Research Article |
Corresponding author: Guo Y. Zhou ( zgyingqq@163.com ) Academic editor: Rungtiwa Phookamsak
© 2021 Qin Yang, Jie Tang, Guo Y. Zhou.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Yang Q, Tang J, Zhou GY (2021) Characterization of Diaporthe species on Camellia oleifera in Hunan Province, with descriptions of two new species. MycoKeys 84: 15-33. https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.84.71701
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Tea-oil tree (Camellia oleifera Abel.) is an important edible oil woody plant with a planting area over 3,800,000 hectares in southern China. Species of Diaporthe inhabit a wide range of plant hosts as plant pathogens, endophytes and saprobes. At present, relatively little is known about the taxonomy and genetic diversity of Diaporthe on C. oleifera. Here, we conducted an extensive field survey in Hunan Province in China to identify and characterise Diaporthe species associated with tea-oil leaf spots. As a result, eleven isolates of Diaporthe were obtained from symptomatic C. oleifera leaves. These isolates were studied by applying a polyphasic approach including morphological and phylogenetic analyses of partial ITS, cal, his3, tef1 and tub2 gene regions. Two new Diaporthe species (D. camelliae-oleiferae and D. hunanensis) were proposed and described herein, and C. oleifera was revealed to be new host records of D. hubeiensis and D. sojae. This study indicated there is a potential of more undiscovered Diaporthe species from C. oleifera in China.
Camellia oleifera, DNA phylogeny, systematics, taxonomy, two new taxa
Tea-oil tree, Camellia oleifera Abel., is a unique woody edible oil species in China, mainly distributed in the Qinling-Huaihe River area. It has a long history of cultivation and utilization for more than 2300 years since ancient China (
Diseases are a major constraint to C. oleifera production. Anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum species is one of the foremost diseases in southern China, which can infect leaves and fruits of C. oleifera, causing up to 40% fruit drop and up to 40% camellia seeds loss (
Species identification criteria in Diaporthe has mainly relied on host association, morphology and culture characteristics (
The classification of Diaporthe has been ongoing; however, little is known about species able to infect C. oleifera. Thus, the objective of the present study was to identify the prevalence of Diaporthe spp. associated with tea-oil tree leaf spot in the major plantations in Hunan Province based on morphological and phylogenetic features.
Leaves of C. oleifera with typical symptoms of leaf spots were collected from the main tea-oil camellia production fields in Hunan Province. Small sections (3 × 3 mm) were cut from the margins of infected tissues, and surface-sterilised in 75% ethanol for 30 s, then sterilised in 5% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, followed by three rinses with sterilised water and finally dried on sterilised filter paper. The sections were then plated on to PDA plates and incubated at 25 °C. Fungal growth was examined daily for up to 7 d. Isolates were then transferred aseptically to fresh PDA and purified by single-spore culturing. All fungal isolates were placed on PDA slants and stored at 4 °C. Specimens and axenic cultures are maintained in the Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CSUFT).
Agar plugs (6 mm diam.) were taken from the edge of actively growing cultures on PDA and transferred on to the centre of 9 cm diam. Petri dishes containing 2% tap water agar supplemented with sterile pine needles (PNA;
Genomic DNA was extracted from colonies grown on cellophane-covered PDA using a CTAB [cetyltrimethylammonium bromide] method (
The quality of the amplified nucleotide sequences was checked and combined using SeqMan v.7.1.0 and reference sequences were retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), based on recent publications on the genus Diaporthe (
The phylogenetic analyses of the combined gene regions were performed using Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) methods. ML was conducted using PhyML v. 3.0 (
Isolates and GenBank accession numbers used in the phylogenetic analyses of Diaporthe.
