased samples, and the isolates were grouped into 8 different fungal colony types. Based on multilocus phylogeny and morphological analysis of 17 representative isolates, the isolates were identified as Fusarium oxysporum, F. ipomoeae, F. solani, Penicillium citrinum, P. rotoruae, Aspergillus wentii, Mucor variicolumellatus (Mu. circinelloides species complex), and Macrophomina phaseolina. F. oxysporum was the predominant pathogen as this is the most common pathogen of sweet potato storage roots causing the surface rot disease, and M. phaseolina caused the most severe disease among the pathogens. Dual culture antagonistic assays were evaluated using Trichoderma harzianum strains CMML20–26 and CMML20–27. The results revealed that the two strains showed strong antifungal activity in different ranges against all tested pathogens. This study provides an understanding of diverse postharvest diseases in sweet potatoes and suggests potential biocontrol agents to manage the diseases. In addition, this is the first report of sweet potato storage root rot diseases caused by A. wentii, and P. rotoruae worldwide.

Leptosphaerulina species isolated from golf turfgrass in China, with description of L. macrospora, sp. nov

Leptosphaerulina leaf blight occurs on most turfgrasses. Hitherto, Leptosphaerulina species associated with this disease include L. americana, L. argentinensis, L. australis, and L. trifolii. However, following Koch's postulates, L. australis was confirmed as saprobes but not pathogens, and the other three species have not been tested. The pathogenicity of Leptosphaerulina spp. is still questionable. In this study, we isolated 19 Leptosphaerulina strains from diseased golf turfgrasses in China, and they were identified as L. gaeumannii, L. saccharicola, and a new species, L. macrospora, through multilocus (ITS, 28S, rpb2, and tub2) phylogenetic analyses and morphological observations. Pathogenicity test revealed that the three Leptosphaerulina species identified in this study cannot infect live/healthy turfgrass tissues of Poa pratensis and Agrostis stolonifera and only produced pseudothecia on the dead leaves of stressed seedlings. Considering the results of pathogenicity tests in this and previous studies, we speculate that most Leptosphaerulina species isolated from diseased turfgrass are not pathogens but saprobes. Applying proper management practices to prevent severe turfgrass stress is a key measure to reduce or eliminate the effects of Leptosphaerulina on golf turfgrass.

First Report of Black Spot Caused by Penicillium citreosulfuratum on Saffron in Chongming Island, China

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a world-famous source of dye and spices and an important medicinal plant, which is cultivated on a large scale on Chongming Island (31.62° N, 121.39° E) in Shanghai, China. In August 2020, a survey of saffron was conducted in this area, and black spots were observed on about 10% of plants. Characteristics of the disease were: The bottom of the corm was darkened in the groove and scattered black spots could be observed after peeling off the membranous scale leaves. The junction of lesions and healthy parts was light brown. As the lesions expanded, approximately 80% of the surface of the corm became dark brown to bluish gray. The inside of the corm was also necrotic. In order to isolate the pathogen, ten diseased corms with typical symptoms were selected. All corms were first treated with 75% ethanol for 30 s, 0.1% HgCl2 for 5 min, and then rinsed with sterile water 5 times. Next, tissue pieces (5 mm × 5 mm) at the margin of lesions were cut out and placed on the potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. After incubating at 28°C for 5 days, fungi were separated and purified by using the hyphal-tip technique. A total of six pure cultures with different colony morphologies were obtained, of which only the isolate MF3 was present in ten diseased corms. The isolate MF3 was inoculated on the PDA and cultured at 28°C for 10 days and characteristics of the fungus colonies were: colonies sub-circular, reaching 28 to 30 mm diam, from above rough, dense, fluffy, blue-gray, with some white spots and central point raised, and outer margin form an irregular, narrow, white ring; from below, yellow with light-green. The hyphae were slender, with many septa. The conidiophores were typically smooth walled, short, and slender and either monoverticillate with very short stipes or as irregularly biverticillate. Phialides were ampulliform, 5 to 10 per metula, 5 to 8 × 2 to 3 µm. Conidia were smooth and globose, and ranged in diameter from 1.4 to 1.7 µm (n=50). Molecular identification of the fungus was made by PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA and β-tubulin gene using primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), TUB2Fd/TUB4Rd (Aveskamp et al. 2009) respectively. The ITS (MW881446) and β-tubulin (MW911464) sequences of the fungus were similar to the ITS (MN592912) and β-tubulin (KY469126) sequences of the epitype of Penicillium citreosulfuratum with 99.81% and 99.56% identity, respectively. According to the morphological and molecular characterization, the isolate MF3 was identified as P. citreosulfuratum (Visagie et al. 2016). For pathogenicity testing, the fungus was grown on PDA and incubated at 28°C for 5 days. Then mycelial plugs (5 mm diam.) were inoculated on the scalpel incision square wounds of surface-disinfected corms and mock-inoculated corms received only PDA plugs. Corms were placed in sterile plastic bottles and observed after culturing at 28°C for 21 days. Each treatment had three replicates and the experiment was repeated twice. The results showed that corms inoculated with P. citreosulfuratum developed diseased with similar symptoms as in the field. No disease symptoms were observed on control corms. Re-isolations were performed from inoculated corms, and all re-isolated fungi were confirmed as P. citreosulfuratum, verifying the fungus as the pathogen based on Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the pathogen causing black spot disease of saffron. Although the disease is not fatal to saffron, to a certain extent it will cause a reduction in the production of the crop. In addition, this pathogen has not been reported to be pathogentic to other plant species.

