Study on the genus Phyllosticta (Ascomycota: Phyllostictaceae) from Guilan province (N. Iran)

Species of Phyllosticta are important group of pathogenic and endophytic fungi that are reported from various crop plants, ornamental and non-fruiting plants. These fungi cause several diseases such as leaf and fruit spots and fruit rot. In order to identify Phyllosticta species in Guilan province, several collections were examined around the region. Altogether 14 taxa were isolated from different plant species. Plant species viz. Prunus laurocerasus, Danae racemosa, Aesculus carnea, Camellia japonica, Citrus sinensis, Rubus sp., Schefflera sp., Diospyros kaki and Ginkgo biloba are recorded as new host for Phyllosticta spp. in Iran. Magnolia soulangeana, Camellia sinensis, Citrus limetta and Rosa sp. are also reported as host plants of Phyllosticta species in this province. Precise recognition of Phyllosticta sp. needs both morphological and molecular studies. Hence, in this study P. theacearum was distincly identified; one collection on Citrus sp. was closely related to P. citricarpa. However, we could not retrieve appropriate name for 12 isolates using available literatures and morphological identification keys. Moreover, we generated ITS rDNA sequences for all 14 isolates but ITS regions are not informative for species identification.