Herpotrichia sp. AK1299 was isolated in culture from the surface-sterilized photosynthetic tissue of the horsetail fern, Equisetum arvense, near Nome, Alaska as part of a study examining endophytic and endolichenic fungal communities across North America (U’Ren et al., 2012). We identified this isolate as an unidentified species of Herpotrichia (Pezizomycotina, Dothideomycetes, Pleosporales, Melanommataceae) using ITS-partial LSU rDNA sequencing; however, this genus has been reported to be polyphyletic and in need of revision (Tian et al., 2015). Described species of Herpotrichia are typically found as saprobes and plant pathogens in temperate and tropical forests (Tian et al., 2015). For example, the closely related brown felt blight pathogen, H. juniperi, causes branch death and decreased growth in high-elevation conifer species (Sinclair et al.,1987). Isolated as an endophyte, AK1299 is particularly useful for comparative genomic analyses to examine the evolution of plant pathogenicity and virulence.
References:
Sinclair, W.A.; Lyon, H.H.; Johnson, W.T. 1987. Diseases of trees
and shrubs. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 574 p.
Tian, Q., Liu, J.K., Hyde, K.D. et al. 2015. Phylogenetic
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(Pleosporales). Fungal Diversity 74: 267.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-015-0350-9
U’Ren, J. M., F. Lutzoni, J. Miadlikowska, A. Laetsch &
A. E. Arnold. 2012. Host- and geographic structure of endophytic
and endolichenic fungi at a continental scale. American Journal of
Botany. 99: 898–914.
