Diaporthe species infecting sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in Russia, with the description of two new species

Phomopsis stem canker is economically important sunflower disease that caused by multiple Diaporthe species. Recent investigations resulted in the resolution that there are at least 13 Diaporthe species that can infect sunflower. A comprehensive analysis of the biodiversity and geographic distribution of Diaporthe species in Russia, particularly those that infect sunflower, has not been undertaken. For this study, 16 Diaporthe isolates were obtained from samples of stem canker and visually healthy seeds of Helianthus annuus from northwestern, central European, southern European Russia, North Caucasus, and the Urals in 2016-2019. The aim of this study was to identify these Diaporthe isolates based on morphology and sequence analyses of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, partial calmodulin (cal), DNA-lyase (apn2), histone H3 (his3), translation elongation factor-1 alpha gene (tef1), and ss-tubulin (tub2) genes. The phylogenetic reconstruction revealed well-supported monophyletic clades corresponding to six Diaporthe species: D. eres, D. gulyae, D. helianthi, and D. phaseolorum. Two new species were described: Diaporthe monetii sp. nov. and Diaporthe vangoghii sp. nov. The isolates of D. gulyae and D. phaseolorum collected represent the first records of these species in Russia.