Pewenomyces Kutranfy Gen. Nov. Et Sp. Nov. Causal Agent Of An Important Canker Disease On Araucaria Araucana In Chile

Araucaria araucana, (commonly referred to as araucaria, pewen, or monkey puzzle tree) is an ancient conifer endemic to the Chilean and Argentinian mountain ranges where it has a sacred relevance to indigenous communities. During 2015, a serious disease was noticed on trees of all ages in most of the natural distribution of this iconic tree. Four areas were surveyed, and the most important symptoms of the disease were cankers on branches and stems resulting in copious resin exudation. Trees were monitored for a period of two years and isolations were made from the cankers. Field observations showed that the disease typically begins on the leaves or at the leaf bases and progresses downwards to initiate cankers that can girdle branches or stems within a two-year period. Black ascomata, resembling those of Caliciopsis species previously described from A. araucana, were consistently found developing in the cankers from which isolations were made. Phylogenetic analyses of the ITS, nucSSU, and nucLSU gene regions showed that the fungus resides in the Coryneliaceae but is distinct from other genera in that family. The morphological characteristics and phylogenetic position of the fungus show that it represents a new genus and species, described here as Pewenomyces kutranfy gen. nov. et sp. nov. Pathogenicity trials on trees under field conditions confirmed that this newly described fungus is able to cause cankers on A. araucana similar to those found under natural conditions.