Species | Isolate | Host | Location | GenBank accession numbers | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ITS | cal | his3 | tef1 | tub2 | ||||
D. acericola | MFLUCC 17-0956 | Acer negundo | Italy | KY964224 | KY964137 | NA | KY964180 | KY964074 |
D. acerigena | CFCC 52554 | Acer tataricum | China | MH121489 | MH121413 | MH121449 | MH121531 | NA |
D. alangii | CFCC 52556 | Alangium kurzii | China | MH121491 | MH121415 | MH121451 | MH121533 | MH121573 |
D. alnea | CBS 146.46 | Alnus sp. | Netherlands | KC343008 | KC343250 | KC343492 | KC343734 | KC343976 |
D. amygdali | CBS 126679 | Prunus dulcis | Portugal | KC343022 | KC343264 | KC343506 | AY343748 | KC343990 |
D. angelicae | CBS 111592 | Heracleum sphondylium | Austria | KC343027 | KC343269 | KC343511 | KC343753 | KC343995 |
D. apiculatum | CGMCC 3.17533 | Camellia sinensis | China | KP267896 | NA | NA | KP267970 | KP293476 |
D. arecae | CBS 161.64 | Areca catechu | India | KC343032 | KC343274 | KC343516 | KC343758 | KC344000 |
D. arengae | CBS 114979 | Arenga enngleri | Hong Kong | KC343034 | KC343276 | KC343518 | KC343760 | KC344002 |
D. aseana | MFLUCC 12-0299 | Unknown dead leaf | Thailand | KT459414 | KT459464 | NA | KT459448 | KT459432 |
D. biguttulata | CGMCC 3.17248 | Citrus limon | China | KJ490582 | NA | KJ490524 | KJ490461 | KJ490403 |
CFCC 52584 | Juglans regia | China | MH121519 | MH121437 | MH121477 | MH121561 | MH121598 | |
D. camelliae-oleiferae | HNZZ027 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509555 | MZ504685 | MZ504696 | MZ504702 | MZ504718 |
HNZZ030 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509556 | MZ504686 | MZ504697 | MZ504708 | MZ504719 | |
HNZZ032 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509557 | MZ504687 | MZ504698 | MZ504709 | MZ504720 | |
D. celeris | CPC 28262 | Vitis vinifera | Czech Republic | MG281017 | MG281712 | MG281363 | MG281538 | MG281190 |
D. celastrina | CBS 139.27 | Celastrus sp. | USA | KC343047 | KC343289 | KC343531 | KC343773 | KC344015 |
D. cercidis | CFCC 52565 | Cercis chinensis | China | MH121500 | MH121424 | MH121460 | MH121542 | MH121582 |
D. charlesworthii | BRIP 54884m | Rapistrum rugostrum | Australia | KJ197288 | NA | NA | KJ197250 | KJ197268 |
D. chrysalidocarpi | SAUCC194.35 | Chrysalidocarpus lutescens | China | MT822563 | MT855646 | MT855532 | MT855876 | MT855760 |
D. cinnamomi | CFCC 52569 | Cinnamomum sp. | China | MH121504 | NA | MH121464 | MH121546 | MH121586 |
D. citriasiana | CGMCC 3.15224 | Citrus unshiu | China | JQ954645 | KC357491 | KJ490515 | JQ954663 | KC357459 |
D. citrichinensis | CGMCC 3.15225 | Citrus sp. | China | JQ954648 | KC357494 | NA | JQ954666 | NA |
D. collariana | MFLU 17-2770 | Magnolia champaca | Thailand | MG806115 | MG783042 | NA | MG783040 | MG783041 |
D. conica | CFCC 52571 | Alangium chinense | China | MH121506 | MH121428 | MH121466 | MH121548 | MH121588 |
D. cucurbitae | CBS 136.25 | Arctium sp. | Unknown | KC343031 | KC343273 | KC343515 | KC343757 | KC343999 |
D. cuppatea | CBS 117499 | Aspalathus linearis | South Africa | KC343057 | KC343299 | KC343541 | KC343783 | KC344025 |
D. discoidispora | ZJUD89 | Citrus unshiu | China | KJ490624 | NA | KJ490566 | KJ490503 | KJ490445 |
D. drenthii | BRIP 66524 | Macadamia sp. | South Africa | MN708229 | NA | NA | MN696526 | MN696537 |
D. endophytica | CBS 133811 | Schinus terebinthifolius | Brazil | KC343065 | KC343307 | KC343549 | KC343791 | KC343065 |
D. eres | AR5193 | Ulmus sp. | Germany | KJ210529 | KJ434999 | KJ420850 | KJ210550 | KJ420799 |
D. fraxini-angustifoliae | BRIP 54781 | Fraxinus angustifolia | Australia | JX862528 | NA | NA | JX862534 | KF170920 |
D. fraxinicola | CFCC 52582 | Fraxinus chinensis | China | MH121517 | MH121435 | NA | MH121559 | NA |
