title: NewRaffaeleaspecies (Ophiostomatales) from the USA and Taiwan associated with ambrosia beetles and plant hosts.
abstract: Raffaelea(Ophiostomatales) is a genus of more than 20 ophiostomatoid fungi commonly occurring in symbioses with wood-boring ambrosia beetles. We examined ambrosia beetles and plant hosts in the USA and Taiwan for the presence of these mycosymbionts and found 22 isolates representing known and undescribed lineages inRaffaelea. From 28S rDNA and β-tubulin sequences, we generated a molecular phylogeny ofOphiostomatalesand observed morphological features of seven cultures representing undescribed lineages inRaffaelea s. lat. From these analyses, we describe five new species inRaffaelea s. lat.:R. aguacate,R. campbellii,R. crossotarsa,R. cyclorhipidia, andR. xyleborinaspp. nov. Our analyses also identified two plant-pathogenic species ofRaffaeleaassociated with previously undocumented beetle hosts: (1)R. quercivora, the causative agent of Japanese oak wilt, fromCyclorhipidion ohnoiandCrossotarsus emancipatusin Taiwan, and (2)R. lauricola, the pathogen responsible for laurel wilt, fromAmbrosiodmus leconteiin Florida. The results of this study show thatRaffaeleaand associated ophiostomatoid fungi have been poorly sampled and that future investigations on ambrosia beetle mycosymbionts should reveal a substantially increased diversity.
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
authors.forename: D Rabern
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
authors.forename: Z Wilhelm
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: de Beer
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Yin-Tse
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; Department of Entomology and Nematology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bateman
authors.affiliation: Tropical Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USA.
authors.forename: Alina S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; Forest Health Research and Education Center, Southern Research Station, USDA-Forest Service, Lexington, KY 40517, USA.
authors.forename: Tyler J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Dreaden
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
authors.forename: You
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Tropical Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USA.
authors.forename: Randy C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Ploetz
authors.affiliation: Peckerwood Garden Conservation Foundation, Hempstead, TX 77445, USA.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40027, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hou-Feng
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40027, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chi-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wingfield
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; Department of Entomology and Nematology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hulcr
keywords: Japanese oak wilt; entomogenous fungi; insect-fungus interactions; laurel wilt; molecular phylogenetics; mycosymbioses