Morphological characteristics and phylogenetic evidence reveal two new species and the first report of Comoclathris (Pleosporaceae, Pleosporales) on dicotyledonous plants from China

Abstract

Two novel Comoclathris species were identified from dicotyledonous plants (Clematis sp. and Xanthoceras sorbifolium) in China. The results were supported by morphological characters and Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses. Multi-gene phylogenetic analyses of the ITS, LSU, SSU and rpb2 sequences revealed two new species Comoclathris clematidis and C. xanthoceratis, which are phylogenetically distinct. The new species are phylogenetically closely related to C. arrhenatheri. However, they are distinguishable from C. arrhenatheri by having comparatively larger asci and ascospores. This study improves our knowledge of Comoclathris as no species has been previously described from China. This suggests such taxa may be rare and it is likely that new taxa will be discovered from hosts and environments that have not yet been extensively investigated.