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Phylogram obtained by neighbour-joining analysis using GTR+I+G substitution model of the nuclear LSU region sequences of species in the Microstromatales. The topology was rooted with four members of the Ustilaginomycetidae. The numbers from left to right refer to percentage bootstrap values of 1000 replicates of neighbour-joining, maximum parsimony, and to a posteriori probabilities of Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis. Values smaller than 50 % are not shown. Branch lengths are scaled in terms of expected numbers of nucleotide substitutions per site.
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The genus Quambalaria consists of plant-pathogenic fungi causing disease on leaves and shoots of species of Eucalyptus and its close relative, Corymbia. The phylogenetic relationship of Quambalaria spp., previously classified in genera such as Sporothrix and Ramularia, has never been addressed. It has, however, been suggested that they belong to th...
Citations
... This approach proved effective, as Sarocladium (Ascomycota) exhibits micromorphology indistinguishable from Acremonium (Ascomycota) [9,26] in conidiophores; however, their ITS sequences allowed for the differentiation of both species. Similarly, Quambalaria (Basidiomycota) shares morphological similarities with Sporothrix (Ascomycota) [10,27], but genetic sequencing enabled their differentiation. Here, the opposite example was the T2A2 strain of Aspergillus for which the analyzed DNA markers do not presented a halo. ...
Grapevine production is economically indispensable for the global wine industry. Currently, Mexico cultivates grapevines across approximately 28 500 hectares, ranking as the 26th largest producer worldwide. Given its significance, early detection of plant diseases’ causal agents is crucial for preventing outbreaks. Consequently, our study aimed to identify fungal strains in grapevines exhibiting trunk disease symptoms and assess their enzymatic capabilities as indicators of their phytopathogenic potential. We collected plant cultivars, including Malbec, Shiraz, and Tempranillo, from Querétaro, Mexico. In the laboratory, we superficially removed the plant bark to prevent external contamination. Subsequently, the sample was superficially disinfected, and sawdust was generated from the symptomatic tissue. Cultivable fungal strains were isolated using aseptic techniques from the recovered sawdust. Colonies were grown on PDA and identified through a combination of microscopy and DNA-sequencing of the ITS and LSU nrDNA regions, coupled with a BLASTn search in the GenBank database. We evaluated the strains’ qualitative ability to degrade cellulose, starch, and lignin using specific media and stains. Using culture morphology and DNA-sequencing, 13 species in seven genera were determined: Acremonium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Dydimella, Fusarium, Sarocladium, and Quambalaria. Some isolated strains were able to degrade cellulose or lignin, or starch. These results constitute the first report of these species community in the Americas. Using culture-dependent and DNA-sequencing tools allows the detection of fungal strains to continue monitoring for early prevention of the GTD.
... Similarly, there are limited data from reported cases suggesting that Quambalaria is a pathogen primarily impacting systemically unwell individuals [17][18][19]. The genus Quambalaria is a hyaline basidiomycete predominantly known as non-pathogenic to plants including Corymbia and Eucalyptus species in Australia [20,21]. We report the first case of Quambalaria sp. ...
The present article reports on the management of six different and rare cases of fungal keratitides, two of which have never been documented in previous literature. This is a case series of six patients with rare fungal keratitides managed at a quaternary eye referral unit, Sydney Eye Hospital, Australia over a period of 7 months (May to December, 2022). The order of occurrence of fungi isolated was Scedosporium apiospermum, Lomenstospora prolificans, Cladosporium spp., Paecilomyces, Syncephalastrum racemosum and Quambalaria spp. A combination of medical and surgical interventions was employed, including topical and systemic anti-fungal therapy, with one requiring therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty and another eventuating in evisceration. Two patients were successfully treated with corneal debridement and two others required pars plana vitrectomy with anterior chamber washout. It is important to remain vigilant with monitoring patient symptoms and correlating with clinical signs to guide antifungal therapy even in the context of confirmed culture and sensitivity results.
... Instead, Peribolospora septal pores resemble rather the morphology of Ustilaginomycotina or Pucciniomycotina species, which have simple septal pores. Especially the members of the Ustilaginomycotina are characterized by outer pore caps and often variably intense, electron-dense areas or bands associated to the pore openings, as frequently described for various taxa in the Ustilaginomycetes and Exobasidiomycetes (Bauer et al. 1997;de Beer et al. 2006;Lutz et al. 2012). Notably, the septal pores of these classes usually contain very distinct, membranous outer septal pore caps. ...
