Novel species of fungi described in the present study include the following from Australia: Vermiculariopsiella eucalypti, Mulderomyces natalis (incl. Mulderomyces gen. nov.), Fusicladium paraamoenum, Neotrimmatostroma paraexcentricum, and Pseudophloeospora eucalyptorum on leaves of Eucalyptus spp., Anungitea grevilleae (on leaves of Grevillea sp.), Pyrenochaeta acaciae (on leaves of Acacia sp.), and Brunneocarpos banksiae (incl. Brunneocarpos gen. nov.) on cones of Banksia attenuata. Novel foliicolous taxa from South Africa include Neosulcatispora strelitziae (on Strelitzia nicolai), Colletotrichum ledebouriae (on Ledebouria floridunda), Cylindrosympodioides brabejum (incl. Cylindrosympodioides gen. nov.) on Brabejum stellatifolium, Sclerostagonospora ericae (on Erica sp.), Setophoma cyperi (on Cyperus sphaerocephala), and Phaeosphaeria breonadiae (on Breonadia microcephala). Novelties described from Robben Island (South Africa) include Wojnowiciella cissampeli and Diaporthe cissampeli (both on Cissampelos capensis), Phaeotheca salicorniae (on Salicornia meyeriana), Paracylindrocarpon aloicola (incl. Paracylindrocarpon gen. nov.) on Aloe sp., and Libertasomyces myopori (incl. Libertasomyces gen. nov.) on Myoporum serratum. Several novelties are recorded from La Réunion (France), namely Phaeosphaeriopsis agapanthi (on Agapanthus sp.), Roussoella solani (on Solanum mauritianum), Vermiculariopsiella acaciae (on Acacia heterophylla), Dothiorella acacicola (on Acacia mearnsii), Chalara clidemiae (on Clidemia hirta), Cytospora tibouchinae (on Tibouchina semidecandra), Diaporthe ocoteae (on Ocotea obtusata), Castanediella eucalypticola, Phaeophleospora eucalypticola and Fusicladium eucalypticola (on Eucalyptus robusta), Lareunionomyces syzygii (incl. Lareunionomyces gen. nov.) and Parawiesneriomyces syzygii (incl. Parawiesneriomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Syzygium jambos. Novel taxa from the USA include Meristemomyces arctostaphylos (on Arctostaphylos patula), Ochroconis dracaenae (on Dracaena reflexa), Rasamsonia columbiensis (air of a hotel conference room), Paecilomyces tabacinus (on Nicotiana tabacum), Toxicocladosporium hominis (from human broncoalveolar lavage fluid), Nothophoma macrospora (from respiratory secretion of a patient with pneumonia), and Penidiellopsis radicularis (incl. Penidiellopsis gen. nov.) from a human nail. Novel taxa described from Malaysia include Prosopidicola albizziae (on Albizzia falcataria), Proxipyricularia asari (on Asarum sp.), Diaporthe passifloricola (on Passiflora foetida), Paramycoleptodiscus albizziae (incl. Paramycoleptodiscus gen. nov.) on Albizzia falcataria, and Malaysiasca phaii (incl. Malaysiasca gen. nov.) on Phaius reflexipetalus. Two species are newly described from human patients in the Czech Republic, namely Microascus longicollis (from toenails of patient with suspected onychomycosis), and Chrysosporium echinulatum (from sole skin of patient). Furthermore, Alternaria quercicola is described on leaves of Quercus brantii (Iran), Stemphylium beticola on leaves of Beta...

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Novel species of fungi described in the present study include the following from South Africa: Alanphillipsia aloeicola from Aloe sp., Arxiella dolichandrae from Dolichandra unguiscati, Ganoderma austroafricanum from Jacaranda mimosifolia, Phacidiella podocarpi and Phaeosphaeria podocarpi from Podocarpus latifolius, Phyllosticta mimusopisicola from Mimusops zeyheri and Sphaerulina pelargonii from Pelargonium sp. Furthermore, Barssia maroccana is described from Cedrus atlantica (Morocco), Codinaea pini from Pinus patula (Uganda), Crucellisporiopsis marquesiae from Marquesia acuminata (Zambia), Dinemasporium ipomoeae from Ipomoea pes-caprae (Vietnam), Diaporthe phragmitis from Phragmites australis (China), Marasmius vladimirii from leaf litter (India), Melanconium hedericola from Hedera helix (Spain), Pluteus albotomentosus and Pluteus extremiorientalis from a mixed forest (Russia), Rachicladosporium eucalypti from Eucalyptus globulus (Ethiopia), Sistotrema epiphyllum from dead leaves of Fagus sylvatica in a forest (The Netherlands), Stagonospora chrysopyla from Scirpus microcarpus (USA) and Trichomerium dioscoreae from Dioscorea sp. (Japan). Novel species from Australia include: Corynespora endiandrae from Endiandra introrsa, Gonatophragmium triuniae from Triunia youngiana, Penicillium coccotrypicola from Archontophoenix cunninghamiana and Phytophthora moyootj from soil. Novelties from Iran include Neocamarosporium chichastianum from soil and Seimatosporium pistaciae from Pistacia vera. Xenosonderhenia eucalypti and Zasmidium eucalyptigenum are newly described from Eucalyptus urophylla in Indonesia. Diaporthe acaciarum and Roussoella acacia are newly described from Acacia tortilis in Tanzania. New species from Italy include Comoclathris spartii from Spartium junceum and Phoma tamaricicola from Tamarix gallica. Novel genera include (Ascomycetes): Acremoniopsis from forest soil and Collarina from water sediments (Spain), Phellinocrescentia from a Phellinus sp. (French Guiana), Neobambusicola from Strelitzia nicolai (South Africa), Neocladophialophora from Quercus robur (Germany), Neophysalospora from Corymbia henryi (Mozambique) and Xenophaeosphaeria from Grewia sp. (Tanzania). Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa.

