Cladosporium species associated with disease symptoms on Passiflora edulis and other crops in Brazil, with descriptions of two new species

Fungi belonging to the genus Cladosporium are cosmopolitan occurring in various substrate or hosts. Cladosporium spp. are responsible for economic losses in numerous agricultural crops, causing leaf spots, scab, postharvest rots and other disease symptoms. The etiology of many diseases associated with these symptoms is still uncertain. The aim of this research was to determine the identity of Cladosporium isolates associated with passionfruit scab and some postharvest rots on different crops in Brazil, based on phylogenetic and morphological analyses. The phylogenetic analyses indicated that all samples belong to the C. cladosporioides complex. Three previously described Cladosporium species were identified: Cladosporium pseudocladosporioides (on kiwi, passionfruit and taro), C. subuliforme (on passionfruit) and C. tenuissimum (on cashew fruit, papaya and passionfruit). In addition, four putative new species were found: Cladosporium passiflorae sp. nov., C. passifloricola sp. nov., Cladosporium sp. 1 and Cladosporium sp. 2, all occurring on passionfmit. This study is the first report of the presence of seven different species of Cladosporium associated with diseased passionfruit. Moreover, this paper represents the first report of C. pseudocladosporioides associated with postharvest rot on kiwi and taro and C. tenuissimum on cashew fruit in Brazil. This study contributes with several taxonomic novelties for the knowledge about the diversity of Cladosporium cladosporioides complex, especially those associated with plant diseases.