Ceratocystis quercicola sp. nov. from Quercus variabilis in Korea

During a survey of putative fungal pathogens infecting oak trees in the Gangwon Province of the Republic of Korea, a fungus resembling a <i>Ceratocystis</i> sp. was repeatedly isolated from natural wounds on <i>Quercus variabilis</i>. Morphological comparisons and DNA sequence comparisons based on partial β-tubulin and TEF-1α gene regions showed that the fungus resided in a distinct lineage. This novel <i>Ceratocystis</i> species is described here as <i>C. quercicola</i> sp. nov. This is the first novel species of <i>Ceratocystis</i> to be reported from Korea. A pathogenicity test showed that it can cause lesions on inoculated trees but that it had a very low level of aggressiveness. The discovery of this fungus suggests that additional taxa residing in <i>Ceratocystis</i> are likely to be discovered in Korea in the future.