D. fructicola | MAFF 246408 | Passiflora edulis × P. edulis f. flavicarpa | Japan | LC342734 | LC342738 | LC342737 | LC342735 | LC342736 |
D. fusicola | CGMCC 3.17087 | Lithocarpus glabra | China | KF576281 | KF576233 | NA | KF576256 | KF576305 |
D. ganzhouensis | CFCC 53087 | Unknown | China | MK432665 | MK442985 | MK443010 | MK578139 | MK578065 |
D. garethjonesii | MFLUCC 12-0542a | Unknown dead leaf | Thailand | KT459423 | KT459470 | NA | KT459457 | KT459441 |
D. guangxiensis | JZB320094 | Vitis vinifera | China | MK335772 | MK736727 | NA | MK523566 | MK500168 |
D. helicis | AR5211 | Hedera helix | France | KJ210538 | KJ435043 | KJ420875 | KJ210559 | KJ420828 |
D. heterostemmatis | SAUCC194.85 | Heterostemma grandiflorum | China | MT822613 | MT855692 | MT855581 | MT855925 | MT855810 |
D. hubeiensis | JZB320123 | Vitis vinifera | China | MK335809 | MK500235 | NA | MK523570 | MK500148 |
HNZZ009 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509553 | MZ504683 | MZ504694 | MZ504705 | MZ504716 | |
HNZZ019 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509554 | MZ504684 | MZ504695 | MZ504706 | MZ504717 | |
D. hunanensis | HNZZ023 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509550 | MZ504680 | MZ504691 | MZ504702 | MZ504713 |
HNZZ025 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509551 | MZ504681 | MZ504692 | MZ504703 | MZ504714 | |
HNZZ033 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509552 | MZ5046802 | MZ504693 | MZ504704 | MZ504715 | |
D. kadsurae | CFCC 52586 | Kadsura longipedunculata | China | MH121521 | MH121439 | MH121479 | MH121563 | MH121600 |
D. litchicola | BRIP 54900 | Litchi chinensis | Australia | JX862533 | NA | NA | JX862539 | KF170925 |
D. lonicerae | MFLUCC 17-0963 | Lonicera sp. | Italy | KY964190 | KY964116 | NA | KY964146 | KY964073 |
D. masirevicii | BRIP 57892a | Helianthus annuus | Australia | KJ197277 | NA | NA | KJ197239 | KJ197257 |
D. miriciae | BRIP 54736j | Helianthus annuus | Australia | KJ197282 | NA | NA | KJ197244 | KJ197262 |
D. momicola | MFLUCC 16-0113 | Prunus persica | China | KU557563 | KU557611 | NA | KU557631 | KU55758 |
D. musigena | CBS 129519 | Musa sp. | Australia | KC343143 | KC343385 | KC343627 | KC343869 | KC344111 |
D. neilliae | CBS 144.27 | Spiraea sp. | USA | KC343144 | KC343386 | KC343628 | KC343870 | KC344112 |
D. nobilis | CBS 113470 | Castanea sativa | Korea | KC343146 | KC343388 | KC343630 | KC343872 | KC344114 |
D. oraccinii | CGMCC 3.17531 | Camellia sinensis | China | KP267863 | NA | KP293517 | KP267937 | KP293443 |
D. ovoicicola | CGMCC 3.17093 | Citrus sp. | China | KF576265 | KF576223 | NA | KF576240 | KF576289 |
D. pandanicola | MFLU 18-0006 | Pandanus sp. | Thailand | MG646974 | NA | NA | NA | MG646930 |
D. pascoei | BRIP 54847 | Persea americana | Australia | JX862532 | NA | NA | JX862538 | KF170924 |
D. passifloricola | CBS 141329 | Passiflora foetida | Malaysia | KX228292 | NA | KX228367 | NA | KX228387 |
D. penetriteum | CGMCC 3.17532 | Camellia sinensis | China | KP714505 | NA | KP714493 | KP714517 | KP714529 |
D. perseae | CBS 151.73 | Persea gratissima | Netherlands | KC343173 | KC343415 | KC343657 | KC343899 | KC344141 |
D. pescicola | MFLUCC 16-0105 | Prunus persica | China | KU557555 | KU557603 | NA | KU557623 | KU557579 |
D. pseudomangiferae | CBS 101339 | Mangifera indica | Dominican Republic | KC343181 | KC343423 | KC343665 | KC343907 | KC344149 |
D. pseudophoenicicola | CBS 462.69 | Phoenix dactylifera | Spain | KC343184 | KC343426 | KC343668 | KC343910 | KC344152 |
D. pulla | CBS 338.89 | Hedera helix | Yugoslavia | KC343152 | KC343394 | KC343636 | KC343878 | KC344120 |
D. racemosae | CBS 143770 | Euclea racemosa | South Africa | MG600223 | MG600219 | MG600221 | MG600225 | MG600227 |
