Abstract:
Species in the fungal family Botryosphaeriaceae are latent pathogens on woody trees. These fungi often have
a wide host range, which can include native and introduced hosts in an area. Multi-locus DNA sequence identification
on a recent collection of Botryosphaeriaceae from Eucalyptus grandis and Syzygium cordatum trees
in South Africa revealed cross-infectivity of several species, novel host associations and new country reports.
Neofusicoccum eucalyptorum, Neofusicoccum kwambonambiense, Neofusicoccum parvum, Neofusicoccum australe
and Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae were identified from both tree species, with L. pseudotheobromae
and N. eucalyptorum isolated for the first time from S. cordatum, similar to N. kwambonambiense from Eucalyptus.
This also represents the first report of L. pseudotheobromae from South Africa. Botryosphaeriaceae species
on Eucalyptus species and S. cordatum are fairly well known from South Africa. However, this study
revealed new associations, indicating that conclusions should not be generalized and that more intensive
sampling from different areas and over time is likely to reveal distinct species and host association patterns.
