An overview of Melanommataceae (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes): Current insight into the host associations and geographical distribution with some interesting novel additions from plant litter

Abstract

Melanommataceous species exhibit high diversity with a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide and show a prominent saprobic lifestyle. In this study, we explored five saprobic species collected from plant litter substrates from terrestrial habitats in China and Thailand. A combination of morphological characteristics and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses was used to determine their taxonomic classifications. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference analyses of combined LSU, SSU, ITS and tef1-α sequence data were used to clarify the phylogenetic affinities of the species. Byssosphaeria poaceicola and Herpotrichia zingiberacearum are introduced as new species, while three new host records, Bertiella fici, By. siamensis and Melanomma populicola are also reported from litter of Cinnamomum verum, Citrus trifoliata and Fagus sylvatica, respectively. Yet, despite the rising interest in the melanommataceous species, there is a considerable gap in knowledge on their host associations and geographical distributions. Consequently, we compiled the host-species associations and geographical distributions of all the so far known melanommataceous species.