D. schimae | CFCC 53103 | Schima superba | China | MK432640 | MK442962 | MK442987 | MK578116 | MK578043 |
D. schini | CBS 133181 | Schinus terebinthifolius | Brazil | KC343191 | KC343433 | KC343675 | KC343917 | KC344159 |
D. schoeni | MFLU 15-1279 | Schoenus nigricans | Italy | KY964226 | KY964139 | NA | KY964182 | KY964109 |
D. searlei | BRIP 66528 | Macadamia sp. | South Africa | MN708231 | NA | NA | NA | MN696540 |
D. sennicola | CFCC 51634 | Senna bicapsularis | China | KY203722 | KY228873 | KY228879 | KY228883 | KY228889 |
D. siamensis | MFLUCC 10-573a | Dasymaschalon sp. | Thailand | JQ619879 | NA | NA | JX275393 | JX275429 |
D. sojae | FAU635 | Glycine max | USA | KJ590719 | KJ612116 | KJ659208 | KJ590762 | KJ610875 |
HNZZ008 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509547 | MZ504677 | MZ504688 | MZ504699 | MZ504710 | |
HNZZ010 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509548 | MZ504678 | MZ504689 | MZ504700 | MZ504711 | |
HNZZ022 | Camellia oleifera | China | MZ509549 | MZ504679 | MZ504690 | MZ504701 | MZ504712 | |
D. spinosa | PSCG | Pyrus pyrifolia | China | MK626849 | MK691129 | MK726156 | MK654811 | MK691234 |
D. sterilis | CBS 136969 | Vaccinium corymbosum | Italy | KJ160579 | KJ160548 | MF418350 | KJ160611 | KJ160528 |
D. subclavata | ICMP20663 | Citrus unshiu | China | KJ490587 | NA | KJ490529 | KJ490466 | KJ490408 |
D. subellipicola | MFLU 17-1197 | on dead wood | China | MG746632 | NA | NA | MG746633 | MG746634 |
D. subordinaria | CBS 464.90 | Plantago lanceolata | New Zealand | KC343214 | KC343456 | KC343698 | KC343940 | KC344182 |
D. taoicola | MFLUCC 16-0117 | Prunus persica | China | KU557567 | NA | NA | KU557635 | KU557591 |
D. tectonae | MFLUCC 12-0777 | Tectona grandis | Thailand | KU712430 | KU749345 | NA | KU749359 | KU743977 |
D. tectonendophytica | MFLUCC 13-0471 | Tectona grandis | Thailand | KU712439 | KU749354 | NA | KU749367 | KU749354 |
D. tectonigena | MFLUCC 12-0767 | Tectona grandis | Thailand | KU712429 | KU749358 | NA | KU749371 | KU743976 |
D. terebinthifolii | CBS 133180 | Schinus terebinthifolius | Brazil | KC343216 | KC343458 | KC343700 | KC343942 | KC344184 |
D. tibetensis | CFCC 51999 | Juglandis regia | China | MF279843 | MF279888 | MF279828 | MF279858 | MF279873 |
D. tulliensis | BRIP 62248a | Theobroma cacao | Australia | KR936130 | NA | NA | KR936133 | KR936132 |
D. ukurunduensis | CFCC 52592 | Acer ukurunduense | China | MH121527 | MH121445 | MH121485 | MH121569 | NA |
D. unshiuensis | CGMCC 3.17569 | Citrus unshiu | China | KJ490587 | NA | KJ490529 | KJ490408 | KJ490466 |
CFCC 52594 | Carya illinoensis | China | MH121529 | MH121447 | MH121487 | MH121571 | MH121606 | |
D. viniferae | JZB320071 | Vitis vinifera | China | MK341551 | MK500107 | NA | MK500119 | MK500112 |
D. xishuangbanica | CGMCC 3.18282 | Camellia sinensis | China | KX986783 | NA | KX999255 | KX999175 | KX999216 |
D. yunnanensis | CGMCC 3.18289 | Coffea sp. | China | KX986796 | KX999290 | KX999267 | KX999188 | KX999228 |
Diaporthella corylina | CBS 121124 | Corylus sp. | China | KC343004 | KC343246 | KC343488 | KC343730 | KC343972 |
The five-gene sequence dataset (ITS, cal, his3, tef1 and tub2) was analysed to infer the interspecific relationships within Diaporthe. The dataset consisted of 96 sequences including the outgroup taxon, Diaporthella corylina (CBS 121124). A total of 2520 characters including gaps (510 for ITS, 518 for cal, 533 for his3, 460 for tef1 and 499 for tub2) were included in the phylogenetic analysis. The best nucleotide substitution model for ITS, his3 and tub2 was TrN+I+G, while HKY+I+G was selected for both cal and tef1. The topologies resulting from ML and BI analyses of the concatenated dataset were congruent (Fig.
