Leptosphaerulina australis
Leptosphaerulina australis McAlpine, Fungus Diseases of stone-fruit trees in Australia: 103 (1902).
Index Fungorum number: IF 183159; Facesoffungi number: FoF 11511, Fig. 1
Description: see Crous et al. (2011).
Material considered: see Crous et al. (2011).
Fig. 1 Leptosphaerulina australis (CBS 116307, re-drawn from Fig. 22 in Crous et al. 2011). a Ascomata forming on SNA. b Ostiolar region of ascomata. c, d Asci. e Ascospores. Scale bars: a = 100 μm, b–d = 10 μm, e = 20 μm.
Importance and distribution
Species of Leptosphaerulina are saprobic or plant pathogen causing wide range of diseases such as Leptosphaerulina leaf blight commonly found on most turfgrasses (Victoria et al. 2020), foliar diseases of peanuts (Damicone 2017), pepper spot and scorch (Pande et al. 1993) and taro (Leptosphaerulina) leaf spot (Carmichael et al. 2008). There are 59 Leptosphaerulina epithets in Index Fungorum (2022), but several species have been transferred to Merismatium, Phaeosphaeria, Pleosphaerulina, Pseudopithomyces, Sporidesmium, Sydowia and Wettsteinina. Leptosphaerulina comprises 49 species known on wide range of plants. Leptosphaerulina has wide distribution including Africa (Kenya, Malawi), Asia (China, India, Japan), Australia, Europe (Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Sweden), New Zealand, North America (Canada) and The United States (Missouri, Pennsylvania).
Industrial relevance and applications
Leptosphaerulina produces several chemical compounds such as laccase-type multicopper oxidases (Copete et al. 2015), ligninolytic enzymes (Copete-Pertuz et al. 2019) and others.
References
Abler SW. 2003 – Ecology and Taxonomy of Leptosphaerulina spp. associated with Turfgrasses in the United States. (Master’s thesis). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Blacksburg, VA.
Barr ME. 1982 – On the Pleomassariaceae (Pleosporales) in North America. Mycotaxon 15, 349–383.
Carmichael AC, Harding RE, Jackson G, Kumar S, Lal SB, Masamdu R, Wright J, Clarke AR. 2008 – TaroPest: an illustrated guide to pests and diseases of taro in the South Pacific.
Copete LS, Chanagá X, Barriuso J, López-Lucendo MF et al. 2015 – Identification and characterization of laccase-type multicopper oxidases involved in dye-decolorization by the fungus Leptosphaerulina sp. BMC Biotechnology 15, 74.
Copete-Pertuz LS, Alandete-Novoa F, Plácido J, Correa-Londoño GA, Mora-Martínez AL. 2019 – Enhancement of ligninolytic enzymes production and decolourising activity in Leptosphaerulina sp. by co-cultivation with Trichoderma viride and Aspergillus terreus. Science of the Total Environment 1, 646, 1536–1545.
Crous PW, Summerell BA, Swart L, Denman S et al. 2011 – Fungal pathogens of Proteaceae. Persoonia 27, 20–45.
Damicone 2017– Foliar Diseases of Peanuts. Available at: https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/foliar-diseases-of-peanuts.html
Eriksson OE, Hawksworth DL. 1998 – Outline of the ascomycetes. Systema Ascomycetum 16, 83296.
Inderbitzin P, Jones EBG, Vrijmoed LLP. 2000 – A new species of Leptosphaerulina from decaying mangrove wood from Hong Kong. Mycoscience 41, 233–237.
Irwin JA, Davis RD. 1985 – Taxonomy of some Leptosphaerulina spp. on legumes in Eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 33, 233–237.
Kodsueb R, Dhanasekaran V, Aptroot A, Lumyong S, Mckenzie EHC, Hyde KD, Jeewon R. 2006 – The family Pleosporaceae: intergeneric relationships and phylogenetic perspectives based on sequence analyses of partial 28S rDNA. Mycologia 98, 571–583.
Pande S, Sharma BP, Rao GVR, Rao JVDKK, Koirala G, Rao JN, McDonald D, Joshi M. 1993 – First report of pepper spot and leaf scorch on groundnut in Nepal. International Arachis Newsletter 13. pp. 8-9. ISSN 1010-5824.
Silva-Hanlin DM, Hanlin RT. 1999 – Small subunit ribosomal RNA gene phylogeny of several loculoascomycetes and its taxonomic implications. Mycological Research 103, 153–160.
Sundheim L, Wilcoxson RD. 1965 – Leptosphaerulina briosiana on alfalfa: infection and disease development, host-parasite relationships, ascospore germination and dissemination. Phytopathology 55, 546–553.
Victoria AAD, Furtado BE, Holz MT, Romero-Arenas O, Dallagnol LJ. 2020 – First Report of Leptosphaerulina Leaf Spot Caused by Leptosphaerulina trifolii on Trifolium repens in Brazil. Plant Disease104, 3, 972.
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