Fusarium sinensis sp. nov., a new species from wheat in China

Abstract

Two strains of Fusarium sinensis sp. nov. were isolated from the seeds and roots of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Shandong Province, China. They are superficially similar to F. dlaminii in producing fusiform-to-reniform and napiform microconidia and chlamydospores in almost the same size range as F. dlaminii. However the colonies and chlamydospores of F. sinensis resemble those of species in sections Roseum, Gibbosum and Discolor. Phylogenetic analysis of partial translation elongation factor 1α (EF-1α) sequence data indicates that F. sinensis is closely related to but distinct from the F. avenaceum/F. tricinctum/F. acuminatum species complex.

• morphology
• phylogeny
• taxonomy

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. We thank Dr Jin Hua of Dalian Nationalities University for providing help with PCR amplification; Dr Ma Fei of Liaoning Normal University for help with analyzing the molecular data; Drs Bai Feng-yan and Liu Xing-zhong and doctoral student Yang En-ce of the Institute of Microbiology of Chinese Academy of Sciences for discussing Fusarium species concepts; Drs John Leslie of Kansas State University and Kerry O’Donnell of USDA for correcting the manuscript.