Ceratocystis and related genera causing wilt of Cunninghamia lanceolata Yunnan, China

Species of Ceratocystis and allied genera are pathogens of many trees, including Cunninghamia lanceolata . During a survey of 2020, we found a serious wilt disease of C. lanceolata in Yunnan Province, China. Three different fungi resembling Ceratocystis and allied genera were consistently isolated from discoloured foliage and stems on C. lanceolata . Morphological and DNA sequence comparisons based on 60S and LSU gene regions showed that the pathogens were Ceratocystis and related species. We included 4 isolates identified as C. acaciivora = C. manginecans , 10 isolates identified as Berkeleyomyces basicola ≡ Thielaviopsis basicola , and 1 isolate identified as Chalaropsis sp., from 3 geographical locations. Pathogenicity tests on potted plants showed that all three species were pathogenic. To our knowledge, this is the first report Ceratocystis acaciivora , B. basicola and Chalaropsis sp. causing C. lanceolata wilt in China.