Phylogenetic identification of Nothophoma quercina isolated from Koelreuteria paniculata based on ITS, LSU, RPB2 and TUB2 sequences
This project aims to clarify the taxonomic status of a pathogenic fungus isolated from diseased tissues of Koelreuteria paniculata (goldenrain tree), a multi-purpose tree with strong pollution resistance and medicinal value. The fungus was preliminarily identified as Nothophoma quercina by morphological observation, and four marker genes were selected for molecular confirmation: ITS (amplified with primers ITS1/ITS4), LSU (amplified with primers LR0R/LR7), RPB2 (amplified with primers RPB2-5F/fRPB2-7cR) and TUB2 (amplified with primers Bt2a/Bt2b). Genomic DNA was extracted from pure cultures, and PCR products were sequenced using Sanger sequencing technology. The obtained sequences will be used for BLAST similarity comparison and multi-gene phylogenetic tree construction (based on maximum likelihood or Bayesian methods), which is critical for accurate species delimitation of Nothophoma spp. as single-gene markers often lack sufficient resolution. These data provide fundamental molecular evidence for the identification of Nothophoma quercina on Koelreuteria paniculata and support subsequent studies on fungal-host interactions.