The role of internal transcribed spacer 2 secondary structures in classifying mycoparasitic Ampelomyces

Many fungi require specific growth conditions before they can be identified. Direct environmental DNA sequencing is advantageous, although for some taxa, specific primers need to be used for successful amplification of molecular markers. The internal transcribed spacer region is the preferred DNA barcode for fungi. However, inter- and intra-specific distances in ITS sequences highly vary among some fungal groups; consequently, it is not a solely reliable tool for species delineation. Ampelomyces, mycoparasites of the fungal phytopathogen order Erysiphales, can have ITS genetic differences up to 15%; this may lead to misidentification with other closely related unknown fungi. Indeed, Ampelomyces were initially misidentified as other pycnidial mycoparasites, but subsequent research showed that they differ in pycnidia morphology and culture characteristics. We investigated whether the ITS2 nucleotide content and secondary structure was different between Ampelomyces ITS2 sequences and those unrelated to this genus. To this end, we retrieved all ITS sequences referred to as Ampelomyces from the GenBank database. This analysis revealed that fungal ITS environmental DNA sequences are still being deposited in the database under the name Ampelomyces, but they do not belong to this genus. We also detected variations in the conserved hybridization model of the ITS2 proximal 5.8S and 28S stem from two Ampelomyces strains. Moreover, we suggested for the first time that pseudogenes form in the ITS region of this mycoparasite. A phylogenetic analysis based on ITS2 sequences-structures grouped the environmental sequences of putative Ampelomyces into a different clade from the Ampelomyces-containing clades. Indeed, when conducting ITS2 analysis, resolution of genetic distances between Ampelomyces and those putative Ampelomyces improved. Each clade represented a distinct consensus ITS2 S2, which suggested that different pre-ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA) processes occur across different lineages. This study recommends the use of ITS2 S2s as an important tool to analyse environmental sequencing and unveiling the underlying evolutionary processes.

First Report of Fruit Canker Caused by Nothophoma quercina on Chinese quince in South Korea

