An integrative re-evaluation of the <i>Fusarium sambucinum</i> species complex

Abstract

The species-rich <i>Fusarium sambucinum</i> species complex (FSAMSC; <i>Fusarium, Nectriaceae, Hypocreales</i>) is well-known for including devastating plant pathogens and toxigenic species. However, this group of grass-loving fungi also accommodates soil saprobes, endophytes, mycoparasites and rare opportunistic pathogens of humans and other animals. Recent publications have highlighted the vast phylogenetic and biochemical diversity of the FSAMSC, although a large number of taxa in FSAMSC have not been systematically described and still lack Latin binomials. In this study we established the phylogenetic breadth of the FSAMSC using an integrative approach including morphological, multilocus phylogenetic, and coalescence analyses based on five gene regions (calmodulin, RNA polymerase II largest and second largest subunits, translation elongation factor 1-α, and β-tubulin). Results obtained support the recognition of 75 taxa in FSAMSC, including all the currently known species segregates of the Fusarium head-blight pathogen <i>F. graminearum s. lat.</i> Thirty novel species are formally described and illustrated, while four phylogenetic species remain undescribed. An epitype is proposed for the generic type of <i>Fusarium, F. sambucinum</i>, from recently collected material identified by means of morphology, phylogenetics and mating experiments, fixing the phylogenetic application of the name. Additional notes are included on the typification of <i>Fusisporium cerealis</i> (syn. <i>Fusarium cerealis</i>). <b>Taxonomic novelties: New species</b>: <i>Fusarium agreste</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium amblysporum</i> Sand.-Den., M.M. Costa, <i>Fusarium bananae</i> Sand.-Den., M.M. Costa, <i>Fusarium bellum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium brachypes</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium carinatum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium cultriforme</i> Sand.-Den., M.M. Costa, <i>Fusarium cuspidatum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium cygneum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium dimorphosporum</i> Sand.-Den., M.M. Costa, J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium dolichosporum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium gladiolum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium hamatum</i> Sand.-Den., M.M. Costa, J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium leptum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium longicolle</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium magnum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium mastigosporum</i> Sand.-Den., M.M. Costa, J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium minutum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium mucronatum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium parabolicum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium platysporum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium pratense</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium</i> <i>procumbens</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium pseudolongipes</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium sagittatum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium</i> <i>seculiforme</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium subcylindroides</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium symmetricum</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium tropicale</i> Sand.-Den., M.M. Costa, J.Z. Groenew. & Crous, <i>Fusarium vermicularioides</i> Sand.-Den., J.Z. Groenew. & Crous. <b>Epitype</b>: <i>Fusarium sambucinum</i> Fuckel. <b>Citation:</b> Sandoval-Denis M, Costa MM, Broders K, Becker Y, Maier W, Yurkov A, Kermode A, Buddie AG, Ryan MJ, Schumacher RK, Groenewald JZ, Crous PW (2024). An integrative re-evaluation of the <i>Fusarium sambucinum</i> species complex. <i>Studies in Mycology</i> <b>110</b>: 1-110 doi: 10.3114/sim.2025.110.01.