Abstract
During a survey of putative tree pathogens on oak forests in Gangwon Province, South Korea, a fungal isolate exhibiting morphological characteristics typical of Ceratocystis was consistently recovered from natural wounds on Quercus mongolica. Multi-locus phylogenetic analyses based on maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood approaches using three loci (TUB2, TEF1α and MCM7), combined with distinctive morphological features of aleuriospores and conidia, revealed that the isolate forms a phylogenetically distinct lineage. Consequently, this fungus is herein described as Ceratocystis quercina sp. nov., marking the second novel species newly described from South Korea, following C. quercicola. In this regard, this discovery suggests the potential for further taxonomic novelty within the genus Ceratocystis and highlights the need for broader surveys to determine the actual prevalence and spatial distribution of Ceratocystis taxa in the Korean Peninsula.
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