Heat resistance is the ability to survive short, extreme temperature stresses, exceeding the own growth temperature by far. Despite their occurrence in natural substrates and their relevance for the food and healthcare industry, the diversity of fungi with heat resistance abilities is poorly studied. Sampling of boreal forest soils in Canada in combination with a heat-shock treatment (75 °C, 30 min) yielded, among others, four heat resistant, mesophilic fungal isolates. Based on rDNA barcode sequences, the novel isolates were assigned to Basidiomycota . In this study, we use macromorphological and micromorphological observations, cultivation assays and comparative genomics for physiological characterization, interspecific differentiation, and phylogenetic placement of these isolates. A phylogeny of 38 single-copy orthologous genes, an orthology analysis, and septal pore type analysis revealed the isolates as representatives of two new basidiomycetous species of the novel class Peribolosporomycetes , a sister lineage to all other members of Ustilaginomycotina . Further genomic and phenotypic data support two different species ( Peribolospora kevripleyi , Peribolospora baueri ), which are heat resistant and osmotolerant.
... Quambalaria pitereka (J. Walker & Bertus) J.A. Simpson was first described as Ramularia species (Walker & Bertus 1971) and was transferred to Sporothrix (Braun 1998), before its affiliation to Ustilaginomycotina was assumed (Simpson 2000) and confirmed by DNA sequence analysis (de Beer et al. 2006). The basidiomycetous nature of Quambalaria species was further confirmed by TEM by the discovery of dolipores (de Beer et al. 2006). ...
... Walker & Bertus) J.A. Simpson was first described as Ramularia species (Walker & Bertus 1971) and was transferred to Sporothrix (Braun 1998), before its affiliation to Ustilaginomycotina was assumed (Simpson 2000) and confirmed by DNA sequence analysis (de Beer et al. 2006). The basidiomycetous nature of Quambalaria species was further confirmed by TEM by the discovery of dolipores (de Beer et al. 2006). Quambalaria species are plant parasitic or associated with insects and form smooth conidia and a yeast stage (Simpson 2000;Kolařík et al. 2006;Antropova et al. 2014). ...
... Species of Urocystidales are characterized by non-membranous bands in the pores. Pores are mostly simple, except for Tilletiales and Quambalariaceae within the Microstromatales that have dolipores (Bauer et al. 1997;de Beer et al. 2006;Oberwinkler and Bauer 2018). We could find a dolipore-like structure in a vegetative hyphal septum only once in the material from nature. ...
A Ramularia-like hyphomycete was discovered on uredinia of Phakopsora ampelopsidis on leaves of wild Ampelopsis brevipedunculata and cultivated Parthenocissus tricuspidata in several cities in Taiwan. The micromorphology of this fungicolous fungus is similar to that of species of the genus Ramularia which are mostly plant parasites but some species grow on rust fungi. Analyses of SSU and LSU rDNA and RPB2 gene sequence data and of ultrastructural features observed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the fungus represents a novel lineage within the Ustilaginomycotina. The name Quasiramularia phakopsoricola is proposed for this new species in a new genus, a new family, and a new order. Sequence data obtained for ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2 rDNA, however, did not match to any known fungal lineage. Bioinformatics analyses showed that these sequence data are extremely GC poor, but most probably do not represent a pseudogene. Extreme deviations of GC content can be observed in several lineages of Basidiomycota. Such variations affect the results of phylogenetic analyses and are an important source of artifacts.
... The SILVA and RDP reference datasets lacked representation of the genus Tilletiopsis. Both Microstroma and Tilletiopsis are in the subclass Exobasidiomycetidae (De Beer et al., 2006). As a result, both of the simple matching classifiers generated the closest identification possible. ...
