ARS | Publication request: GENERIC RANK AND A NEW VARIETY FOR CLADOSPORIUM MALORUM.

Submitted to: Inoculum
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 1, 2002
Publication Date: June 1, 2002
Citation: DUGAN, F.M., BRAUN, U., GROENEWALD, J.Z., CROUS, P.W. GENERIC RANK AND A NEW VARIETY FOR CLADOSPORIUM MALORUM.. INOCULUM. 2002. v. 53 (3) p. 27.

Interpretive Summary: In 1936 Cladosporium malorum was reported as the overwhelmingly dominant fungus recovered from wheat grain in eastern Washington state (Trans. American Microsc. Soc. 55:281-285). Since that time, the fungus has been only very rarely documented, but is now reported from a small but growing number of plant species. C. malorum is not a true Cladosporium, and appears sufficiently distinct in structure and genetic composition to warrant assignment to its own genus. A new variety of C. malorum was recently discovered. The new variety produces, in addition to the structures diagnostic for C. malorum, spores of unusual size and septation. The ecological importance and role of C. malorum are essentially unknown, as are the reasons for it's seemingly stochastic distribution in time, host substrate and geographic occurrence.

Technical Abstract: Cladosporium malorum is distinct on the basis of conidiogenesis and ITS sequences from species in Cladosporium, Cladophialophora, Hormoconis, Mycovellosiella, Phaeoramularia, Pseudocladosporium, and other cladosporium-like genera. Separate generic rank is justified for C. malorum. A new variety of C. malorum sporadically produced multi-septate and/or muriform conidia in basal and intercalary positions within chains of the tretic poro-conidia characteristic of the species. Seldom reported in the past, C. malorum is increasingly recovered from a wide variety of plants and geographic localities.