Host preference, life cycle, and classification of species of Ochropsora, including species formerly classified in Aplopsora and Cerotelium pro parte (Pucciniales).

Abstract

Rust species classified in Ochropsora, Aplopsora, and Cerotelium pro parte were re-examined and re-circumscribed by morphology, host preference, life cycle pattern, and geographic distribution. Macrocyclic heteroecious life cycle was proven for seven species by field observations and experimental inoculations. Partial molecular phylogenetic analyses were also included in the taxonomic decision. Anamorphic fungi and others, that were newly discovered and assumed to be related to these genera, were also examined in the same manner. Aplopsora was synonymized under Ochropsora. One fungus named under Cerotelium and two anamorphic fungi were determined as species of Ochropsora. Fifteen species were recognized in Ochropsora: O. ariae, O. asari, O. asiatica, O. corni, O. cumminsii, O. ehimensis, O. dicentrae, O. kraunhiae, O. laporteae, O. lonicerae, O. nambuana, O. nyssae, O. panacis, O. staphyleae, and O. tanakae. Most of Ochropsora species are distributed in eastern Asia. Only O. ariae is known in northwestern Europe and O. cumminsii, O. dicentrae, and O. nyssae are known in eastern North America. The disjunct distribution of Ochropsora in the Northern Hemisphere is interpretated by disjunctions of ancestral species once broadly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and subsequent species diversification, migration, and extinction in each of the three geographic regions.