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Host range of Cercospora apii and C. beticola and description of C. apiicola, a novel species from celery

     Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, and Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University, Binnenhaven 5, 6709 PD Wageningen, the Netherlands

Johannes Z. Groenewald

     Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands

Uwe Braun

     Martin-Luther-Universität, FB. Biologie, Institut für Geobotanik und Botanischer Garten, Neuwerk 21, D-06099 Halle (Saale), Germany

Pedro W. Crous

     Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, and Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University, Binnenhaven 5, 6709 PD Wageningen, the Netherlands

The genus Cercospora is one of the largest and most heterogeneous genera of hyphomycetes. Cercospora species are distributed worldwide and cause Cercospora leaf spot on most of the major plant families. Numerous species described from diverse hosts and locations are morphologically indistinguishable from C. apii and subsequently are referred to as C. apii sensu lato. The importance and ecological role that different hosts play in taxon delimitation and recognition within this complex remains unclear. It has been shown that Cercospora leaf spot on celery and sugar beet are caused respectively by C. apii and C. beticola, both of which are part of the C. apii complex. During this study we characterized a new Cercospora species, C. apiicola, which was isolated from celery in Venezuela, Korea and Greece. The phylogenetic relationship between C. apiicola and other closely related Cercospora species was studied with five different gene areas. These analyses revealed that the C. apiicola isolates cluster together in a well defined clade. Both C. apii and C. beticola sensu stricto form well defined clades and are shown to have wider host ranges and to represent distinct species.

Key words: Ascomycetes, Cercospora apii complex, Cercospora leaf spot, molecular phylogeny, species boundaries, taxonomy