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Issue: Vol. 689 No. 2: 24 Feb. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-02-24
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.689.2.4
Page range: 213-222
Abstract views: 115
PDF downloaded: 17

Host Range Variability and Geographic Distribution of Meliola Species (Meliolales)

State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbial Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. College of Resources and Environment, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563000, China.
State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
Geographical distribution Host Obligate Species delineation Tropical Vascular plant Fungi

Abstract

Meliola is the largest genus in Meliolales that includes obligate, biotrophic foliar fungi growing on the surface of various plants parts, including leaves, stems, branches, and occasionally petioles of vascular plants. Meliola species occurs predominantly in tropical and subtropical regions. They are characterized by hyphal colonies on host surfaces and setae attached to these superficial hyphae, as well as distinctive morphological features of species of Meliolales, including unitunicate asci containing 2–4 pigmented, 3–4 septate ascospores. This study aims to analyze the host range and geographical distribution of Meliola species. Species delineation in Meliola is usually based host plant species names. However, how far naming of fungal species after host nomenclature is still questionable, as many morphologically similar Meliola species have been recorded from unrelated host plants. The range of host plants colonized by these species is highly variable with some species specialized to particular plant species. We conducted a comprehensive survey of Meliola species using published articles, books, and web-based resources. The highest species diversity was observed in tropical and sub-tropical environments. Current study focuses on the variability and geographical distribution of the genus Meliola. Meliola species have been recorded from different countries with different host plants. The enlisted data contains 177 plant families and 1765 Meliola species. These results provide a foundation for further ecological studies of species of Meliola and contribute to our understanding of fungal biodiversity and biogeography.

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How to Cite

Khan, M.B., Zeng, X.-Y., Wahab, A., Sinang, H., Huang, S.-K., Wei, D.-P., Liu, Z.-H., Kang, J.-C., He, Z.-J., Zhang, X., Peng, X.-C. & Wen, T.-C. (2025) Host Range Variability and Geographic Distribution of Meliola Species (Meliolales). Phytotaxa 689 (2): 213–222. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.689.2.4