Phylogeny and taxonomy of species in the Grosmannia serpens complex

Abstract

Grosmannia serpens was first described from pine in Italy in 1936 and it has been recorded subsequently from many countries in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The fungus is vectored primarily by root-infesting bark beetles and has been reported to contribute to pine-root diseases in Italy and South Africa. The objective of this study was to consider the identity of a global collection of isolates not previously available and using DNA sequence-based comparisons not previously applied to most of these isolates. Phylogenetic analyses of the ITS2-LSU, actin, beta-tubulin, calmodulin and translation elongation factor-1 alpha sequences revealed that these morphologically similar isolates represent a complex of five cryptic species. Grosmannia serpens sensu stricto thus is redefined and comprises only isolates from Italy including the ex-type isolate. The ex-type isolate of Verticicladiella alacris was shown to be distinct from G. serpens, and a new holomorphic species, G. alacris, is described. The teleomorph state of G. alacris was obtained through mating studies in the laboratory, confirming that this species is heterothallic. Most of the available isolates, including those from South Africa, USA, France, Portugal and some from Spain, represent G. alacris. The remaining three taxa, known only in their anamorph states, are described as the new species Leptographium gibbsii for isolates from the UK, L. yamaokae for isolates from Japan and L. castellanum for isolates from Spain and the Dominican Republic.

• bark beetle associates
• Grosmannia alacris
• insect/fungus symbiosis
• Leptographium castellanum
• L. gibbsii
• L. yamaokae
• multigene phylogeny
• Ophiostomatales
• pine-root disease

Acknowledgments

We thank members of Tree Protection and Cooperation Program (TPCP), the National Research Foundation (NRF), the Department of Science and Technology (DST)/NRF, Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) and the University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, for financial support. Dr Miroslav Kolařík is acknowledged for his assistance with Czech translations. We are also grateful for the help of colleagues in many different parts of the world (Table I) who kindly provided isolates that made this study possible.