Endophytic Fusarium and allied fungi from Rosa roxburghii in China

Abstract

Fusarium usually implies plant pathogens. However, endophytic Fusarium and allied fungi, the non-pathogenic species, share equal importance due to their excellent biosynthetic capacity and wide range of biological activities. Rosa roxburghii is an economically important source of medicine and food. We have previously reported on the diversity and antimicrobial activity of endophytic fungi from this plant. Finding several Fusarium species that may represent new taxa requires further confirmation using multi-locus phylogenetic analyses combined with morphology. In this study, 60 related isolates were obtained and identified from healthy R. roxburghii. Eleven novel species and four new combinations are described and illustrated based on multi-gene phylogenetic analyses of Fusarium and thirteen allied genera and morphological comparisons. The new species described herein are Albonectria guizhouensis, Fusarium arbusti, F. caulendophyticum, F. caulicola, F. cili, F. qiannanense, F. radicigenum, F. rosae-roxburghii, F. rosendophyticum, F. rosiradicicola, and Neocosmospora liupanshuiensis, whereas N. gannanensis, N. passiflorae, N. populicola, and N. tumidisperma were introduced as new combinations. In addition, pathogenic and endophytic Fusarium and allied fungi associated with Rosaceae are summarized. The results of this study have important implications for accurately identifying Fusarium-linked fungi and developing potential applications for these endophytic fungi.