Atripes paspali gen. et sp. nov. (Magnaporthaceae) causing take-all disease on Paspalum guenoarum in Brazil

In Brazil, Paspalum species are commonly used in sports lawns, landscape projects, and as forage for livestock. Paspalum guenoarum plants showing symptoms of take-all disease were observed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis is the only species reported associated with this disease on Paspalum. In recent years, new species of Gaeumannomyces have been proposed based on molecular studies, which demonstrated the existence of a species complex. Take-all affects rice and wheat, but the aetiology of this disease on P. guenoarum is still unknown; this work aimed to elucidate the aetiology of the take-all on P. guenoarum in Brazil and evaluate possible alternative hosts of agricultural importance. Based on combined phylogenetic analyses of ITS, LSU, TEF-1α, and RPB1 sequences, the fungal pathogen was identified as Atripes paspali gen. et sp. nov., which is proposed as a new genus in the Magnaporthaceae family. A representative isolate of A. paspali was inoculated on healthy P. guenoarum plants and reproduced the same symptoms of take-all observed in the field. Furthermore, this fungus is also able to cause take-all on wheat plants; temperature directly affected the incidence and development of the disease in wheat. Take-all on P. guenoarum is caused by A. paspali.