Ophiostomatoid fungi associated with mangroves in South Africa, including Ophiostoma palustre sp. nov.

Abstract

Mangrove trees are continuously under stress due to environmental and/or anthropogenic pressures, which expose them to attack by pathogens, compromising their survival.Ophiostomatoid fungi cause sap stain and diseases of a wide spectrum of tree species globally. These fungi infect trees through natural, insect, animal and/or human made wounds.During routine surveys of mangrove trees in South Africa, wounds on branches and stems of Avicennia marina were regularly monitored for the presence of ophiostomatoid fungi at ten study sites in the country. The stems of four mangrove species, Avicennia marina, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Rhizophora mucronata and Barringtonia racemosa were also wounded and evaluated for the appearance of these fungi. Ophiostomatoid fungi were obtained from the mangrove associate B. racemosa, but not from any of the true mangroves. Analyses of DNA sequence data for the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), β-tubulin (BT), Calmodulin (CAL) and Translation Elongation Factor (TEF) gene regions revealed that the fungi isolated from the wounds on B. racemosa belong to three species in the Ophiostomataceae, including a new taxon described here as Ophiostoma palustre sp. nov. Results suggest that the mangrove associate B. racemosa is more prone to colonization by ophiostomatoid fungi than the true mangroves.

Ophiostomatales associated with wounds on hardwood trees in Poland

“…Ophiostoma and Sporothrix species were detected as the dominant wound‐associated members of the Ophiostomatales in this study, confirming the results of previous surveys (Kamgan Nkuekam et al , , , , ; Musvuugwa et al , ; Osorio et al , ). The results also highlighted that Leptographium species are common fungi infesting wounds on hardwood trees.…”

“…This result demonstrates that wounds on hardwood trees in Europe are suitable habitats for the Ophiostomatales. This finding was previously documented from some angiosperms in South Africa (Kamgan Nkuekam et al , , ; Musvuugwa et al , ; Osorio et al , ), Australia (Kamgan Nkuekam et al , ) and South America (Geldenhuis et al , ; De Errasti et al , ). In contrast, one European study showed a relatively low diversity of Ophiostoma spp.…”

“…This result demonstrates that wounds on hardwood trees in Europe are suitable habitats for the Ophiostomatales. This finding was previously documented from some angiosperms in South Africa (Kamgan Nkuekam et al, 2008, 2012aMusvuugwa et al, 2016;Osorio et al, 2016), Australia (Kamgan Nkuekam et al, 2011) and South America (Geldenhuis et al, 2004;De Figure 6 Principal components analysis (PCA) with frequencies of fungal and tree species. Ap, Acer platanoides; Aps, Acer pseudoplatanus; Ag, Alnus glutinosa; Bp, Betula pendula; Cb, Carpinus betulus; Ca, Cerasus avium; Fs, Fagus sylvatica; Fe, Fraxinus excelsior; Ot, other; Qr, Quercus robur; Qru, Quercus rubra; Sf, Salix fragilis; Tc, Tilia cordata; Tp, Tilia platyphyllos.…”

“…Previously, a study conducted in Norway discovered three Ophiostoma species from hardwood wounds, including Ophiostoma borealis which was described as a new species (Kamgan Nkuekam et al , ). Studies in other parts of the world have also provided evidence that wounds on hardwoods provide habitat for a large diversity of species that belong to the Ophiostomatales (Geldenhuis et al , ; Kamgan Nkuekam et al , , , ; Musvuugwa et al , ; De Errasti et al , ; Osorio et al , ).…”

Ophiostomatoid fungi associated with conifer-infesting beetles and their phoretic mites in Yunnan, China

“…This species, which is morphologically indistinguishable from O. quercus , is known from wounds on planted Eucalyptus and Acacia mearnsii trees in Africa ( Grobbelaar et al 2010 ), Australia ( Kamgan Nkuekam et al 2011 ) and China ( Grobbelaar et al 2011 ), as well as native mangroves in South Africa ( Osorio et al 2016 ). The only insects from which the fungus has previously been reported are nitidulid beetles ( Kamgan Nkuekam et al 2012 ).…”