Ophiostomatoid Fungi Associated with Cryphalus Piceae in Shandong province in eastern China

Abstract

Cryphalus piceae parasitizes various economically important conifers. Similar to other bark beetles, C. picea vectors an assortment of fungi and nematodes. Previously, several ophiostomatoid fungi were isolated from C. piceae in Poland and Japan. In the present study, we explored the diversity of ophiostomatoid fungi associated with C. piceae infesting pines in the Shandong Province of China. We isolated ophiostomatoid fungi from both galleries and beetles collected from our study sites. These fungal isolates were identified using both molecular and morphological data. Through this study, we recovered 176 isolates of ophiostomatoid fungi representing at least seven species. Ophiostoma ips was the most frequently isolated species. Analyses of molecular and morphological data indicated four of the ophiostomatoid fungal species recovered in this study were previously undescribed. Hereby, we described these species as Ceratocystiopsis yantaiensis sp. nov., C. weihaiensis sp. nov., Graphilbum translucens sp. nov. and Sporothrix villosa sp. nov. A majority of the ophiostomatoid fungi recovered in this study were novel species. This suggests that the forests in China harbour an assortment of undescribed ophiostomatoid fungi yet to be discovered.