Leptographium pruni, sp. nov. from bark beetle-infested Prunus jamasakura in Japan

Leptographium species are anamorphs of Ophiostoma, commonly isolated from conifer. There are, however, a small number of these fungi that have been collected from angiosperm hosts. In this study, we describe Leptographium pruni, sp. nov. isolated from the bark of Prunus jamasakura infested by the bark beetle Polygraphus ssiori. This new species is unusual in having a distinct Sporothrix synanamorph with ramoconidia. No evidence of a teleomorph was found, but a high level of tolerance to the antibiotic cycloheximide and the presence of a Sporothrix synanamorph suggest that L. pruni is an Ophiostoma anamorph. Analysis of sequence data for the domain 1 region of the LSUrDNA operon also supports the phylogenetic relationship of L. pruni with Ophiostoma. In addition, sequence data suggest that L. pruni is related to other species of Leptographium rather than Pesotum species with distinct Sporothrix synanamorphs.