Mycological Progress

, Volume 11, Issue 2, pp 515–533 | Cite as

A diverse assemblage of Ophiostoma species, including two new taxa on eucalypt trees in South Africa

  • Gilbert Kamgan Nkuekam
  • Zacharias Wilhelm de Beer
  • Michael John Wingfield
  • Jolanda Roux
Original Article
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Fungi in the Ophiostomatales include important pathogens of trees as well as agents of wood stain, reducing the economic value of timber. They rely on insects, such as bark beetles, for dispersal and are commonly associated with wounds on trees. Although Ophiostoma spp. have been reported from eucalypt wood chips in South Africa, very little is known about the diversity of the Ophiostomatales, or their insect associates, on plantation-grown Eucalyptus spp. The aim of this study was to consider the diversity and distribution of the Ophiostomatales infecting fresh wounds on Eucalyptus trees in the country. Additionally, knowledge regarding their association with nitidulid beetles, which have previously been shown to carry Ophiostoma spp., was sought. Surveys were conducted in five provinces where Eucalyptus spp. are commonly grown, and the fungi collected were identified using morphological comparisons and multigene sequence phylogenies. Of the 139 isolates collected, five Ophiostoma spp. were identified including O. quercus, O. tsotsi and O. tasmaniense. These were from cut stumps as well as from the nitidulid beetles Brachypeplus depressus and Carpophilus spp. In addition, two new taxa in the O. stenoceras–Sporothrix schenckii complex were identified from Eucalyptus trees infested by Phoracantha semipunctata. The two new taxa are described as O. candidum sp. nov., and O. fumeum sp. nov., respectively. The results of this study clearly show that the diversity and ecology of Ophiostoma spp. on Eucalyptus trees in South Africa is poorly understood and that further studies are required to determine the possible economic relevance of these fungi.

Keywords

Cerambycidae Forestry Nitidulidae Ophiostomatales Sporothrix 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

We thank the DST/NRF Center of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB), National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF), the THRIP Initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry (THRIP/DST), members of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) and the University of Pretoria for funding and the facilities to undertake this study. Dr. Andrew Cline from the USA is thanked for assisting us with the identification of insects collected in this study. We further thank Dr. Hugh Glen who provided the Latin diagnoses and made suggestions for the names of the new taxa. Samples from Zambia were collected through a NRF research grant to Prof. J. Roux and Dr. Muimba A. Kankolongo of the Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia.

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Copyright information

© German Mycological Society and Springer 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Gilbert Kamgan Nkuekam
    • 1
  • Zacharias Wilhelm de Beer
    • 1
  • Michael John Wingfield
    • 1
  • Jolanda Roux
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP), Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)University of PretoriaPretoriaSouth Africa

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