title: Exploring fungal mega-diversity:Pseudocercosporafrom Brazil.
abstract: Although the genusPseudocercosporahas a worldwide distribution, it is especially diverse in tropical and subtropical countries. Species of this genus are associated with a wide range of plant species, including several economically relevant hosts. Preliminary studies of cercosporoid fungi from Brazil allocated most taxa toCercospora, but with the progressive refinement of the taxonomy of cercosporoid fungi, many species were relocated to or described inPseudocercospora. Initially, species identification relied mostly on morphological features, and thus no cultures were preserved for later phylogenetic comparisons. In this study, a total of 27Pseudocercosporaspp. were collected, cultured, and subjected to a multigene analysis. Four genomic regions (LSU, ITS,tef1andactA) were amplified and sequenced. A multigene Bayesian analysis was performed on the combined ITS,actAandtef1sequence alignment. Our results based on DNA phylogeny, integrated with ecology, morphology and cultural characteristics revealed a rich diversity ofPseudocercosporaspecies in Brazil. Twelve taxa were newly described, namelyP. aeschynomenicola,P. diplusodonii,P. emmotunicola,P. manihotii,P. perae,P. planaltinensis,P.pothomorphes,P. sennae-multijugae,P. solani-pseudocapsicicola,P. vassobiae,P. wulffiaeandP. xylopiae. Additionally, eight epitype specimens were designated, three species newly reported, and several new host records linked to knownPseudocercosporaspp.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Barreto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: O L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.affiliation: CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, P.O.Box 85167, 3508 AD Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Groenewald
authors.affiliation: CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, P.O.Box 85167, 3508 AD Utrecht, The Netherlands.; Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.; Microbiology, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Crous
keywords: Capnodiales; Dothideomycetes; Mycosphaerellaceae; biodiversity; cercosporoid; multigene phylogeny; plant pathogen; systematics