The Chinese quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis (Thouin) CK Schneid.) is a tree that is commonly distributed in all regions of South Korea and other Asian countries. The ripened yellow fruit contains medically active compounds (Hamauzu et al. 2005). It has been consumed as tea and candies and used in traditional medicine for treating asthma, cough, influenza, harsh throat, and tuberculosis and for liver protection (Chun et al. 2012). In the Kyungpook National University campus (Daegu, South Korea), fruit canker on the Chinese quince was ubiquitously observed during May-August 2020. The average disease incidence was around 30%-40%, which caused significant yield loss. Initially, minute, brown-to-rust-colored, unbroken, circular, necrotic areas appear, and in the advanced stage of infection, the epidermis tears open and tube- or aecia-like white structures are formed. Successively, the affected areas become necrotic and gradually enlarge to reach 3-5 cm in diameter. To isolate the causative pathogen, symptomatic tissues obtained from diseased fruits were surface-sterilized for 1 min with 70% ethanol, rinsed in sterile distilled water, and plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA). The inoculated plates were incubated for 7 days at 25°C. Successively, pure cultures were obtained by transferring hyphal tips to new PDA plates. A total of 15 isolates were obtained across 20 fruit trees investigated. The colonies on the PDA plates reached a diameter of 60-70 mm after 7 days at 25°C, spreading with a regular margin, aerial mycelium covering the entire colony, compact, white to pale gray in color, and solitary and globose pycnidia were produced after ten days. Conidiogenous cells were phialidic, hyaline, simple, smooth, doliiform to ampulliform, 3-5 × 3-4 μm; conidia were subglobose to oval or obtuse, thin-walled, smooth, aseptate, minute guttules, brown, 5.5-8 × 4-7 μm. These morphologies corresponded to those of phoma-like species. Sequence data for the 28S nrDNA, the internal transcribed spacer, β-tubulin, and RNA polymerase II subunit (White et al. 1990, Liu et al. 1999, Aveskamp et al. 2009) were obtained randomly for one of the pure isolates (EAH 2), which resulted in the GenBank accession numbers MW325675, MW325676, MW330391, and MW330390, respectively. The RAxML analysis (Stamatakis 2014) was run on the CIPRES Science Gateway portal of the combined sequence data of the isolate EAH 2 and the reference sequences obtained from GenBank. Analyses for the combined datasets were conducted with RAxML-HPC2 on XSEDE v. 8.2.10 using a GTR+GAMMA substitution model with 1000 bootstrap iterations. Results demonstrated that the isolate EAH2 formed a strongly support clade with the type isolates of Nothophoma quercina (Syd.) Q. Chen & L. Cai (basionym: Ampelomyces quercinus), which has been found on Quercus sp. in Ukraine (Chen et al. 2015). The procedure for Koch's postulates was followed to confirm fungal pathogenicity using 3-day-old mycelial disks. A total of 15 same-aged healthy fruits were divided into three groups, and each group received a different treatment. Artificial wounds were created on one group of fruits using a sterile pin, and a 5-mm mycelial plug of the fungus was placed on the injured tissues. Mycelial plugs were also placed on the surfaces of the sets of unwounded fruits. The remaining fruits were maintained as control and inoculated with sterile PDA plugs. The test was repeated three times. The wounded fruits exhibited symptoms after 8-10 identical to those observed in the field. The control group remained asymptomatic, and the morphology of the fungus reisolated from the inoculated fruits was similar to that of N. quercina. The phylogeny, together with morphological identification and inoculation results, confirmed the identity of the fungus as N. quercina (Chen et al. 2015). A previous study had also reported shoot canker caused by N. quercina in the Chinese quince (Yun and Oh 2016). However, to our knowledge, this is the first report of fruit canker caused by N. quercina in the Chinese quince.

Cryptic diversity found in Didymellaceae from Australian native legumes

Ascochytakoolunga (Didymellaceae, Pleosporales) was first described in 2009 (as Phomakoolunga) and identified as the causal agent of Ascochyta blight of Pisumsativum (field pea) in South Australia. Since then A.koolunga has not been reported anywhere else in the world, and its origins and occurrence on other legume (Fabaceae) species remains unknown. Blight and leaf spot diseases of Australian native, pasture and naturalised legumes were studied to investigate a possible native origin of A.koolunga.

Ascochytakoolunga was not detected on native, naturalised or pasture legumes that had leaf spot symptoms, in any of the studied regions in southern Australia, and only one isolate was recovered from P.sativum. However, we isolated five novel species in the Didymellaceae from leaf spots of Australian native legumes from commercial field pea regions throughout southern Australia. The novel species were classified on the basis of morphology and phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer region and part of the RNA polymerase II subunit B gene region. Three of these species, Nothophomagarlbiwalawardasp. nov., Nothophomanaiawusp. nov. and Nothophomangayawangsp. nov., were isolated from Sennaartemisioides. The other species described here are Epicoccumdjirangnandirisp. nov. from Swainsonagalegifolia and Neodidymelliopsistinkyukukusp. nov. from Hardenbergiaviolacea. In addition, we report three new host-pathogen associations in Australia, namely Didymellapinodes on S.artemisioides and Viciacracca, and D.lethalis on Lathyrustingitanus. This is also the first report of Didymellaprosopidis in Australia.

Identification and Characterization of Leaf-Inhabiting Fungi from Castanea Plantations in China

Two Castanea plant species, C. henryi and C. mollissima, are cultivated in China to produce chestnut crops. Leaf spot diseases commonly occur in Castanea plantations, however, little is known about the fungal species associated with chestnut leaf spots. In this study, leaf samples of C. henryi and C. mollissima were collected from Beijing, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, and leaf-inhabiting fungi were identified based on morphology and phylogeny. As a result, twenty-six fungal species were confirmed, including one new family, one new genus, and five new species. The new taxa are Pyrisporaceae fam. nov., Pyrispora gen. nov., Aureobasidium castaneae sp. nov., Discosia castaneae sp. nov., Monochaetia castaneae sp. nov., Neopestalotiopsis sichuanensis sp. nov. and Pyrispora castaneae sp. nov.

