Mycobiology  2020;48(4):245-251

doi:10.1080/12298093.2020.1766649

Ceratocystis quercicola sp. nov. from Quercus variabilis in Korea

Sung-Eun CHO 1 ; Dong-Hyeon LEE ; Michael J. WINGFIELD ; Seonju MARINCOWITZ

Affiliations

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Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

During a survey of putative fungal pathogens infecting oak trees in the Gangwon Province of the Republic of Korea, a fungus resembling a Ceratocystis sp. was repeatedly isolated from natural wounds on Quercus variabilis. Morphological comparisons and DNA sequence comparisons based on partial b-tubulin and TEF-1a gene regions showed that the fungus resided in a distinct lineage. This novel Ceratocystis species is described here as C. quercicola sp. nov. This is the first novel species of Ceratocystis to be reported from Korea. A pathogenicity test showed that it can cause lesions on inoculated trees but that it had a very low level of aggressiveness. The discovery of this fungus suggests that additional taxa residing inCeratocystis are likely to be discovered in Korea in the future.