Pleurovularia polliniae, a biotrophic leaf parasite of Microstegium, belongs to Mycosphaerellaceae, as proven by molecular-phylogenetic analyses

Pleurovularia polliniae, a member of Mycosphaerellaceae, is an obligate biotrophic fungus associated with downy mildew-like leaf mold symptoms on leaves of Microstegium vimineum. However, the taxonomic position of this fungal species in Mycosphaerellaceae was so far only tentative, mainly because of the lack of available sequence data. Based on results of molecular phylogenetic analyses obtained from a combined dataset of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), large subunit (LSU), and DNA-directed RNA polymerase II second-largest subunit (rpb2) genes of rDNA, it was possible to prove that the genus Pleurovularia belongs to the family Mycosphaerellaceae. This is the second report of sequences obtained from a biotrophic member of this family, following that of Polythrincium trifolii.