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A revision of the family Cucurbitariaceae with additional new taxa from forest trees in Iran

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Abstract

The family Cucurbitariaceae is rich in species diversity and has a wide host range and geographic distribution. In this study, we identified 12 Cucurbitariaceae isolates which were obtained from disease symptoms in two forest trees in Khuzestan province, Iran. In addition, this family is reassessed using phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequences from five nuclear regions (ITS, LSU, TUB2, TEF1α, and RPB2). The phylogenetic analyses showed that the present isolates represent one new genus, Nothocucurbitaria, and three new species, Allocucurbitaria galinsogisoli, Nothocucurbitaria izehica, and Parafenestella quercicola, which are described and illustrated. Furthermore, the genus Allocucurbitaria is emended to accommodate Seltsamia ulmi that grouped with the type species of Allocucurbitaria. Parafenestella pittospori and A. prunicola are recombined into the genera Neocucurbitaria and Nothocucurbitaria, respectively. Comparative analysis of single-locus trees revealed that the TUB2 and TEF1α can distinguish most genera and species in Cucurbitariaceae, while the ITS and LSU phylogenies show low resolution at both generic and species level. The best single-locus marker, RPB2, was able to distinguish all generic and most species lineages in Cucurbitariaceae.

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Data availability

New sequences generated in the current study are deposited in NCBI GenBank and new species in MycoBank. Combined DNA dataset used for phylogenetic analyses is included in a supplementary file.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by grant (SCU.AP1402.294) from the Research Council of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Iran

    Payam Eisvand & Mehdi Mehrabi-Koushki

  2. Biotechnology and Bioscience Research Center, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

    Mehdi Mehrabi-Koushki

  3. Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 85167, 3508 AD, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Pedro W. Crous

  4. Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Pedro W. Crous

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  1. Payam Eisvand
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  2. Mehdi Mehrabi-Koushki
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  3. Pedro W. Crous
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Contributions

Payam Eisvand carried out sample preparation, fungal isolation and purification, morphometric and morphological determination, DNA isolation, PCR amplification, and contribution to describe the novel species. Mehdi Mehrabi-Koushki carried out the design and implementation of the research, DNA and phylogenetic analyses, and the writing of the manuscript. Pedro W. Crous contributed to the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mehdi Mehrabi-Koushki.

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Eisvand, P., Mehrabi-Koushki, M. & Crous, P.W. A revision of the family Cucurbitariaceae with additional new taxa from forest trees in Iran. Mycol Progress 23, 14 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-024-01953-5

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