First Report of Didymella americana causing corn stalk rot in China

Corn (Zea mays L.) is an important food crop and feedstuff worldwide. However, Corn stalk rot, caused by multiple pathogens, is globally an economic soil-borne disease worldwide. In September 2019, a survey was carried out to characterize pathogenic fungi in corn stalks in Nehe city (48.48°N 124.88°E), Heilongjiang Province, China. Stalk rot incidence was approximately 5% in three of the fields sampled (5 ha/per field). Symptoms included wilting of whole plants, drooping ears or rapid death of the upper leaves or whole plant from blister stage to physiological maturity (growth stages R2- R6) stage with drooping ears or rapid death of the upper leaves or whole plant. A brown to black dry rot or necrosis was observed throughout the central pith and internal tissues of the stalk and crown were observed, which resulted in hollow and soft stalks. Fifteen tissue samples (0.25 cm2) from 15 individual diseased plants were surface disinfested with 75% ethanol for 2 s, followed by 0.5% NaOCl for 5 min, rinsed three times in sterile distilled water and cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA) with 50 µg/mL streptomycin at 26°C in darkness. After 3 days, a total of eight fungal isolates with consistent characteristics were obtained from three sampling points and subcultured by transferring hyphal tips onto a new PDA plate. Single-conidium isolates were generated with methods reported previously (Leslie and Summerell 2006). Cultures on PDA were honey to olivaceous buff in the center with dense aerial mycelia and wide buff colored margins. The dimensions of conidia from 30-day-old PDA cultures were 4.5 to 15.3 µm × 1.5 to 4.3 µm (n = 50). Often, one to two oil bodies were present within the conidia. Based on these morphological features, the isolates were identified as Didymella americana (Aveskamp et al. 2010; Gorny et al. 2016). Genomic DNA was extracted from a representative isolate YJDA8 and the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene (TEF-1ɑ) were amplified and sequenced using the primers ITS1/ITS4 (Yin et al. 2012) and EF1-728F/EF1-986R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), respectively. The sequences of YJDA8 (accession nos. MT995077 for ITS and MW003707 for TEF-1a ) showed 99.6% (529/531 bp) and 97.6% (283/290 bp), identity to the sequences of D. americana isolate YSGYE6 (accession no. MK945663.1) and isolate K_INSO2_6_10 (MN554764.1) respectively. Pathogenicity tests were conducted by root injection of corn plants at the blister stage in the field. Conidia were obtained from 30-day-old PDA cultures grown at 20°C with a 12 h photoperiod. A conidial suspension (1.5 ml of 1×105 conidia/mL) was injected into the base of the maize stems using a 5 ml syringe. For each treatment, 5 plants were inoculated. Plants injected with 1.5 ml distilled sterile water served as the control. After inoculation, the plants were managed using conventional methods. All inoculated plants showed symptoms 25 days after inoculation that were similar to those observed in the field, while no symptoms were observed on the control plants. The fungus was re-isolated and confirmed to be D. americana. D. americana has previously been reported on corn roots and soybean pods in the USA (Aveskamp et al. 2009 as Peyronellaea americana), on lima bean in Delaware and Maryland (Everts et al. 2020). To our knowledge, this is the first report of D. americana causing stalk rot on corn in China. Therefore, its distribution needs to be investigated, monitored and managed with effective disease management strategies to protect corn.

First Report of Black Spot Caused by Neoscytalidium dimidiatum on Sisal in Guangxi, China

