Snow mold fungus <i>Racodium therryanum</i> is phylogenetically <i>Herpotrichia juniperi</i>

Abstract

Racodium therryanum is a snow mold causing snow blight and seed rot in conifers. The sexual stage of R. therryanum has not been found, however, it has been speculated that Herpotrichia juniperi , which causes brown felt blight, is the sexual stage of R. therryanum . In this study, we conducted phylogenetic analysis using 28S large subunit (LSU) rDNA, 18S small subunit (SSU) rDNA, translation elongation factor 1-alpha ( tef1 ), and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit ( rpb2 ). Four isolates were identified as R. therryanum based on their morphological characteristics; together with two strains of H. juniperi , they composed a clade supported by high bootstrap and Bayesian posterior probability values. Therefore, we conclude that the snow mold previously described as R. therryanum is phylogenetically H. juniperi .