Submitted 6 October 2015, Accepted 28 October 2015, Published online 31 October 2015 Corresponding Author: Kevin D. Hyde – e-mail –kdhyde3@gmail.com 634 Phylogenetic and morphological appraisal of Leptosphaeria italica sp. nov. (Leptosphaeriaceae, Pleosporales) from Italy Dayarathne MC 1,2,3,4 , Phookamsak R 1,2,3,4 , Ariyawansa HA 3,4,7 , Jones E.B.G 5 , Camporesi E 6 and Hyde KD 1,2,3,4* 1 World Agro forestry Centre East and Central Asia Office, 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming 650201, China. 2 Key Laboratory for Plant Biodiversity and Biogeography of East Asia (KLPB), Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650201, Yunnan China 3 Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand 4 School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand 5 Department of Botany and Microbiology, King Saudi University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 6 A.M.B. Gruppo Micologico Forlivese “Antonio Cicognani”, Via Roma 18, Forlì, Italy; A.M.B. Circolo Micologico “Giovanni Carini”, C.P. 314, Brescia, Italy; Società per gli Studi Naturalistici della Romagna, C.P. 144, Bagnacavallo (RA), Italy 7 Guizhou Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biotechnology, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang, 550006, Guizhou, China Dayarathne MC, Phookamsak R, Ariyawansa HA, Jones EBG, Camporesi E and Hyde KD 2015 – Phylogenetic and morphological appraisal of Leptosphaeria italica sp. nov. (Leptosphaeriaceae, Pleosporales) from Italy. Mycosphere 6(5), 634–642, Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/6/5/13 Abstract A fungal species with bitunicate asci and ellipsoid to fusiform ascospores was collected from a dead branch of Rhamnus alpinus in Italy. The new taxon morphologically resembles Leptosphaeria. Maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian analyses of a combined LSU and ITS sequence dataset confirm its placement in Leptosphaeria sensu stricto. The new taxon is distinct from other species based on morphology and phylogeny and is thus introduced as a new species, viz. L. italica. The new species is compared with other Leptosphaeria species and a comprehensive description and micrographs are provided. Key words – ITS – LSU – molecular phylogeny – morphology – taxonomy Introduction Leptosphaeriaceae is an important group of fungi in the order Pleosporales (Zhang et al. 2012, Hyde et al. 2013), including economically important pathogens on a number of hosts (De Gruyter et al. 2013, Hyde et al. 2014). Barr (1987) introduced the family Leptosphaeriaceae and typified it with the genus Leptosphaeria, with L. doliolum (Pers.) Ces. & De Not. as the type species. The genus Leptosphaeria is saprobic or pathogenic on stems and leaves of herbaceous or woody plants in terrestrial and possibly aquatic habitats (Ariyawansa et al. 2015, Jones et al. 2015). Eriksson & Hawksworth (1986, 1990) accepted Barr's separation of Leptosphaeriaceae from Pleosporaceae. Leptosphaeriaceae is phylogenetically well-established in the suborder Pleosporineae (Schoch et al. 2009, Zhang et al. 2012, Wijayawardene et al. 2014, Ariyawansa et al. 2015). Even though the family shares some similarities with Phaeosphaeriaceae, it can clearly be distinguished by its peridium structure, hosts and asexual morphs (Câmara et al. 2002). The members of Mycosphere 6 (5): 634–642 (2015) ISSN 2077 7019 www.mycosphere.org Article Mycosphere Copyright © 2015 Online Edition Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/6/5/13