Phylogram of Diaporthe resulting from a maximum likelihood analysis based on combined ITS, cal, his3, tef1 and tub2. Numbers above the branches indicate ML bootstraps (left, ML BS ≥ 50%) and Bayesian Posterior Probabilities (right, BPP ≥ 0.75). The tree is rooted with Diaporthella corylina. Isolates in current study are in blue. “-” indicates ML BS < 50% or BI PP < 0.75.
Distinguished from the phylogenetically closely-related species, D. pandanicola and D. viniferae based on DNA sequence data.
Named after the host species, Camellia oleifera.
Asexual morph: pycnidia on PDA 500–660 μm in diam., superficial, scattered on PDA, dark brown to black, globose, solitary, or clustered in groups of 3–5 pycnidia. Pale yellow conidial drops exuding from ostioles. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells (7.5–)10–14(–15.5) × 1.5–2.3 μm (n = 30), aseptate, cylindrical, straight, densely aggregated, terminal, slightly tapered toward the apex. Alpha conidia 5–6.5(–7.5) × 1.9–2.3 μm (n = 30), aseptate, hyaline, ellipsoidal to fusiform, biguttulate. Beta conidia (26.5–)28.5–31(–33) × 0.8–1.2 µm (n = 30), hyaline, aseptate, filiform, sinuous at one end, eguttulate.
Culture incubated on PDA at 25 °C, originally flat with white fluffy aerial mycelium, becoming brown to black in the centre, with yellowish-cream conidial drops exuding from the ostioles after 20 days.
China. Hunan Province: Zhuzhou City, on leaves of Camellia oleifera, 27°2'41"N, 113°19'17"E, 14 Aug. 2020, Q. Yang (holotype CSUFT027; ex-type living culture: HNZZ027; other living cultures: HNZZ030 and HNZZ032).
Three isolates representing D. camelliae-oleiferae cluster in a well-supported clade (ML/BI=100/1) and appear most closely related to D. pandanicola on Pandanus sp. and D. viniferae on Vitis vinifera. Diaporthe camelliae-oleiferae can be distinguished from D. pandanicola based on ITS and tub2 loci (24/462 in ITS and 11/401 in tub2); from D. viniferae based on ITS, cal, tef1 and tub2 loci (13/453 in ITS, 42/448 in cal, 7/339 in tef1 and 26/402 in tub2). Morphologically, D. camelliae-oleiferae differs from D. viniferae in having shorter alpha conidia (5–6.5 μm vs. 5–8.3 μm) (
Manawasinghe, Dissanayake, Li, Liu, Wanasinghe, Xu, Zhao, Zhang, Zhou, Hyde, Brooks & Yan, Frontiers in Microbiology 10(no. 1936): 20 (2019)
Asexual morph: pycnidia on PDA in culture, 700–885 μm in diam., superficial, scattered, dark brown to black, globose or subglobose. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells (6.5–)7–10(–11.5) × 2–3.5 μm (n = 30), aseptate, cylindrical, phiailidic, straight or slightly curved. Alpha conidia 5.8–8(–8.5) × 2.5–3.2 μm (n = 30), aseptate, hyaline, ellipsoidal to cylindrical, biguttulate, blunt at both ends. Beta conidia not observed.
Culture incubated on PDA at 25 °C, originally flat with white felted aerial mycelium, becoming dark brown mycelium due to pigment formation, conidiomata irregularly distributed over agar surface after 20 days.
China. Hunan Province: Zhuzhou City, on leaves of Camellia oleifera, 27°2'35"N, 113°19'20"E, 14 Aug. 2020, Q. Yang (CSUFT019; living cultures: HNZZ019 and HNZZ009).
Diaporthe hubeiensis was originally described as pathogen of grapevines in Hubei Province, China (
Distinguished from its phylogenetically closely-related species, D. chrysalidocarpi, D. drenthii, D. searlei and D. spinosa based on DNA sequence data.
