Abstract:
Coccodiella is a genus of plant-parasitic species in
the family Phyllachoraceae (Phyllachorales, Ascomycota),
i.e., tropical tar spot fungi. Members of the genus Coccodiella
are tropical in distribution and are host-specific, growing on
plant species belonging to nine host plant families. Most of
the known species occur on various genera and species of the
Melastomataceae in tropical America. In this study, we describe
the new species C. calatheae from Panama, growing on
Calathea crotalifera (Marantaceae). We obtained ITS, nrLSU,
and nrSSU sequence data from this new species and from other
freshly collected specimens of five species of Coccodiella on
members of Melastomataceae from Ecuador and Panama.
Phylogenetic analyses allowed us to confirm the placement of
Coccodiella within Phyllachoraceae, as well as the monophyly
of the genus. The phylogeny of representative species within
the family Phyllachoraceae, including Coccodiella spp.,
graminicolous species of Phyllachora and taxa with erumpent
to superficial stroma from several host families, suggests that
the genus Phyllachora might be polyphyletic. Furthermore, tarspot fungi with superficial or erumpent perithecia seem to be
restricted to the family Phyllachoraceae, independently of the
host plant. We also discuss the biodiversity and host-plant patterns
of species of Coccodiella worldwide.
