Species diversity of Pleosporalean taxa associated with Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze in Taiwan

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 12762
• Main Authors: Ariyawansa, Hiran A., Tsai, Ichen, Thambugala, Kasun M., Chuang, Wei-Yu, Lin, Shiou-Ruei, Hozzein, Wael N., Cheewangkoon, Ratchadawan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 29.07.2020; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326; 631/61; Ascomycota - classification; Asexuality; Bayes Theorem; Bayesian analysis; Biodiversity; Camellia sinensis; Camellia sinensis - microbiology; Datasets; DNA, Intergenic; Ecosystem; Endophytes; Genes; Genetic Markers; Genotype; Host plants; Humanities and Social Sciences; Leafspot; Likelihood Functions; Models, Genetic; Morphology; multidisciplinary; New genera; New species; Pathogens; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant pathology; Pleosporales; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Species diversity; Species Specificity; Strains (organisms); Taiwan; Zoology; Taiwan
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69718-0

Pleosporales species are important plant pathogens, saprobes, and endophytes on a wide range of economically important plant hosts. The classification of Pleosporales has undergone various modifications in recent years due to the addition of many families described from multiple habitats with a high level of morphological deviation. Numerous asexual genera have been described in Pleosporales that can be either hyphomyceteous or coelomycetous. Phoma- or coniothyrium-like species are common and have been revealed as polyphyletic in the order Pleosporales and linked with several sexual genera. A total of 31 pleosporalean strains were isolated in different regions of Taiwan between 2017 and 2018 from the leaves of Camellia sinensis plants with symptoms of leaf spot disease. These strains were evaluated morphologically and genotypically using multi-locus sequence analyses of the ITS, LSU, SSU, rpb 2, tef 1 and tub 2 genes. The results demonstrated the affiliation of these strains with the various families in Pleosporales and revealed the presence of one new genus ( Neoshiraia ) and eight new species ( Alloconiothyrium camelliae , Amorocoelophoma camelliae , Leucaenicola camelliae , L . taiwanensis , Neoshiraia camelliae , N . taiwanensis , Paraconiothyrium camelliae and Paraphaeosphaeria camelliae ). Furthermore, to the best of our understanding, Didymella segeticola , Ectophoma pomi and Roussoella mexican were reported for the first time from C. sinensis in Taiwan.