Lasiodiplodia: Generic revision by providing molecular markers, geographical distribution and haplotype diversity
AR Rathnayaka, KWT Chethana, Ishara S. Manawasinghe, SN Wijesinghe, Nimali I. de Silva, Danushka S. Tennakoon, AJL Phillips, Jian‐Kui Liu, Ebg Jones, Y Wang, KD Hyde
Abstract
Lasiodiplodia (Botryosphaeriaceae, Botryosphaeriales) has a global distribution and occurs on a wide range of monocotyledonous, dicotyledonous, and gymnospermous hosts.Most Lasiodiplodia species are pathogens that cause various diseases, such as stem cankers, stem and branch gummosis, shoot blight, and fruit rot.In addition, Lasiodiplodia species occur as endophytes and saprobes.This study presents one of the most reliable molecular markers for Lasiodiplodia.The combination of four loci, the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), the partial translation elongation factor 1-α gene (tef1-α), beta-tubulin (tub2), and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2), provided a more reliable resolution for this genus at the species level.Geographical studies showed that Lasiodiplodia species are distributed in tropical and temperate regions, but not in the polar regions.Among its species, L. theobromae has a worldwide distribution on a wide range of hosts, including economically important crops.Combining the morphology and molecular phylogeny is necessary for accurate taxonomic identification of Lasiodiplodia species and is being used in this study.Multigene phylogenetic analyses were performed based on maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses using combined ITS,