Taxonomic re-examination of Japanese isolates of the genus <i>Lasiodiplodia</i>

Abstract

The genus Lasiodiplodia (Botryosphaeriaceae) was established by Ellis and Everhart in 1896 (Clendenin, 1896). This genus comprises several plant pathogenic fungi associated with fruit rot, dieback, and shoot blights in fruit trees, mainly in the subtropical and tropical regions (Phillips et al., 2013). Those elliptical or long ellipsoidal conidia with a single septum are characterized by lightbrown to dark-brown coloration and often show longitudinal striations after maturation (Phillips et al., 2013;de Silva, Phillips, Liu, Lumyong, & Hyde, 2019). Crous et al. (2006) evaluated the phylogeny of Botryosphaeriaceae using large-subunit rDNA sequences, and the results indicated the existence of cryptic genera and species within hitherto known taxa. Subsequently, many other cryptic species of the genus Lasiodiplodia have been discovered from the known host plants (