Original paper

The first phylogenetic study of Lasiobotrys (Sympoventuriaceae, Venturiales)

Mehrabi, Mehdi

Abstract

During a survey of fungal diversity conducted in Golestan National Park in June 2025, Lasiobotrys lonicerae, the type species of the genus, was collected from Lonicera sp. The fungus occurred on leaves and thin branches, forming solitary or aggregated, circular, conspicuous black leaf spots. These lesions developed from a plate-like subcuticular hypostroma that ruptured the cuticle to produce clusters of sclerotium-like stromata, from which ascomata subsequently formed. Because the familial placement of Lasiobotrys has remained unresolved, phylogenetic analyses were conducted using sequences of the internal transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2, including the intervening 5.8S nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS), together with partial nuclear 28S ribosomal DNA (LSU). Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods were employed. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on combined ITS–LSU datasets, with strong statistical support, indicated that the genus Lasiobotrys should be placed in the family Sympoventuriaceae (order Venturiales). In addition, new information on diagnostic morphological characters of Lasiobotrys is provided.

Keywords

Iran • Lonicera • Phylogeny • Ribosomal DNA • Taxonomy