Taxonomical re-examination of the genus Neofusicoccum in Japan

Neofusicoccum is a genus of plant pathogenic fungi associated with various woody plants. Since Neofusicoccum has very similar morphological characteristics to the genus Botryospaheria, molecular phylogenetic analysis is essential to determine its taxonomic position. In Japan, a comprehensive taxonomic study of the genus Neofusicoccum has not been conducted. To elucidate the species diversity in Japan, we reexamined Japanese isolates of Neofusicoccum based on their morphology and molecular phylogenetic relationships, using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions rpb2, tef1-α, and tub2. The Japanese isolates were divided into five clades recognized as the species. These species were N. parvum, other Neofusicoccum spp., and three new species proposed in this study, N. hyperici, N. miyakoense, and N. okinawaense. Furthermore, Physalospora laricina, which causes shoot blight of larch (Larix spp.), was transferred to the genus Neofusicoccum, and we propose its epitype and ex-epitype isolate.