Three new Leptographium spp. (Ophiostomatales) infecting hardwood trees in Norway and Poland

Abstract

Species of Leptographium are characterized by mononematous or synnematous conidiophores and are commonly associated with different arthropods. Some of them also produce a sexual state characterised by globose ascomata with elongated necks. Compared to investigations on coniferous trees, the occurrence of Leptographium species on hardwood trees has been poorly studied in Europe. During a survey of ophiostomatoid fungi on various hardwood tree species in Norway and Poland, three unusual species, which fit in the broader morphological description of Leptographium spp., were found in association with Trypodendron domesticum, Trypodendron signatum and Dryocoetes alni, and from wounds on a variety of hardwoods. Phylogenetic analyses of sequence data for six different loci (ITS1–5.8 S–ITS2, ITS2-LSU, ACT, β-tubulin, CAL, and TEF-1α) showed that these Leptographium species are phylogenetically closely related to the species of the Grosmannia olivacea complex. The first species forms a well-supported lineage that includes Ophiostoma brevicolle, while the two other new taxa resided in a separate lineage; possibly affiliated with Grosmannia francke-grosmanniae. All the new species produce perithecia with necks terminating in ostiolar hyphae and orange-section shaped ascospores with cucullate, gelatinous sheaths. These species also produce dark olivaceous mononematous asexual states in culture. In addition, two of the newly described species have a second type of conidiophore with a short and non-pigmented stipe. The new Leptographium species can be easily distinguished from each other by their appearance and growth in culture. Based on novel morphological characters and distinct DNA sequences, these fungi were recognised as new taxa for which the names Leptographium tardum sp. nov., Leptographium vulnerum sp. nov., and Leptographium flavum sp. nov. are provided.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10482-018-1123-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Two new species of Ophiostomatales (Sordariomycetes) associated with the bark beetle Dryocoetes alni from Poland

“…The species were named Ceratocystiopsis synnemata and Leptographium alneum. The results confirm earlier findings that many species of the Ophiostomatales are associated with hardwoodinfesting bark beetles in Poland (Jankowiak et al 2017(Jankowiak et al , 2018(Jankowiak et al , 2019aAas et al 2018).…”

“…However, the results of the present study confirm previous Polish investigations that some of the Leptographium species have a close affinity to hardwoods in Europe. Recently, L. betulae, L. tardum, and L. trypodendri were collected from hardwood-infesting bark beetles in Poland (Jankowiak et al 2017(Jankowiak et al , 2018, while three other Leptographium species have been isolated and formally described from hardwood wounds (Jankowiak et al 2018(Jankowiak et al , 2019c.…”

“…Two new species were described. Ophiostomatoid fungi on hardwoods have been relatively well investigated in Poland (Jankowiak et al 2017(Jankowiak et al , 2018(Jankowiak et al , 2019aAas et al 2018), but in other parts of Europe they are still poorly studied. In addition, many ophiostomatoid species have not been formally described and our study has contributed to filling this knowledge gap.…”

“…DNA extractions were done as described by Jankowiak et al (2018). For sequencing and phylogenetic analyses, six loci were amplified: internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2), internal transcribed spacer 2 and large subunit (ITS2-28S), actin (ACT), beta-tubulin (TUB2), calmodulin (CAL) and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-α) using the primers listed in Table 2.…”

Ophiostomatales associated with wounds on hardwood trees in Poland

“…However, relatively little is known regarding wound‐associated Ophiostomatales in European hardwood ecosystems. A recent report from Poland indicated that hardwoods are niches for these fungi (Jankowiak et al , ). 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 , ).…”