MYCOLOGIA IRANICA
Year:2017 | Volume:4 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:7

Suillellusis a genus of Bolete fungi belonging to the Boletaceae family. First, Murrill (1909) introduced the genus with Suillellus luridus as the type species, however it was later considered as a synonym of Boletus. Phylogenetic overview of the bolete fungi, demonstrated that Suillellus species distinctly have a different lineage than Boletus (Nuhn et al.2013, Vizzini et al.2014) and the name eventually returned to the classification of bolete fungi (Klofac & Krisai-Greilhuber 2016). The genus Suillellus contains eleven species.

The cercosporoid species, Microcyclospora rumicis Arzanlou & Bakhshi was recently introduced on Rumex crispus L., from Iran (Guilan province, Talesh) (Arzanlou & Bakhshi 2011). Based on the morphological features, this fungus was described as a species of the genus Microcyclospora J. Frank et al. (Arzanlou & Bakhshi 2011). During a phylogenetic study of cercosporoid fungi from north of Iran, the genomic DNA of the type strain (CBS 131546) of the species, was extracted using the protocol developed by Moller et al. (1992). Amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer regions and intervening 5.8S nrRNA gene of the nrDNA operon (ITS) and partial nuclear ribosomal large subunit (LSU) were done with primers V9G+ITS4 and LR0R+LR5 respectively (Quaedvlieg et al.2013).

In this study, we report some endophytic fungi isolated from twigs of Quercus brantii in Dena region of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. The twigs were sampled from trees which had basidiocarps of the invasive basidiomycetous polypore fungus Inonotus krawtzewii on their trunk. Altogether, ca.40 pure isolates were obtained. The ITS sequences were obtained for 16 isolates, and their phylogenetic relationships were analysed. Altogether, 13 taxa were identified based on morphological and molecular data. The identified species include: Alternaria alternata, A. cf. arborescens, Kalmusia variispora, Purpureocillium lilacinum, Lentinus tigrinus, and Lopadostoma quercicola. A number of isolates could be identified at generic level (Coniochaeta, Cytospora, Diatrype, Pyronema, Ulocladium), while the rest of isolates were identified only at family (Phaeosphaeriaceae), and order (Pleosporales) levels. The identified isolates belonged to ascomycetes, except one basidiomycetous fungus L. tigrinus. Brief descriptions and microscopic illustrations are given for some isolates.

Assessment of eighty Fusarium proliferatum isolates obtained from maize, rice, sugarcane and onion using AFLP molecular marker separated the isolates into four distinct clusters according to their host’s. Isolates recovered from rice clustered in a distinct group. Isolates from sugarcane grouped in two distinct groups and isolates recovered from maize and onion clustered in a unit group. As well, all studied F. proliferatum isolates originated from different hosts expressed pathogenicity to maize ears. However, different levels of pathogenicity were observed among and within of different host populations. Duncan’s test analysis showed isolates from maize, sugarcane and onion belonged to group A and rice isolates placed in group B. Moreover, a correlation was observed between AFLP clustering and pathogenicity of the maize, sugarcane and onion isolates compare to isolates coming from rice. All of the isolates were examined for PCR based identification of mating type idiomorphs and determination of sexual fertility status. Among 142 isolates of F. proliferatum, 72 isolates (50.7%) were identified as MAT–1 and 70 isolates (49.2%) were belonged to MAT–2. The presence of both mating type idiomorphs with favorable frequency among isolates recovered from different hosts of F. proliferatum, shows that there is a potential for sexual reproduction within these populations. On the other hand, female fertility examination for 40 randomly selected field isolates including 10 isolates of each host populations showed all the isolates are female–sterile. Finally, we concluded that the genetic variation within F. proliferatum populations in Iran is possibly a result of vegetative compatibility, parasexual cycle, various cultivars of the hosts and high amount of migration to the populations as well as sexual reproduction.

Studies on the evolutionary history of ascomycetes in terms of time scale will help to understand historical patterns that shape their biodiversity. Until now most of dating studies of ascomycetes have focused on major events in fungal evolution but not on divergence events within smaller groups of fungi e.g. within Sordariomycetes. We used molecular dating to estimate the time of separation of Polystigma from other groups of Sordariomycetes with a Bayesian approach using a relaxed clock model and secondary calibration. Sequences from ITS region and SSU gene of rDNA were used for this purpose. We inferred evolutionary dates in Sordariomycetes particularly for Xylariomycetidae. Dating analyses showed that Polystigma diverged from Xylariales approximately 90 Million years ago in the late Cretaceous in which most other diversification events occurred. Our results also suggest that Polystigma amygdalinum and P. rubrum diverged in early Eocene concurrently with the divergence of their hosts, also providing a base for speculation on the location of evolution of these pathogens.

Broomrapes (Orobanche spp.) are parasitic weeds and considered as a major limiting factor for the cultivation of various crops in many parts of the world. Due to the special biology of broomrape, including seed production, dispersal and longevity, the control of these species are often extremely difficult. Broomrape poses a serious threat to Iran’s agriculture; therefore exploring potential biological agents for these species are necessary. In this study, samples of infected broomrape plants (brown rot on vertical systems) collected from ten provinces of Iran, over the summer period (2014-2015). Fusarium isolates were identified according to their cultural and morphological charact- eristics. For phylogenetic analysis, a part of the tef1-α gene was amplified and examined. Based on morpho- logical characters, fourteen species of Fusarium, including F. andiyazi, F. equiseti, F. flocciferum, F. foetens, F. hostae, F. lacertarum, F. oxysporum, F. proliferatum, F. redolens, F. sambucinum, F. solani s. l., F. thapsinum, F. torulosum and F. verticillioides, were identified. F. solani s. l., with 25% frequency, was the most common species among species. Eight species namely F. andiyazi, F. hostae, F. flocciferum, F. foetans, F. lacertarum, F. redolens, F. thapsinum and F. torulosum on broomrape are being reported for the first time on global-scale and F. lacertarum is being reported for the first time in Iran.

Fungi associated with leaf spot symptoms of plants in forest areas of Golestan province, Iran, were collected and examined based on morphological characteristics of conidiophores, conidia and conidiogenous loci. Ten taxa were identified. Among the taxa, Passalora cf. bacilligera and Pseudocladosporium hachijoens are new records for the mycobiota of Iran. Cercospora on Eruca sp. was morphologically different from other Cercospora hitherto been reported on Brassicaceae and compared with Cercospora species on this plant family. Cercospora pantoleuca was newly reported from Golestan province (North of Iran). Furthermore, Plantago major and Sambucus nigra were found to be new hosts for Cercospora pantoleuca and Ramularia sambucina in Iran, respectively.