Eight new Arthrinium species from China

Abstract

The genusArthriniumincludes important plant pathogens, endophytes and saprobes with a wide host range and geographic distribution. In this paper, 74Arthriniumstrains isolated from various substrates such as bamboo leaves, tea plants, soil and air from karst caves in China were examined using a multi-locus phylogeny based on a combined dataset of ITS rDNA, TEF1 and TUB2, in conjunction with morphological characters, host association and ecological distribution. Eight new species were described based on their distinct phylogenetic relationships and morphological characters. Our results indicated a high species diversity ofArthriniumwith wide host ranges, amongst which, Poaceae and Cyperaceae were the major host plant families ofArthriniumspecies.