Endophytic Colletotrichum Species from Aquatic Plants in Southwest China

Abstract

Colletotrichum species are plant pathogens, saprobes, and endophytes in many economically important hosts. Many studies have investigated the diversity and pathogenicity of Colletotrichum species in common ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables. However, Colletotrichum species occurring in aquatic plants are not well known. During the investigation of the diversity of endophytic fungi in aquatic plants in southwest China, 66 Colletotrichum isolates were obtained from aquatic plants there, and 26 of them were selected for sequencing and analyses of actin (ACT), chitin synthase (CHS-1), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and β-tubulin (TUB2) genomic regions. Based on morphological characterization and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses, 13 Colletotrichum species were recognized, namely, C. baiyuense sp. nov., C. casaense sp. nov., C. demersi sp. nov., C. dianense sp. nov., C. fructicola, C. garzense sp. nov., C. jiangxiense, C. karstii, C. philoxeroidis sp. nov., C. spicati sp. nov., C. tengchongense sp. nov., C. vulgaris sp. nov., C. wuxuhaiense sp. nov. Two species complexes, the C. boninense species complex and C. gloeosporioides species complex, were found to be associated with aquatic plants. Pathogenicity tests revealed a broad diversity in pathogenicity and aggressiveness among the eight new Colletotrichum species.

Fungal diversity notes 1512–1610: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on genera and species of fungal taxa

“…Liu et al (2022) accepted 280 species in 16 species complexes and 15 singleton species and established a genome tree comprising 94 species. Further 13 species were added by Alizadeh et al (2022), Hassan et al (2022) and Zheng et al (2022).…”

Fourteen New Species of Foliar Colletotrichum Associated with the Invasive Plant Ageratinaadenophora and Surrounding Crops

“…Secondly, because the Colletotrichum genus is one of the most important pathogenic fungi [33], our finding highlighted the high disease risk driven by invasive plants in the invaded ecosystem. Indeed, some of these Colletotrichum species were previously verified to be pathogenic on local native plants [32], as well as on tested fruits, including grape and mango, as the recent research by Zheng et al [82] also revealed. This result suggested that invasive species can facilitate pathogen emergence and amplification, raising concerns about the movement of pathogens among agricultural, horticultural and wild grasses.…”

Colletotrichum chinense sp. nov. from Yucca gloriosa and C. quercicola sp. nov. from Quercus variabilis in China

“…Subsequently, many Colletotrichum species had been successfully identified and epitypified, resulting in a much better understanding of phylogenetic relationships of this genus ( Weir et al 2012 ; Damm et al 2014 ). Currently, more than 1000 Colletotrichum epithets are listed in Index Fungorum ( http://www.indexfungorum.org ), and at least 303 species, grouped in 16 species complexes and some singleton species ( Mu et al 2021 ; Alizadeh et al 2022 ; Liu et al 2022 ; Zheng et al 2022 ).…”