1. Diseases of Cymbopogon citratus (Poaceae) in China: Curvularia nanningensis sp. nov
- Author
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Nalin N. Wijayawardene, Wei Cheng, Qian Zhang, Zai-Fu Yang, Yong Wang, Zhuo Chen, and Kevin D. Hyde
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Cymbopogon phylogeny plant disease Pleosporaceae taxonomy ,Asia ,Liliopsida ,Poaceae ,01 natural sciences ,Anamorphic Fungi ,Conidium ,03 medical and health sciences ,Intergenic region ,Ascomycota ,Phylogenetics ,Cymbopogon citratus ,lcsh:Botany ,Molecular Systematics ,Botany ,Curvularia ,Cymbopogon ,Plantae ,Pleosporales ,Phylogeny ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Taxonomy ,plant disease ,biology ,Phylogenetic tree ,Poales ,Fungi ,030108 mycology & parasitology ,biology.organism_classification ,Plant disease ,lcsh:QK1-989 ,Pleosporaceae ,Tracheophyta ,Dothideomycetes ,Research Article ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
Five Curvularia strains isolated from diseased leaves of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) in Guangxi Province, China, were examined. NCBI-Blast searches of ITS sequences suggested a high degree of similarity (99–100%) to Curvularia akaii, C. akaiiensis, C. bothriochloae, C. heteropogonis and C. sichuanensis. To accurately identify these strains, we further analysed their morphology and phylogenetic relationships based on combinations of ITS, GAPDH, and tef1 gene sequences. Morphological observations indicated that the key character differing from similar species was conidial size, whereas phylogenetic analyses indicated that the five strains represent one species that is also distinct from C. akaii, C. akaiiensis and C. bothriochloae by conidial size and conidiophore length. Thus, the strains examined are found to represent a new species described herein as Curvularia nanningensis. The pathogenicity test on the host and detached leaves confirmed the new species to be pathogenic on Cymbopogon citratus leaves. Standardised requirements for reliable identification of Curvularia pathogens are also proposed.
- Published
- 2020