Handbook Part 2 - International Mycological Association

PS5-560-0598
Ophiostomatoid fungi associated with the spruce bark beetle Pityogenes chalcographus in Austria
T. Kirisits, H. Konrad
Institute of Forest Entomology, Forest Pathology and Forest Protection (IFFF), Department of Forest and Soil Sciences,
BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
The phloem-feeding bark beetle Pityogenes chalcographus is an economically important forest pest in Europe. This
insect primarily infests Norway spruce (Picea abies) and occasionally other conifers. Most conifer bark beetles live in
symbiosis with blue-stain fungi, belonging to the ascomycete genera Ophiostoma, Ceratocystiopsis and Ceratocystis
and to related anamorph genera such as Leptographium and Pesotum. They are also known as the ophiostomatoid
fungi. Many ophiostomatoid fungi associated with bark beetles cause discoloration of the sapwood of conifers and
some species are pathogenic to their host trees. The aim of this study was to investigate the species spectrum and
abundance of ophiostomatoid fungi associated with P. chalcographus in Austria.
Stem sections of Norway spruce colonized by P. chalcographus were collected in 1993 and from 1996-1999 at various
localities in Austria. Malt extract agar (2 % malt, 1.6 % agar, supplemented with 100 mgl-1 streptomycin sulphate) was
used as medium for isolations. Fungi were isolated directly from the beetles as well as from the phloem and sapwood
of beetle-infested trees. Isolations were also made from phloem and sapwood tissues taken from logs that had been
inoculated with beetles five to six weeks earlier. Additionally, a few isolates were obtained from conidia and
ascospores taken from fungal structures occurring in the galleries of the insects. Ophiostomatoid fungi were identified
based on morphological characteristics of sexual and asexual stages.
In total 11 ophiostomatoid fungi were found to be associated with P. chalcographus in Austria. Ophiostoma ainoae,
a Leptographium sp. and a Pesotum sp. were most frequently isolated, and Ceratocystiopsis minuta, Graphium
fimbriisporum and Ophiostoma piceaperdum were also relatively common. Rare components of the ophiostomatoid
mycobiota of P. chalcographus included Ceratocystis polonica, Ophiostoma bicolor, O. cucullatum, O. floccosum
and O. piceae. Ophiostoma penicillatum, previously reported as fungal associate of P. chalcographus was not found
in this study. The Leptographium species commonly associated with P. chalcographus appears to represent a new
taxon, based on morphological and rDNA ITS sequence comparisons. The virulent blue-stain fungus, C. polonica was
only rarely recorded as fungal associate of P. chalcographus. This is in contrast to Ips typographus, the most
economically important spruce bark beetle species in Europe, which is a common vector of C. polonica. In conlusion,
P. chalcographus is a consistent vector of a diverse assemblage of ophiostomatoid fungi in Austria, but the associated
fungi likely display only moderate or low levels of virulence to Norway spruce.
PS5-561-0611
Sixteen rust fungi from Northeast of Iran
Mehdi Sadravi, Yoshitaka Ono, Ming Pei
1 Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Gorgan, Iran, Gorgan, Iran, 2 Faculty of
Education, Ibaraki, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, 3 Roth Amsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
The field survey of the Golestan Province, northeast of Iran, in the past 10 years resulted in the new geographic
distribution and host records of sixteen rust fungi in Iran: Melampsora coleosporioides Dietel , M. allii- populina Kleb.,
Phragmidium bulbosum( Strauss) Schlechtend , Ph. violaceaum (Schultz) Winter, Ph. rosae-pimpinellifoliae Dietel , Ph.
tuberculatum Muller, Puccinia absinthii (Hedw.f.)DC. , Pu. allii (DC.) Rud., Pu. coronata Corda f.sp. avenea Erikss. , Pu.
coronata Corda f.sp. hordei Jin and Steffenson , Pu. graminis Pers.:Perss.f.sp. avenae Eriks. and Henn. , Pu. hordei Otth.
, Pu. persistens Plow. subsp. triticina ( Erikss.) Urban et Markova , Tranzschelia discolor ( Fuckel ) Tranzschel and Litv.
, Uromyces striatus Schroet and U. viciae-fabae(Pers.) Schroet. M. coleosporioides and Ph. bulbosum are new for the
Iranian mycoflora. Pu. coronata f.sp. hordei is new to Iran and probably Asian barley mycoflora.
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