Sisal (Agave sisalana Perrine) is an important hard fiber crop that is widely planted in Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Yunnan, and Fujian provinces, China. In July 2019, a new leaf disease of sisal with a disease incident of about 36% was found in Guangxi (Fig.1a~d). The oval or circular black lesions were 2.3 cm to 15.9 cm in length and 1.6 cm to 5.5 cm in width on both sides of the diseased leaves. The central part of the lesions was slightly hollow. The lesions continuously enlarged and ultimately penetrated the leaves. Reddish brown and dark mucus was secreted from the lesions. The junction of lesions and healthy parts was reddish brown to yellow. The diseased leaf fiber and mesophyll tissues were reddish brown and necrotic. Fresh leaf yield was reduced about 30% by the disease, and fiber quality was significantly compromised every year in Guangxi. Six kinds of fungi distinguished by their morphology, size and color of the colonies were isolated from diseased leaf tissues of 60 sisal plants sampled from five different farms in Guangxi. Isolate JMHB1 was isolated at a rate of 95.67%. The isolate JMHB1 was initially white with dense and hairy aerial mycelium, gradually turning dark grey to olive green on PDA (Fig. 2). Conidia, arthrospores, and chlamydospores were observed on PDA in culture (Fig. 3). The conidia formed arthric chains, disarticulating, cylindrical-truncate, oblong-obtuse to doliiform, colorless and transparent, zero- to one-septate, and averaging 4.4 to 13.8 µm × 2.2 to 5.6 µm (n=100). Arthrospores were short columnar, pigmented and transparent, single or formed arthric chains, averaging 5.5 to 17.9 µm × 2.1 to 3.5 µm (n=100). Chlamydospores were dark brown, round or oval, averaging 4.5 to 9.6 µm × 4.5 to 8.6 µm (n=100). Pathogenicity testing was conducted by inoculating 3-year-old healthy sisal plants with PDA plugs (5 × 5 mm) on which the fungus had grown for 5 days. Nine healthy plants were wounded on the leaves with a sterile needle, and mycelial plugs were placed on the wounds, covered with sterile moist cotton, and wrapped with parafilm. Nine control plants were wounded and treated with PDA plugs as the negative control. The test was repeated three times. All treated plants were kept in a greenhouse at ~28 ℃ and 40% RH. After 5 days, only leaves inoculated with isolate JMHB1 showed lesions similar to symptoms observed in the field (Fig.1e~f). The fungus was re-isolated from all nine diseased plants, and no symptoms were observed on the leaves of control plants. Molecular identification of the fungus was made by PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA, EF1-α gene and β-tubulin gene using primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), EFl-728F/EF1-986R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), TUB2Fd/TUB4Rd (Aveskamp et al. 2009) respectively. The ITS (MT705646), EF1-α (MT733516) and β-tubulin (MT773603) sequences of JMHB1 were similar to the ITS (AY819727), EF1-α (EU144063) and β-tubulin (KF531800) sequences of the epitype of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum (CBS 499.66) with 100%, 99.65% and 99.02% identity, respectively. Based on pathogenicity testing, morphological characteristics, and molecular identification, the pathogen of sisal causing black spot was identified as N. dimidiatum (Penz.) Crous & Slippers (Crous et al. 2006). To our knowledge, this is the first report of black spot caused by N. dimidiatum on sisal in China. Sisal is the main economic crop in arid and semi-arid areas that is widely planted in several provinces of southern China. The serious occurrence of the disease caused by N. dimidiatum has greatly affected the development of sisal industry and local economic income in China. Identification of the pathogen of the disease is of great significance to guide disease control, increase farmers' income and promote the development of sisal industry. References: Aveskamp, M. M., et al. 2009. Mycologia, 101: 363. https://doi.org/10.3852/08-199. Carbone, I., and Kohn, L. M. 1999. Mycologia, 91:553. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.1999. 12061051. Crous, P. W., et al. 2006. Stud. Mycol. 55:235. https://doi.org/10.3114/sim.55.1.235. White, T. J., et al. 1990. PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, Page 315. doi.org/10.1002/mrd.1080280418. Supplemental photographs: Fig. 1 Symptoms of sisal black spot disease a, b, c, d showed symptoms in the field, e and f were symptoms after inoculating Neoscytalidium dimidiatum JMHB1. a, c, and e were the front of the lesions, b, d, and f were the back of the lesions. Fig. 2 Primary colony (a) and old colony (b) of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum JMHB1 Fig. 3 Arthrospores (a), conidia and chlamydospores (b) of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum JMHB1.

One stop shop IV: taxonomic update with molecular phylogeny for important phytopathogenic genera: 76–100 (2020)

This is a continuation of a series focused on providing a stable platform for the taxonomy of phytopathogenic fungi and fungus-like organisms. This paper focuses on one family: Erysiphaceae and 24 phytopathogenic genera: Armillaria, Barriopsis, Cercospora, Cladosporium, Clinoconidium, Colletotrichum, Cylindrocladiella, Dothidotthia,, Fomitopsis, Ganoderma, Golovinomyces, Heterobasidium, Meliola, Mucor, Neoerysiphe, Nothophoma, Phellinus, Phytophthora, Pseudoseptoria, Pythium, Rhizopus, Stemphylium, Thyrostroma and Wojnowiciella. Each genus is provided with a taxonomic background, distribution, hosts, disease symptoms, and updated backbone trees. Species confirmed with pathogenicity studies are denoted when data are available. Six of the genera are updated from previous entries as many new species have been described.

The Identification of a New Species, Diaporthe humulicola, a Pathogen Causing Diaporthe Leaf Spot on Common Hop

Common hop, Humulus lupulus, is a commercially important crop in the United States, with an increasing number of hop yards being established in the Northeast. In 2018, a new fungal disease was observed at two research hop yards in Connecticut. This new pathogen affected all hop cultivars being grown and caused leaf spots and browning of cones. The causal organism was isolated and Koch's postulates were performed to confirm pathogenicity. The disease symptoms were similar to the previously described Phoma wilt; however, morphological and phylogenetic analyses placed the causal organism as a new species of Diaporthe. We propose the name Diaporthe humulicola. The disease increased under hot, humid conditions (around 24°C and 90% relative humidity), which prevail during the summer in the northeastern United States as well as other parts of the country. An in vitro preliminary assessment of fungicide sensitivity revealed that pyraclostrobin and boscalid inhibited D. humulicola growth in culture and should be further assessed for field efficacy against this new disease of hop. The proper identification and monitoring of this pathogen will be important to inform hop growers of this new threat.

