Bipolaris marantae sp. nov., a novel Helminthosporoid specis causing foliage blight of the garden plant Maranta leuconeura in Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Lourenço, Carla Cristina Gomes
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Alves, Janaina Lana, Guatimosim, Eduardo, Colman, Adans, Barreto, Robert Weingart
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.5941/MYCO.2017.45.3.123; http://www.locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/16437
• topic: Asexual morph; Ornamental; Pathogens; Phylogeny; Pleosporales; Taxonomy

A severe leaf spot, turning to foliage blight, was observed on leaves of Maranta leuconeura growing in a garden in Brazil (state of Rio de Janeiro) in 2015. A dematiaceous hyphomycete bearing a morphology typical of a helminthosporoid fungi was regularly found in association with diseased tissues. The fungus was isolated and pathogenicity was demonstrated through the completion of Koch's postulates. A morphology and molecular analysis led to the conclusion that the fungus belonged to the genus Bipolaris, which is characterized by having fusiform conidia, externally thickened and truncate hila and a bipolar pattern of germination. Additionally, homology of internal transcribed spacer and GAPDH sequences with sequences of other Bipolaris species, confirmed its generic placement. A phylogenetic study also indicated clearly that the fungus on M. leuconeura is phylogenetically distinct from related species of this genus, leading to the proposal of the new species Bipolaris marantae.