title: Application of the consolidated species concept to Cercospora spp. from Iran.
abstract: The genus Cercospora includes many important plant pathogenic fungi associated with leaf spot diseases on a wide range of hosts. The mainland of Iran covers various climatic regions with a great biodiversity of vascular plants, and a correspondingly high diversity of cercosporoid fungi. However, most of the cercosporoid species found to date have been identified on the basis of morphological characteristics and there are no cultures that support these identifications. In this study the Consolidated Species Concept was applied to differentiate Cercospora species collected from Iran. A total of 161 Cercospora isolates recovered from 74 host species in northern Iran were studied by molecular phylogenetic analysis. Our results revealed a rich diversity of Cercospora species in northern Iran. Twenty species were identified based on sequence data of five genomic loci (ITS, TEF1-α, actin, calmodulin and histone H3), host, cultural and morphological data. Six novel species, viz. C. convolvulicola, C. conyzae-canadensis, C. cylindracea, C. iranica, C. pseudochenopodii and C. sorghicola, are introduced. The most common taxon was Cercospora cf. flagellaris, which remains an unresolved species complex with a wide host range. New hosts were recorded for previously known Cercospora species, including C. apii, C. armoraciae, C. beticola, C. cf. richardiicola, C. rumicis, Cercospora sp. G and C. zebrina.
authors.affiliation: Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, P.O. Box 5166614766, Tabriz, Iran;
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bakhshi
authors.affiliation: Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, P.O. Box 5166614766, Tabriz, Iran;
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arzanlou
authors.affiliation: Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, P.O. Box 5166614766, Tabriz, Iran;
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babai-Ahari
authors.affiliation: CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Groenewald
authors.affiliation: Martin-Luther-Universität, Institut für Biologie, Geobotanik und Botanischer Garten, Neuwerk 21, D-06099 Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.affiliation: CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands. ; Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Crous
keywords: Cercospora apii complex; Mycosphaerella; biodiversity; cercosporoid; host specificity; leaf spot; multilocus sequence typing (MLST); taxonomy