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

Abstract

The Botryosphaeriales represents an ecologically diverse group of fungi, comprising endophytes, saprobes, and plant pathogens. In this study, taxonomic analyses were conducted based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of multi-gene sequence data from four loci (ITS, LSU, tef1-α, and tub2). Thirteen isolates obtained from Beijing and Yunnan Province were identified as seven species of Botryosphaeriales, including Aplosporella javeedii, Dothiorella alpina, Phaeobotryon aplosporum and Ph. rhois, and three previously undescribed species, namely Aplosporella yanqingensis, Dothiorella baihuashanensis, and Phaeobotryon platycladi. Additionally, the new records of Dothiorella alpina from the host species Populus szechuanica, Phaeobotryon aplosporum from Juglans mandshurica, and Phaeobotryon rhois from Populus alba var. pyramidalis are included.