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Taxonomy and pathogenicity of two novel Chrysoporthe species from Eucalyptus grandis and Syzygium guineense in Zambia

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Abstract

Among fungi in the Cryphonectriaceae, Cryphonectria parasitica, the causal agent of chestnut blight, and Chrysoporthe spp., inducing stem cankers and death of plantation-grown Eucalyptus spp., constitute some of the most important tree pathogens. During a survey to determine diseases and related pathogens associated with native and non-native Myrtales in Zambia, two fungi resembling stem canker pathogens in the genus Chrysoporthe were recovered from Syzygium guineense and Eucalyptus grandis. We undertook this study to characterise the fungi, using DNA sequence comparisons and morphological features. Inoculation tests were also conducted in a greenhouse to assess their pathogenicity on Eucalyptus spp. Results showed distinct phenotypic differences between isolates collected from Zambia and existing species of Chrysoporthe, and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the Zambian isolates represent previously undescribed species of Chrysoporthe. These isolates, which have been named Chrysoporthe zambiensis sp. nov. and Chrysoporthe syzygiicola sp. nov., are only known from their anamorphic states. Both species were found to be pathogenic to Eucalyptus. The description of Chr. zambiensis and Chr. syzygiicola with teleomorph names, led to the new combination Chrysoporthe hodgesiana for the only anamorphic species in Chrysoporthe, Chrysoporthella hodgesiana, to ensure more stable and less confusing taxonomy for Chrysoporthe.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the assistance from Copperbelt Forestry Company (CFC), Zambia Forests and Forestry Industrial Corporation (ZAFFICO) and Zambian Forestry Department during collection of samples. Joha Grobbelaar and Pieter de Meyer are thanked for field assistance during the survey. Drs. Amy Rossman (BPI, USDA), David Hawksworth (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Natural History Museum, London) and Walter Gams are thanked for advice on the use of Chrysoporthella and Article 59. We thank Dr. Hugh Glen for latin translations. This study was in part funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa through a grant for a collaborative research programme between FABI at University of Pretoria (South Africa) and School of Natural Resources at Copperbelt University (Zambia), and a scholarship for post-graduate studies to the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    Donald Chungu, Marieka Gryzenhout, Michael J. Wingfield & Jolanda Roux

  2. School of Natural Resources, Copperbelt University, P.O. Box 21692, Kitwe, Zambia

    Ambayeba Muimba-Kankolongo

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  1. Donald Chungu
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  2. Marieka Gryzenhout
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  3. Ambayeba Muimba-Kankolongo
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  4. Michael J. Wingfield
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  5. Jolanda Roux
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Correspondence to Donald Chungu.

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Chungu, D., Gryzenhout, M., Muimba-Kankolongo, A. et al. Taxonomy and pathogenicity of two novel Chrysoporthe species from Eucalyptus grandis and Syzygium guineense in Zambia. Mycol Progress 9, 379–393 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-009-0646-9

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