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Two Novel Species of Mesophoma gen. nov. from China

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Abstract

During an investigation of the fungal pathogens associated with the invasive weed Ageratina adenophora from China, some interesting isolates were obtained from healthy leaf, leaf spot, and roots of this weed. Among them, a novel genus Mesophoma, containing two novel species M. speciosa and M. ageratinae, was found. Phylogenetic analysis of the combined, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), large nuclear subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU), the RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2), and the partial β-tubulin (tub2) sequences, showed that M. speciosa and M. ageratinae formed a distinct clade far from all genera previously described in the family Didymellaceae. Combined distinctive morphological characters, including smaller and aseptate conidia when comparing with nearby genera Stagonosporopsis, Boeremia, and Heterphoma, allowed us to describe them as novel species belonging to a novel genus Mesophoma. The full descriptions, illustrations, and a phylogenetic tree showing the position of both M. speciosa and M. ageratinae are provided in this paper. Moreover, the potential for two strains belonging to these two species to be developed into a biocontrol for the spread of the invasive weed Ag. adenophora is also discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express gratitude to Dr Rafael F. Castañeda Ruiz for serving as pre-submission reviewers.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 31770585 and 31970013).

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Author notes

  1. Ai-Ling Yang and Lin Chen contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650091, People’s Republic of China

    Ai-Ling Yang, Lin Chen, Lu Cheng, Jin-Peng Li, Zhao-Ying Zeng & Han-Bo Zhang

  2. School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650091, People’s Republic of China

    Ai-Ling Yang, Zhao-Ying Zeng & Han-Bo Zhang

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  1. Ai-Ling Yang
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  5. Zhao-Ying Zeng
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Contributions

ZHB designed the research and project outline. YAL, CL, ZZY performed isolation and phylogenetic analysis. CLu and LJP performed the disease experiment. YAL performed morphological analyses of the strain and prepared the figures and tables. YAL collaborated with CL for supervision of the study and preparation of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Han-Bo Zhang.

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Yang, AL., Chen, L., Cheng, L. et al. Two Novel Species of Mesophoma gen. nov. from China. Curr Microbiol 80, 129 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-023-03238-8

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