In reference to the Hunan province, from where the fungus was first collected.
Asexual morph: pycnidia on PDA 180–300 μm in diam., superficial, scattered, black, globose, solitary in most. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells (8–)9–15(–16.5) × 1.7–2.1 μm (n = 30), aseptate, cylindrical, phiailidic, straight or slightly curved. Alpha conidia 6.5–7.5(–8.5) × 2.4–2.9 μm (n = 30), aseptate, hyaline, ellipsoidal, biguttulate, both ends obtuse. Beta conidia not observed.
Culture incubated on PDA at 25 °C, originally flat with white fluffy aerial mycelium, becoming pale brown with age, with visible solitary conidiomata at maturity after 18 days.
China. Hunan Province: Zhuzhou City, on leaves of Camellia oleifera, 27°2'41"N, 113°19'17"E, 14 Aug. 2020, Q. Yang (holotype CSUFT 023; ex-type living culture: HNZZ023; living cultures: HNZZ025 and HNZZ033).
Three isolates representing D. hunanensis cluster in a well-supported clade (ML/BI=100/1) and appear most closely related to D. chrysalidocarpi on Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, D. drenthii and D. searlei on Macadamia sp., and D. spinosa on P. pyrifolia cv. Cuiguan. Diaporthe hunanensis can be distinguished from D. chrysalidocarpi based on ITS, cal, his3 and tub2 loci (7/457 in ITS, 28/448 in cal, 8/455 in his3 and 5/401 in tub2); from D. drenthii based on ITS, tef1 and tub2 loci (9/457 in ITS, 13/328 in tef1 and 23/401 in tub2); from D. searlei based on ITS and tub2 loci (10/457 in ITS and 12/401 in tub2); from D. spinosa based on ITS, cal, his3, tef1 and tub2 loci (8/458 in ITS, 31/448 in cal, 5/455 in his3, 8/328 in tef1 and 19/401 in tub2). Morphologically, D. chrysalidocarpi produces only beta conidia, while D. hunanensis produces alpha conidia (
Sexual morph: perithecia on pine needles in culture, black, globose, 250–500 μm in diam., densely clustered in groups, deeply immersed with elongated, tapering perithecial necks protruding through substrata, 525–800 μm. Asci unitunicate, 8-spored, sessile, elongate to clavate, (35–)37–42(–44.5) × (8–)10–11.5 μm (n = 30). Ascospores hyaline, two-celled, often 4-guttulate, with larger guttules at centre and smaller one at ends, elongated to elliptical, slightly or not constricted at septum, (9–) 9.5–11.5 × 2.7–4 μm (n = 30). Asexual morph not observed.
Culture incubated on PNA at 25 °C, originally white, fluffy aerial mycelium, reverse yellowish pigmentation developing in centre, later becoming dark brown, with yellowish-cream drops exuding from the perithecia after 15 days.
China. Hunan Province: Zhuzhou City, on leaves of Camellia oleifera, 27°2'41"N, 113°19'17"E, 14 Aug. 2020, Q. Yang (USUFT 022; living cultures: HNZZ022, HNZZ008 and HNZZ010).
Diaporthe sojae was first reported on pods and stems of soybean, and subsequently reported on a wide range of hosts (Dissanayake et al. 2015;
In this study, an important oil-tea tree species, Camellia oleifera was investigated and Camellia leaf disease was found as a common disease in plantations in Hunan Province. Identification of our collections was conducted, based on isolates from symptomatic leaves of C. oleifera using five combined loci (ITS, cal, his3, tef1 and tub2), as well as morphological characters. It includes D. hubeiensis, D. sojae, as well as two new species named D. camelliae-oleiferae and D. hunanensis.
The expanding cultivation of C. oleifera over the last several decades has attracted increasing attention from plant pathologists to infectious diseases on this crop. Therein, diseases caused by Diaporthe species have becoming the emerging Camellia leaf diseases in southern China (
According to the USDA Fungal–host interaction database, there are two records of Diaporthe species associated with C. oleifera (https://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/fungushost/fungushost.cfm) (accessed 9 September 2021). These records are related to the following two Diaporthe species: D. eres and D. huangshanensis (
As the species concept of Diaporthe has been improved a lot by using molecular data (
This study is financed by the Research Foundation of Education Bureau of Hunan Province, China (Project No.: 19B608) and the introduction of talent research start-up fund project of CSUFT (Project No.: 2019YJ025).