Taxonomy and phylogenetic appraisal of Leptosphaeria chatkalica sp. nov. (Leptosphaeriaceae, Pleosporales) from Uzbekistan

Leptosphaeria chatkalica, found on dead stems of dicotyledon from Chatkal ridge of Western Tien Shan Mountains in Uzbekistan, is presented as a novel species based on morphological details and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic relationships of the novel species were established by analyzing the combined sequence data of LSU, ITS, SSU and tef1-α in Maximum parsimony, Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses. Leptosphaeria chatkalica is characterized by perithecial ascomata, club-like pedicel asci and yellowish-brown, 3-septate, fusiform ascospores with a mucilaginous sheath. A comprehensive characterization and micro-graphs, together with a comparison with other Leptosphaeria species are given.