Isolation and identification of aquatic saprolegnious stramenopiles in Fars and Kermanshah provinces (west of Iran)

The order Saprolegniales includes pathogenic species of aquatic and terrestrial plants and aquatic animals including fish. These straminipilous fungi play an important role as a decomposing component which participates in the destruction processes of organic substrates and self-cleaning biological processes in freshwater ecosystems. In this study, samples of brown decayed twigs, leaves, woods and infected spawns from various places of Fars Province, Iran (Bahreghan, Bereshne, Dalkhan, Kaftrak, Polekhan, Sepidan, Seyyedan, Sarbast, Tang-e-Sorkh, Tang-e-Tizab and Sheshpir) and Kermanshah Province, Iran (Bisotun, Harsin, Paveh, Sarab Sahneh and Sarab Qanbar) were transferred to the laboratory during the fall and winter 2017-2018. Species were identified based on morphological and morphometric characteristics of sexual and asexual organs as well as the physiological and phylogenetic studies. Identified species were sequenced based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA and were analyzed phylogenetically by maximum likelihood method. Six species of Saprolegnia and one species of Achlya were identified including: Saprolegnia parasitica, S. ferax, S. anomalies, Saprolegnia aff. australis, S. mixta, Saprolegnia sp. and Achlya americana. Saprolegnia anomalies, Saprolegnia aff. australis, S. mixta and Achlya americana were new to Iran mycobiota.