An independent Taiwanese lineage of powdery mildew on the endemic host species Koelreuteria henryi

TL;DR

A new powdery mildew species, E. formosana, was discovered in Taiwan, linked to a unique host plant and distinct from Chinese populations.

Contribution

Identification of a new Erysiphe species and a new host association in Taiwan, revealing speciation patterns tied to host and geographic distribution.

Findings

Erysiphe formosana is a new species related to E. bulbouncinula found on Koelreuteria henryi in Taiwan.

Sawadaea koelreuteriae is newly recorded on K. henryi in Taiwan.

Host and geographic distribution patterns suggest speciation driven by host extinction and disjunction.

Abstract

Powdery mildews (Erysiphaceae, Ascomycota) are common plant disease agents and also cause stress for forest and fruit trees worldwide as well as in Taiwan. The powdery mildew Erysiphe bulbouncinula on Koelreuteria host trees was considered an endemic species in China. While in China the host was K. paniculata and only the teleomorph stage found, the anamorph and the teleomorph were both recorded for the host in Taiwan, K. henryi. We aimed to clarify the relationship of the powdery mildews recorded under E. bulbouncinula with an apparently disjunct distribution.

Specimens of powdery mildew on K. henryi from Taiwan were characterized based on the anamorph morphology and DNA sequences. They revealed a new record of Sawadaea koelreuteriae for this host species and Taiwan and a new species of Erysiphe, E. formosana, sister to E. bulbouncinula from China.

In Erysiphe on Koelreuteria hosts, speciation of plant parasitic fungi seems to be correlated with disjunct host and geographic distribution possibly shaped by extinction of potential host species which are known only as fossils. Two of the three extant East Asian species of Koelreuteria are now known as hosts of specific Erysiphe species. We may predict a further not yet discovered Erysiphe species on the third East Asian species, K. bipinnata, in South and Southwest China. In the speciation in Sawadaea, the extinction events in Koelreuteria can be excluded from being involved.

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