Phylogeny and taxonomy of the scab and spot anthracnose fungus Elsinoe (Myriangiales, Dothideomycetes)
Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Species of Elsinoe are phytopathogens causing scab and spot anthracnose on many plants, including some economically important crops such as avocado,
citrus, grapevines, and ornamentals such as poinsettias, field crops and woody hosts. Disease symptoms are often easily recognisable, and referred to as signaturebearing
diseases, for the cork-like appearance of older infected tissues with scab-like appearance. In some Elsinoe-host associations the resulting symptoms are better
described as spot anthracnose. Additionally the infected plants may also show mild to severe distortions of infected organs. Isolation of Elsinoe in pure culture can be very challenging and examination of specimens collected in the field is often frustrating because of the lack of fertile structures. Current criteria for species recognition
and host specificity in Elsinoe are unclear due to overlapping morphological characteristics, and the lack of molecular and pathogenicity data. In the present study we
revised the taxonomy of Elsinoe based on DNA sequence and morphological data derived from 119 isolates, representing 67 host genera from 17 countries, including 64
ex-type cultures. Combined analyses of ITS, LSU, rpb2 and TEF1-α DNA sequence data were used to reconstruct the backbone phylogeny of the genus Elsinoe. Based
on the single nomenclature for fungi, 26 new combinations are proposed in Elsinoe for species that were originally described in Sphaceloma. A total of 13 species are
epitypified with notes on their taxonomy and phylogeny. A further eight new species are introduced, leading to a total of 75 Elsinoe species supported by molecular data
in the present study. For the most part species of Elsinoe appear to be host specific, although the majority of the species treated are known only from a few isolates, and
further collections and pathogenicity studies will be required to reconfirm this conclusion.
Description
CITATION: Fan, X. L., et al. 2017. Phylogeny and taxonomy of the scab and spot anthracnose fungus Elsinoe (Myriangiales, Dothideomycetes). Studies in Mycology, 87:1-41, doi:10.1016/j.simyco.2017.02.001.
The original publication is available at https://www.sciencedirect.com
The original publication is available at https://www.sciencedirect.com
Keywords
Molecular phylogeny, Phylogeny -- Molecular aspects, Anthracnoses, Scab diseases, Elsinoe, Myriangales, Dothideomycetes
Citation
Fan, X. L., et al. 2017. Phylogeny and taxonomy of the scab and spot anthracnose fungus Elsinoe (Myriangiales, Dothideomycetes). Studies in Mycology, 87:1-41, doi:10.1016/j.simyco.2017.02.001