The chestnut-leaved oak (Quercus castaneifolia) is native to the Alborz Mountains, including the Golestan Forests, in northern Iran. Trees grow up to 35 (-50) m tall with a trunk up to 2.5 (-3.5) m in diameter. During 2010, we received reports of a decline of oak trees in the Ghorogh Region of the Golestan Forests. The decline began with discolorations and browning of the leaves, resulting in drying of the foliage. Viscous liquid exudates were observed on the trunks, resulting in a brown-black discoloration of phloem and bark. In January 2011, all infected trees were dead and exhibited symptoms of charcoal disease with carbonaceous, perithecial stromata erupting from the bark on stems. Perithecia were obovoid, containing short-stipitate, amyloid asci with dark brown, ellipsoid ascospores, 14 to 19 × 7 to 9 μm, with straight germ slits along the spore length. On the basis of these morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as Biscogniauxia mediterranea. Blast searches of the NCBI GenBank nucleotide database were done using ITS sequences derived from three cultures (CBS 129072 to 129074). GenBank Accession Nos. JF295127 to JF295129 of the isolated fungus differed by one nucleotide from B. mediterranea (GenBank Accession No. AF280624) (1,3). Pathogenicity tests were conducted using an isolate of B. mediterranea under greenhouse conditions. Six-month-old Q. castaneifolia seedlings were inoculated by means of stem wounds with a mycelial plug of colonized potato dextrose agar. After 6 months, typical decline disease symptoms associated with charcoal disease were observed and the same fungus was reisolated. Perithecia were observed on the surface of black carbonaceous stromata, which usually developed on stems of inoculated plants. The decline is known as charcoal disease because fungal growth induces a typical charcoal-black surface on diseased branches and trunks. The pathogen can easily spread through large cavity vessels, colonize bark and woody tissues, and is able to kill the host in a single, growing season. B. mediterranea causes necrosis on stems and branches of Quercus spp., including Q. suber, Q. cerris, Q. frainetto, Q. pubescens (4), Q. alba, Q. ilex, Q. imbricaria, Q. lusitanica, Q. palustris, and Q. pyrenaica (2) in Europe, North America, Africa, New Zealand, and Asia (China and India). On the basis of our current knowledge, Q. castaneifolia represents a new host of B. mediterranea, and this is the first report of this fungal pathogen from Iran causing charcoal disease on Q. castaneifolia trees in the Golestan Forest. Given its new introduction into Iran, it is highly likely that it will spread to species of Fagus, Zelkova, and other woody hosts in the area. References: (1) J. Collado et al. Mycologia 93:875, 2001. (2) D. L. Hawksworth. No. 359. Description of Pathogenic Fungi and Bacteria. CMI, Kew, UK, 1972. (3) A. Mazzaglia et al. Mycol. Res. 105:952, 2001. (4) A. Vannini and G. Scarascia Mugnozza. Eur. J. For. Pathol. 21:193, 1991.

in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).A series of 5-arylidene derivatives 3a-k, as potential antifungal agents, were synthesized in good to high yields by the reaction of 2-benzimidazolylimino-4-thiazolidinone and corresponding aromatic aldehyde in a buffered medium. These compounds were evaluated for their antifungal activities against four agricultural fungi, Botrytis elliptica, Fusarium graminearum, Phytophthora nicotianae, and Rhizoctonia solani. Thereby, it was found that the compound 1 exhibits an antifungal effect against P. nicotianae and B. elliptica, comparable with carbendazim as a standard antifungal. Our results may provide some guidance for development of some novel benzimidazole-based antifungal lead structures.