Petriella ulmi, sp. nov., A New Synnematous Fungal Species of Microascaceae Associated with Bark Beetle Galleries on Elm Trees in Iran

In a survey of fungal species associated with bark beetle galleries and decline symptoms on elm trees in northwestern zone of Iran, synnematous fungal isolates were recovered from bark beetle galleries on declining elm trees in the Tabriz, Bostan Abad and the Zanjan regions. A phylogeny inferred based on combined LSU-rDNA and ITS-rDNA sequence data, clustered our isolate in a separate lineage within the genus Petriella in the family Microascaceae. Integration of molecular phylogeny with cultural and morphological characteristics differentiated our Petriella isolates as novel species for science. Petriella ulmi, sp. nov. can be Through a recent research work on fungal species associated with bark beetle galleries in north-western Iran, a synnematous fungus was isolated. A subsequent morphologic and multi-locus phylogenetic study resulted in the description of a novel Petriella species