Simple nucleotide matching identification methods are not as accurate as once thought at identifying environmental fungal sequences. This is largely because of incorrect naming and the underrepresentation of various fungal groups in reference datasets. Here, we explore these issues by examining an environmental metabarcoding dataset of partial large subunit rRNA sequences of Basidiomycota and basal fungi. We employed the simple matching method using the QIIME 2 classifier and the RDP Classifier in conjunction with the latest releases of the SILVA (138.1, 2020) and RDP (11, 2014) reference datasets and then compared the results with a manual phylogenetic binning approach. Of the 71 query sequences tested, 21 and 42% were misidentified using QIIME 2 and the RDP Classifier, respectively. Of these simple matching misidentifications, more than half resulted from the underrepresentation of various groups of fungi in the SILVA and RDP reference datasets. More comprehensive reference datasets with fewer misidentified sequences will increase the accuracy of simple matching identifications. However, we argue that the phylogenetic binning approach is a better alternative to simple matching since, in addition to better accuracy, it provides evolutionary information about query sequences.
... The Quambalariaceae is a family of fungi in the class Exobasidiomycetes. The family contains the single genus Quambalaria, which contains five species, including Quambalaria cyanescens, Q. coyrecup, Q. eucalypti, Q. pitereka and Q. simpsonii [3,4]. The first Q. ...
... To resolve this problem, these authors established the new genus Fugomyces, and designated C. cyanescens as Fugomyces cyanescens [8]. Recently, phylogenetic studies conducted by de Beer et al. [3] have reassigned this species in the family Quambalariaceae as Q. cyanescens, based on the analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and LSU sequences combined with ultrastructural characteristics. ...
Quambalaria cyanescens was positively identified on the surface of unripened grapes by physiological and molecular techniques; this is the first work describing the isolation of this fungus in European grapes and all of them produced an exocellular β-glucosidase. Once isolates with higher activity were selected, the enzyme has been qualitatively and quantitatively determined and characterized, by spectrophotometric methods, based on its biotechnological properties Exocellular β-glucosidase produced by Q. cyanescens is inhibited by glucose but is an ethanol-tolerant enzyme and its activity is independent of the pH value. Divalent cations, mainly Ca2+, highly increase enzymatic activity. This is the first work describing the isolation, identification and characterization of Q. cyanescens in grapes. Although there is growing interest in the search for new fungal β-glucosidases, the vast majority of studies were performed with imperfect fungi, and there are scant reports that deal with basidiomycetous fungi, not only for biotechnological purposes but also for physiological research.
... This level of variability in Q. pitereka, in contrast to the apparent clonality of Q. eucalypti isolates from South Africa (Fig. 2), supports earlier suggestions that Australia is the centre of origin of Quambalaria Roux et al., 2006). These suggestions were based merely on the fact that all Quambalaria species have been reported only from trees native to Australia that have been introduced into other countries (Wingfield et al., 1993;Braun, 1998;Bettucci et al., 1999;Alfenas et al., 2001;De Beer et al., 2006;Roux et al., 2006). ...
Quambalaria spp. include serious plant pathogens, causing leaf and shoot blight of Corymbia
and Eucalyptus spp. In this study, a disease resembling Quambalaria leaf blight was observed
on young Corymbia citriodora trees in a plantation in the Guangdong Province of China.
Comparisons of rDNA sequence data showed that the causal agent of the disease is Q. pitereka.
This study provides the first report of Quambalaria leaf blight from China, and it is also the
first time that this pathogen has been found on trees outside the native range of Eucalypts.
... contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. orders, for families of Exobasidiales, and for genera of Brachybasidiaceae are summarized in Table 1, following the way of presentation used by de Beer et al. (2006) for Microstromatales. For species included in the genera of Brachybasidiaceae, host species, and known geographic distribution, see Online Resource 1. Selected species of Table 1 Synopsis of distinctive characteristics of Exobasidiomycetes, Exobasidiales and morphologically close orders, families of Exobasidiales, and genera of Brachybasidiaceae. ...
The Brachybasidiaceae are a family of 22 known species of plant-parasitic microfungi belonging to Exobasidiales, Basidiomycota. Within this family, species of the largest genus Kordyana develop balls of basidia on top of stomatal openings. Basidial cells originate from fungal stroma filling substomatal chambers. Species of Kordyana typically infect species of Commelinaceae. During fieldwork in the neotropics, fungi morphologically similar to Kordyana spp. were found on Goeppertia spp. (syn. Calathea spp., Marantaceae), namely on G. panamensis in Panama and on G. propinqua in Bolivia. These specimens are proposed as representatives of a genus new to science, Marantokordyana, based on the distinct host family and molecular sequence data of ITS and LSU rDNA regions. The specimens on the two host species represent two species new to science, M. oberwinkleriana on G. panamensis and M. boliviana on G. propinqua. They differ by the size and shape of their basidia, molecular sequence data of ITS and LSU rDNA regions, and host plant species. In the past, the understanding of Brachybasidiaceae at order and family level was significantly improved by investigation realized by Franz Oberwinkler and his collaborators at the University of Tübingen, Germany. On species level, however, our knowledge is still very poor due to incomplete species descriptions of several existing names in literature, scarceness of specimens, as well as sequence data lacking for many taxa and for further barcode regions. Especially species of Kordyana and species of Dicellomyces are in need of revision.