A Survey of Trunk Disease Pathogens within Citrus Trees in Iran

Citrus trees with cankers and dieback symptoms were observed in Bushehr (Bushehr province, Iran). Isolations were made from diseased cankers and branches. Recovered fungal isolates were identified using cultural and morphological characteristics, as well as comparisons of DNA sequence data of the nuclear ribosomal DNA-internal transcribed spacer region, translation elongation factor 1α, β-tubulin, and actin gene regions. Dothiorellaviticola, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Neoscytalidiumhyalinum, Phaeoacremonium (P.) parasiticum, P. italicum, P. iranianum, P. rubrigenum, P. minimum, P. croatiense, P. fraxinopensylvanicum, Phaeoacremonium sp., Cadophora luteo-olivacea, Biscogniauxia (B.) mediterranea, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, C. boninense, Peyronellaea (Pa.) pinodella, Stilbocrea (S.) walteri, and several isolates of Phoma, Pestalotiopsis, and Fusarium species were obtained from diseased trees. The pathogenicity tests were conducted by artificial inoculation of excised shoots of healthy acid lime trees (Citrus aurantifolia) under controlled conditions. Lasiodiplodia theobromae was the most virulent and caused the longest lesions within 40 days of inoculation. According to literature reviews, this is the first report of L. theobromae and N. hyalinum on citrus in Iran. Additionally, we report several Phaeoacremonium species, S. walteri, Pa. pinodella and C. luteo-olivacea on citrus trees for the first time in the world.

Problems, Limitations, and Challenges in Species Identification of Ascomycota Members on the Basis of ITS Regions

The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region is regarded as a formal fungal primary barcode with a high probability of the correct identification for a broad group of fungi. ITS sequences have been widely used to determine many fungal species and analysis of rDNA ITS is still one of the most popular tools used in mycology. However, this region is not equally variable in all groups of fungi; therefore, identification may be problematic and result in ambiguous data, especially in some species-rich genera of Ascomycota. For these reasons, identification based on rDNA ITS is usually complemented by morphological observations and analysis of additional genes. Reliable species identification of Ascomycota members is essential in diagnosing plant diseases, verifying air quality and the effectiveness of agronomic practices, or analyzing relationships between microorganisms. Therefore, the present study aimed to verify, using specific examples, the extent to which ITS sequence analysis is useful in species identification of pathogens and saprobionts from Ascomycota and demonstrate problems related to such identification in practice. We analyzed 105 ITS sequences of isolates originating from air and plant material. Basic local alignment search tool (BLASTn) significantly contributed to the reliable species identification of nearly 80% of isolates such as <em>Arthrinium arundinis</em>, <em>Beauveria bassiana</em>, <em>Boeremia exigua</em>, <em>Cladosporium cladosporioides</em>, <em>Epicoccum nigrum</em>, <em>Nigrospora oryzae</em>, <em>Sclerotinia sclerotiorum</em>, or <em>Sordaria fimicola </em>and members of the genera <em>Alternaria </em>and <em>Trichoderma</em>. However, for most isolates, additional morphological observations, information regarding the isolate origin and, where possible, a PCR with species-specific primers were helpful and complementary. Using our practical approach, we determined that ITS-based species identification and comparative analysis with GenBank sequences significantly helps identifying Ascomycota members. However, in many cases, this should be regarded as suggestive of a taxon because the data usually require the use of additional tools to verify the results of such analysis.

The phoma-like dilemma

Species of Didymellaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution and are geographically widespread, occurring in diverse ecosystems. The family includes several important plant pathogenic fungi associated with fruit, leaf, stem and root diseases on a wide variety of hosts, as well as endophytic, saprobic and clinically relevant species. The Didymellaceae was recently revised based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses of ex-type strains subjected to DNA sequencing of partial gene data of the LSU, ITS, rpb2 and tub2 loci. Several poly- and paraphyletic genera, including Ascochyta, Didymella and Phoma were redefined, along with the introduction of new genera. In the present study, a global collection of 1 124 Didymellaceae strains from 92 countries, 121 plant families and 55 other substrates, including air, coral, human tissues, house dust, fungi, insects, soil, and water were examined via multi-locus phylogenetic analyses and detailed morphological comparisons, representing the broadest sampling of Didymellaceae to date. Among these, 97 isolates representing seven new genera, 40 new species and 21 new combinations were newly introduced in Didymellaceae. In addition, six epitypes and six neotypes were designated to stabilise the taxonomy and use of older names. A robust, multi-locus reference phylogenetic tree of Didymellaceae was generated. In addition, rpb2 was revealed as the most effective locus for the identification of Didymellaceae at species level, and is proposed as a secondary DNA marker for the family.

