Endophytic Diaporthe species from Brazil

Abstract

Diaporthe species can inhabit various hosts with different lifestyles and live as endophytes, pathogens, and saprobes. Our study analysed 180 endophytic Diaporthe isolates from Miconia sp. in the Atlantic Forest, Brosimum gaudichaudii in the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado), and Anacardium occidentale in the Caatinga forest and Cerrado in Brazil. Based on multi-locus phylogenetic analyses [β-tubulin ( tub2 ), internal transcribed spacer regions and intervening 5.8S rRNA (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-alpha ( tef1 ), calmodulin ( cmdA ), and histone ( his3 )] and morphological features, we are introducing seven new species ( D. azevedoi , D. catimbauensis , D. coracoralinae , D. luizorum , D. pedratalhadensis , D. samambaiaensis , and D. vargemgrandensis ) and reporting seven known species ( D. fructicola , D. inconspicua , D. infertilis , D. paranensis , D. raonikayaporum , D. schini , and D. ueckeri ). We also included a morphological description of D. infertilis and synonymised D. lutescens , D. pseudoinconspicua , and D. samaneae under D. inconspicua ; D. neoraonikayoporum under D. raonikayaporum ; and D. passifloricola , D. rosae , and D. vochysiae under D. ueckeri , based on limited nucleotide differences among DNA sequence data and overlapping morphological features. Our results highlight the importance of including endophytic isolates in the phylogeny of Diaporthe , and show how these data expand the geographic distribution and host relationships of known species.