Canavirgella banfieldii gen.and and sp.nov.: a needlecast fungus on pine

Abstract

Camavi~elk baafieME gen. md sp.nov. (Ascomycetes: Wytismaaes) is a previously undeseribed needlecast fungus attackicing Phw strobm throughout the eastern U.S.A. from North Carolina to Maine. Pinus peuce was severely infected in m d e m Vernon%. Hysterofiecia average 3.2 cm long and are epipbylHous, subhypodemal, and dematiaesns, with clavate asei bearing short rod-sha* ascospores. Qcnidia are epiphyllous , subhypdemd, camalorous, blisterlike with one or more pores, md produce minute bacd.lar conidia. These c h r n c t e~s~c s separate this fungus from existing genera as presendy defined. R k m 4 : Le C a n a v i~e l k bmfieMii$en. et sp.nov. (Ascsmycktes : m y~s m d e s ) est rn chmpignsn du rouge des aiguilks, won-dtc~t jmqu'ici, qaai s9a$t%que au Pinu sfmbus dans I'ensemble de 19est des f h t s -~n i s , du nard de la Caroline aaa Maine. I 2 Pkus peace est se$rement infect& dam le word du Vermont. k s hysdro&&es mesurent environ 3.2 crn de long et sent kpiphyfles, subhypdedques et demtiCs, avec des asques clavifomes portant de c m~a ascospres en fame de batornet. Les pycnides sont Cpiphylles, s u b h y e e~q u e s , concoEores, en fome de pustule avec un ou p i i u~&~~s pores; eIles grduisent de petites csnidies m fome de bciles. Ces caract6ristiques distinpent e champignoa des genres existants, tels que prb=ntement dtfinis. Mots clds : Carnvirgella banfieuii, Pinm s~robus, Pinus peuce, rouge des d p a e s . [Traaduit par $a raction] An emly-season blighting of cument-year needles of Pisus strobw L. was first repod& by Dma (19688) as occurring koughout the nodeastem U. S .A. Since hen, several individuals studied the pmblem without elucidating a cause (see review by Dreisbach 1989). Bmfield (1963) attributed the problem to a nmdecast hngus, desc,bing the sequenw of development of the signs md sympmms, including the gross ces sf the sexual and as Ihby (=Me was o v a l m M or ignored far nmly th-ee decades9 md more recendy the blighthg was widely a&butd to ozone injury (e.g., Bennett 1986).

Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Associated with White Pine Needle Damage (WPND) in Northeastern North America

“…Prior to this outbreak, damage caused by Dook's needle blight was reported on less than 0.1% of eastern white pines [7]. Similarly, although brown spot needle blight is common on two-and three-needle pines, it typically is not associated with white pine.…”

“…Both B. linearis and L. dooksii produce elongated (4-22 mm), ascomata (Figure 2A,B) [7,16]. The ascomata of B. linearis are shiny and black (Figure 2A), whereas L. dooksi ascomata are grey and embedded in the needle ( Figure 2B) [16].…”

“…These two fungi can be distinguished by the shape of their hyaline ascospores. Bifusella linearis ascospores are constricted in the middle [17], whereas L. dooksi ascospores are oval [6,7]. Lecanosticta acicola produces acervular, erumpent, brown conidiomata ( Figure 2C) and solitary, brown conidia that are straight to curved, and subcylindrical [18][19][20].…”

“…Diagnosing the damage agent is difficult because both fungi cause similar symptoms, although they can be differentiated by their sexual and asexual fruiting bodies produced at different times in the growing season. The sexual fruiting structures of L. dooksii are produced through the winter and are visible earlier in the spring, whereas L. acicola pycnidia fruits in June [7]. Consequently, L. dooksii hysterothecia could be present in infected needles by April and fruiting bodies of both L. dooksii and L. acicola could be present by June.…”

New hosts and differential susceptibility of five-needle pine species to Dooks needle blight (Lophophacidium dooksii)

“…In 1984, Lophophacidium dooksii Corlett & Shoemaker was newly described from symptomatic P. strobus collected in Ontario and New Brunswick (Corlett & Shoemaker, 1984). The later description of Merrill et al (1996) of Canavirgella banfieldii W. Merr. N.G.…”