Graphical Abstract
... There have been more records of Q. cyanescens ( ¼ F. cyanescens) associated with blood and various clinical materials mostly from immunodeficient patients (Kolarik et al., 2006). de Beer et al. (2006) proposed a new combination for F. cyanescens in Quambalaria as Q. cyanescens. ...
During surveys on grapevines trunk diseases in vineyards at different localities in East and West Azerbaijan and Ardabil provinces, Iran, wood samples (two, three year-old cordons) were collected from grapevine showing decline symptoms, including leaf yellowing and necrosis, stunted growth, internal wood necrosis, black vascular discolouration. Nine fungal isolates with similar morphology were recovered from grapevines with decline symptoms in five different areas, which one-third of the isolates were recovered as the sole fungal agents. The identity of fungal isolates was determined as Quambalaria cyanescens based on the combination of cultural and morphological characteristics and DNA phylogeny. Pathogenicity trials based on excised shoot assay and potted grapevine under greenhouse conditions confirmed Q. cyanescens being pathogenic on grapevines; the isolates induced symptoms similar to those observed in naturally infected grapevines. Our findings confirm Q. cyanescens as a new fungal trunk pathogen of grapevine. Members of the genus Quambalaria are known to cause leaf spot, shoot blight and canker disease on Eucalyptus and its relative Corymbia. The current study is the first regarding pathogenicity of the Q. cyanescens on woody hosts; in previous studies Q. cyanescens has proven to be non-pathogenic to Corymbia spp. The host range, extent of geographical distribution and economic significance of this new pathogen on grapevine remains to be studied.
... Later, de Beer et al. (2006) proposed a new family, Quambalariaceae, to accommodate Quambalaria, which was placed in a monophyletic clade in the Microstromatales. Six species of Quambalaria are presently listed in Index Fungorum and MycoBank, being chiefly associated with leaf and shoot diseases of Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus and Corymbia) (Hoog & Vries 1973;Simpson 2000;Beer et al. 2006;Paap et al. 2008;Cheewangkoon et al. 2009). Quambalaria pusilla is the only species without DNA data available (Beer et al. 2006), but it differs morphologically from Q. fabacearum mainly in the size of the conidiophores (5-25 × 1-2 µm), and primary (4-10 × 1-2 µm) and secondary conidia (1.5-3.5 × 0.5-1.5 µm) (Braun 1998). ...
... Six species of Quambalaria are presently listed in Index Fungorum and MycoBank, being chiefly associated with leaf and shoot diseases of Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus and Corymbia) (Hoog & Vries 1973;Simpson 2000;Beer et al. 2006;Paap et al. 2008;Cheewangkoon et al. 2009). Quambalaria pusilla is the only species without DNA data available (Beer et al. 2006), but it differs morphologically from Q. fabacearum mainly in the size of the conidiophores (5-25 × 1-2 µm), and primary (4-10 × 1-2 µm) and secondary conidia (1.5-3.5 × 0.5-1.5 µm) (Braun 1998). Besides species of Quambalaria being reported as pathogenic to plants, Q. cyanescens is the only species thus far to be associated with human infections, although they are believed to be opportunistic infections, or as a environmental contaminant (Hoog & Vries 1973;Fan et al. 2014). ...
Here, Quambalaria fabacearum and Neopestalotiopsis brasiliensis are introduced as new species from Brazil, isolated as endophyte from Mimosa tenuiflora and causing post-harvest rot disease on fruits of Psidium guajava, respectively. Diaporthe inconspicua is emended to include a more detailed morphological description. Neopestalotiopsis egyptiaca is reported as new to the Americas and as causing post-harvest rot disease on fruits of Psidium guajava, while Umbelopsis isabellina is reported as endophyte.