Polyphasic studies of new species of Diaporthe from native forest in Chile, with descriptions of Diaporthe araucanorum sp. nov., Diaporthe foikelawen sp. nov. and Diaporthe patagonica sp. nov

During a survey of fungi in native forests in Chile, several unidentified isolates of Diaporthe were collected from different hosts. The isolates were characterized based on DNA comparisons, morphology, culture characteristics and host affiliation, in accordance with previous descriptions. Phylogenetic analysis of the ITS region, combined with partial tub2 and tef1 genes, showed that the isolates formed three distinct groups representing three new taxa. The three new species of Diaporthe, Diaporthe araucanorum on Araucaria araucana, Diaporthe foikelawen on Drimys winteri and Diaporthe patagonica on Aristotelia chilensis are described and illustrated in the present study.

Venturiales

Members of Venturiales (Dothideomycetes) are widely distributed, and comprise saprobes, as well as plant, human and animal pathogens. In spite of their economic importance, the general lack of cultures and DNA data has resulted in taxa being poorly resolved. In the present study five loci, ITS, LSU rDNA, tef1, tub2 and rpb2 are used for analysing 115 venturialean taxa representing 30 genera in three families in the current classification of Venturiales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, morphological and ecological characteristics, one new family, Cylindrosympodiaceae, and eight new genera are described, namely Bellamyces, Fagicola, Fraxinicola, Fuscohilum,Neofusicladium, Parafusicladium, Pinaceicola and Sterila. In addition, 12 species are described as new to science, and 41 new combinations are proposed. The taxonomic status of 153 species have been re-evaluated with 20 species excluded from Venturiales. Based on this revision of Venturiales, morphological characteristics such as conidial arrangement (solitary or in chains) or conidiogenesis (blastic-solitary, sympodial or annellidic), proved to be significant at generic level. Venturia as currently defined represents a generic complex. Furthermore, plant pathogens appear more terminal in phylogenetic analyses within Venturiaceae and Sympoventuriaceae, suggesting that the ancestral state of Venturiales is most likely saprobic.

Didymella corylicola sp. nov., a new fungus associated with hazelnut fruit development in Italy

A new fungal species constantly associated with hazelnut (Corylus avellana) fructification starting from its primordia is described. The fungus is associated with hazelnut fruit during all their developmental stages, being consistently more present in spring (March–June). A 4-year survey has been conducted, from young fruit formation to full kernel maturity including also the post-harvest phase, to collect fungi associated with damaged/discoloured kernels. A collection of 60 isolates of a new species has been obtained in this study, which is here described as Didymella corylicola sp. nov. Multi-locus phylogenies based on four genomic loci (nuITS and LSU rDNA, RPB2 and TUB2) in combination with morphological data confirmed the fungus to represent a new species of Didymella (Didymellaceae). The occurrence of D. corylicola sp. nov. might have an impact on the quality of hazelnut production by contributing to kernel defects.

Citizen science project reveals high diversity in Didymellaceae (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes)

Fungal communities play a crucial role in maintaining the health of managed and natural soil environments, which directly or indirectly affect the properties of plants and other soil inhabitants. As part of a Citizen Science Project initiated by the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute and the Utrecht University Museum, which aimed to describe novel fungal species from Dutch garden soil, the diversity of Didymellaceae, which is one of the largest families in the Dothideomycetes was investigated. A preliminary analysis of the ITS and LSU sequences from the obtained isolates allowed the identification of 148 strains belonging to the family. Based on a multi-locus phylogeny of a combined ITS, LSU, rpb2 and tub2 alignment, and morphological characteristics, 20 different species were identified in nine genera, namely Ascochyta, Calophoma, Didymella, Juxtiphoma, Nothophoma, Paraboeremia, Phomatodes, Stagonosporopsis, and Xenodidymella. Several isolates confirmed to be ubiquitous plant pathogens or endophytes were for the first time identified from soil, such as Ascochyta syringae, Calophoma clematidis-rectae, and Paraboeremia litseae. Furthermore, one new genus and 12 novel species were described from soil: Ascochyta benningiorum sp. nov., Didymella degraaffiae sp. nov., D. kooimaniorum sp. nov., Juxtiphoma kolkmaniorum sp. nov., Nothophoma brennandiae sp. nov., Paraboeremia rekkeri sp. nov., P. truiniorum sp. nov., Stagonosporopsis stuijvenbergii sp. nov., S. weymaniae sp. nov., Vandijckomycella joseae gen. nov. et sp. nov., V. snoekiae sp. nov., and Xenodidymella weymaniae sp. nov. From the results of this study, soil was revealed to be a rich substrate for members of Didymellaceae, several of which were previously known only from diseased or apparently healthy plant hosts.

