Multi-gene phylogeny and morphology of two new Phyllosticta (Phyllostictaceae, Botryosphaeriales) species from China

Abstract

Phyllosticta (Phyllostictaceae, Botryosphaeriales) includes plant pathogens, endophytes and saprobes, occurring on various hosts worldwide. During the present study, isolates associated with leaf spots were obtained from the hosts Quercus aliena and Viburnum odoratissimum, and identified based on morphological features and phylogenetic inference from the analyses of five loci (ITS, LSU, tef1, act and gapdh). Results supported the introduction of two novel species, namely Phyllosticta anhuiensis and P. guangdongensis. Phylogenetically, P. anhuiensis and P. guangdongensis formed two well-separated lineages in the P. concentrica and P. capitalensis species complexes, distinguishing from all presently accepted species in this genus by DNA sequence data. Morphologically, P. anhuiensis and P. guangdongensis have the typical structure of the genus Phyllosticta, and differed from their closely related species by the length of the conidial appendage.

Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Three New Species of Phyllosticta (Botryosphaeriales, Phyllostictaceae) in China

“…The newly obtained sequencing data were processed using MEGA v.7.0 to ensure sequence consistency. Reference sequences were downloaded based on the GenBank numbers provided in the latest articles [8,13,[22][23][24]. For phylogenetic inference, the sequence utilized by Zhang et al [7] served as the foundation, considering the ITS-LSU-TEF1α-ACT-GAPDH sequence.…”

“…Phyllosticta is recognized as an endophytic fungi with the capability to induce leaf spot in plants, exhibiting a widespread distribution across the globe. Wang et al, Zhang et al, and van der Aa [7][8][9] have described 46 types of Phyllosticta, encompassing 12 sexual forms and 17 spermatial morphs. Van der Aa and Vanev have further modified all Phyllosticta species, accepting a total of 190 epithets [10].…”

“…Phyllosticta represents a highly diverse group, with 3216 scientific names recorded under the genus according to the Index Fungorum search (www.indexfungorum.org, accessed on 25 October 2023) [8]. Identifying Phyllosticta poses challenges based solely on morphological characteristics and host combinations, with the host range being broad and unclear.…”

“…Some Phyllosticta species exhibit a wide range of hosts, while others do not. To overcome the limitations associated with morphological characteristics and host combinations, the integration of homologous gene DNA sequencing and comparative methods has significantly advanced our comprehension of the phylogeny of Phyllosticta species [5,8,[11][12][13][14][15]. Based on ITS, LSU, TEF1 alpha, ACT, and GPDH, five loci of phylogenetic analysis, Phyllosticta genetic system development can be divided into six species of composite groups: viz P. capitalensis species complex, P. concentrica species complex, P. cruenta species complex, P. owaniana species complex, P. rhodorae species complex, and P. vaccinii species complex [5,8].…”

Morphology and molecular analyses reveal three new species of Botryosphaeriales isolated from diseased plant branches in China

“…With the modern taxonomic approaches applying, more than 30 novel species have been identified in the last five years (Zhang et al 2021;Rathnayaka et al 2022;Sun et al 2022;Wang et al 2023). Considering the important economic status of Botryosphaeriales, a survey to explore more hidden species of Botryosphaeriales was considered imperative.…”