Identification and pathogenicity of Aurifilum species (Cryphonectriaceae, Diaporthales) on Terminalia species in Southern China

Wen Wang; ShuaiFei Chen

doi:10.3897/mycokeys.98.104719

Identification and pathogenicity of Aurifilum species (Cryphonectriaceae, Diaporthales) on Terminalia species in Southern China

MycoKeys. 2023 May 29:98:37-58. doi: 10.3897/mycokeys.98.104719. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Wen Wang^{1

2}, ShuaiFei Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute of Fast-Growing Trees (RIFT), Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF), Zhanjiang 524022, China Chinese Academy of Forestry Zhanjiang China.
² Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China Zhejiang University Hangzhou China.

Abstract

The family of Cryphonectriaceae (Diaporthales) contains many important tree pathogens and the hosts are wide-ranging. Tree species of Terminalia were widely planted as ornamental trees alongside city roads and villages in southern China. Recently, stem canker and cracked bark were observed on 2-6 year old Terminalianeotaliala and T.mantaly in several nurseries in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, China. Typical conidiomata of Cryphonectriaceae fungi were observed on the surface of the diseased tissue. In this study, we used DNA sequence data (ITS, BT2/BT1, TEF-1α, rpb2) and morphological characteristics to identify the strains from Terminalia trees. Our results showed that isolates obtained in this study represent two species of Aurifilum, one previously described species, A.terminali, and an unknown species, which we described as A.cerciana sp. nov. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that both A.terminali and A.cerciana were able to infect T.neotaliala and two tested Eucalyptus clones, suggesting the potential for Aurifilum fungi to become new pathogens of Eucalyptus.

Keywords: Cryphonectriaceae; Myrtle; fungal pathogen; pathogenicity; phylogenetic analysis.

Wen Wang, ShuaiFei Chen.

Grants and funding

This study was initiated through the bilateral agreement between the Governments of South Africa and China and supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (China-South Africa Forestry Joint Research Centre Project; project No. 2018YFE0120900)