Phylogenetic placement of Leptosphaeria polylepidis, a pathogen of Andean endemic Polylepis tarapacana, and its newly discovered mycoparasite Sajamaea mycophila gen. et sp. nov

Polylepis tarapacana forms one of the highest-altitude woodlands worldwide. Its populations are experiencing a decline due to unsustainable land-use practices, climate change, and fungal infection. In Sajama National Park in Bolivia, Polylepis tarapacana is affected by a disease caused by the pleosporalean fungus Leptosphaeria polylepidis, recently described in 2005. In this study, the integrative morphological and molecular analyses using sequences from multiple DNA loci showed that it belongs to the genus Paraleptosphaeria (Leptosphaeriaceae, Pleosporales). Accordingly, the appropriate new combination, Paraleptosphaeria polylepidis, is made. Pseudothecia of Pa. polylepidis were found to be overgrown by enigmatic conidiomata that were not reported in the original description of this fungus. Morphological and molecular analyses using sequences from two DNA loci revealed that they belong to an undescribed genus and species in the family Dictyosporiaceae (Pleosporales). The new generic and specific names, Sajamaea and S. mycophila, are introduced for this unusual fungus.

Diaporthe species infecting sunflower in Russia

Diaporthe is an important group of plant pathogenic fungi revealed all over the world. Early classification and species identification of this genus was mostly based on combination of morphological characteristics, cultural features, and affiliation with a host plant. According to recent investigations, valid distinction between Diaporthe species should have combined molecular techniques, morphological and cultural observations, and mating type data. In Russia a comprehensive and extensive analysis of biodiversity and geographic distribution of Diaporthe species infecting sunflower has not been performed. There were seven Diaporthe sp. strains isolated from this plant maintained in the Laboratory of Mycology and Phytopathology of All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection. In previous study a strain from Krasnodar region, based on combination of molecular and morphological features was identified as Diaporthe phaseolorum. The aim of this study was to identify all other strains using primarily molecular phylogenetic approach and traditional morphological analysis. The strains were identified as Diaporthe gulyae, Diaporthe eres, and Diaporthe helianthi. Two species - D. gulyae and D. eres are found for the first time on sunflower in Russia. Detection of D. helianthi is the first report of this fungus in Russia as confirmed by molecular analysis.

Fungal Systematics and Evolution: FUSE 5

Thirteen new species are formally described: Cortinarius brunneocarpus from Pakistan, C. lilacinoarmillatus from India, Curvularia khuzestanica on Atriplex lentiformis from Iran, Gloeocantharellus neoechinosporus from China, Laboulbenia bernaliana on species of Apenes, Apristus, and Philophuga (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from Nicaragua and Panama, L. oioveliicola on Oiovelia machadoi (Hemiptera, Veliidae) from Brazil, L. termiticola on Macrotermes subhyalinus (Blattodea, Termitidae) from the DR Congo, Pluteus cutefractus from Slovenia, Rhizoglomus variabile from Peru, Russula phloginea from China, Stagonosporopsis flacciduvarum on Vitis vinifera from Italy, Strobilomyces huangshanensis from China, Uromyces klotzschianus on Rumex dentatus subsp. klotzschianus from Pakistan. The following new records are reported: Alternaria calendulae on Calendula officinalis from India; A. tenuissima on apple and quince fruits from Iran; Candelariella oleaginescens from Turkey; Didymella americana and D. calidophila on Vitis vinifera from Italy; Lasiodiplodia theobromae causing tip blight of Dianella tasmanica 'variegata' from India; Marasmiellus subpruinosus from Madeira, Portugal, new for Macaronesia and Africa; Mycena albidolilacea, M. tenuispinosa, and M. xantholeuca from Russia; Neonectria neomacrospora on Madhuca longifolia from India; Nothophoma quercina on Vitis vinifera from Italy; Plagiosphaera immersa on Urtica dioica from Austria; Rinodina sicula from Turkey; Sphaerosporium lignatile from Wisconsin, USA; and Verrucaria murina from Turkey. Multi-locus analysis of ITS, LSU, rpb1, tef1 sequences revealed that P. immersa, commonly classified within Gnomoniaceae (Diaporthales) or as Sordariomycetes incertae sedis, belongs to Magnaporthaceae (Magnaporthales). Analysis of a six-locus Ascomycota-wide dataset including SSU and LSU sequences of S. lignatile revealed that this species, currently in Ascomycota incertae sedis, belongs to Pyronemataceae (Pezizomycetes, Pezizales).