Multigene phylogenies of Ophiostomataceae associated with Monterey pine bark beetles in Spain reveal three new fungal species

Abstract

Ophiostoma species, some of which cause sapstain in timber and/or are mild pathogens, are common fungal associates of bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytinae). Three new Ophiostomataceae from Spain are recognized in the present study based on comparisons of sequence data for three gene regions as well as morphological characteristics. The new taxa are described as Ophiostoma nebulare sp. nov., Ophiostoma euskadiense sp. nov. and Graphilbum crescericum sp. nov.

• β-tubulin gene
• calmodulin gene
• morphology
• rRNA internal transcribed spacers
• sequencing

Acknowledgments

We thank the National Research Foundation, members of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP), the Department of Education, Universities and Research of Basque Government, and the NRF/DST Center of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) for financial support. We also acknowledge the assistance of Dr Arturo Goldarazena in collecting specimens and Renate Zipfel for help with DNA sequencing.