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Issue: Vol. 784 No. 2: 12 Nov. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-11-12
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.784.2.2
Page range: 134-160
Abstract views: 45
PDF downloaded: 0

Morphological and multilocus phylogenetic analyses reveal three endophytic Nigrospora species from fresh leaves of sandalwood (Santalum album L.) in Yunnan, China

Honghe Center for Mountain Futures; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Honghe County 654400; Yunnan; P.R. China
Honghe Center for Mountain Futures; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Honghe County 654400; Yunnan; P.R. China; Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology; Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; Yunnan Province; P.R. China; Center for Mountain Futures (CMF); Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; Yunnan Province; P.R. China; Department of Biology; School of Science; King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang; Bangkok 10520; Thailand
Honghe Center for Mountain Futures; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Honghe County 654400; Yunnan; P.R. China; Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology; Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; Yunnan Province; P.R. China; Department of Health Sciences; Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences; University of Mauritius; Reduit 80837; Mauritius; School of Pharmacy; Zunyi Medical University; Guizhou Province 563000; P.R. China
College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences; Yuxi Normal University; Yuxi 65310; Yunnan Province; P.R. China
Honghe Center for Mountain Futures; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Honghe County 654400; Yunnan; P.R. China; Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology; Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; Yunnan Province; P.R. China; Center for Mountain Futures (CMF); Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; Yunnan Province; P.R. China
Department of Public Health; College of Applied Medical Sciences in Al-Namas; University of Bisha; Al-Namas City 67398; Saudi Arabia
Department of Biology; School of Science; King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang; Bangkok 10520; Thailand
Honghe Center for Mountain Futures; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Honghe County 654400; Yunnan; P.R. China; Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology; Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; Yunnan Province; P.R. China; Center for Mountain Futures (CMF); Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; Yunnan Province; P.R. China
Fungi Apiosporaceae dematiaceous hyphomycetes leaf-inhabiting endophytic fungi morpho-molecular approach

Abstract

Endophytic fungi are an important component of microbial diversity in plant ecosystems and have substantial potential for ecological and biotechnological applications. This study reports Nigrospora species associated with Santalum album (white sandalwood) in Yunnan Province, China. Endophytic fungi were isolated from fresh leaves of S. album and identified based on morphological characteristics and DNA sequence data from three loci: the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), partial translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1-α), and partial β-tubulin (tub2) genes. Based on morphological characterization and multilocus phylogenetic analyses of a concatenated ITS, tef1-α, and tub2 dataset, three Nigrospora species were identified, namely Nigrospora lacticolonia, N. shadeganensis, and N. sphaerica. These three species are reported for the first time as endophytes associated with S. album. These findings expand the known host range of the genus Nigrospora, enrich our understanding of its taxonomic and ecological diversity, and provide new insights into the diversity of endophytic fungi associated with sandalwood, a commercially and ecologically valuable tree species.

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How to Cite

Qi, H., Li, J., Jeewon, R., Li, H., Jiang, H., Siddiqui, S., Tangthirasunun, N. & Phookamsak, R. (2026) Morphological and multilocus phylogenetic analyses reveal three endophytic Nigrospora species from fresh leaves of sandalwood (Santalum album L.) in Yunnan, China. Phytotaxa 784 (2): 134–160. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.784.2.2