Diversity of Diatrypaceae species in three Spanish grapevine producing regions.

The objective of this study was to identify species of Diatrypaceae associated with trunk diseases in three different Spanish grapevine producing regions: Albacete, Cádiz and Valencia provinces, located, respectively, in geographically distant areas of Central, South and Eastern Spain. Species identification of 71 isolates was performed using a combination of morphological characters and phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer regions of the rDNA (ITS) and the β-tubulin gene. Four species of Diatrypaceae were identified: Cryptovalsa ampelina was the predominant species (63.4%) followed by Eutypa lata (19.7%), Eutypella microtheca (4.2%), and Eutypella citricola (2.8%). Additionally, three taxa could not be identified at the species level; one (2.8%) was closely related to species such as Diatrype stigma or Diatrypella iranensis and two (1.4 and 5.6%) were closely related to species such as Eutypa tetragona or Eutypa leptoplaca, based on the phylogenetic analyses. The distribution of Diatrypaceae species differed between the three regions. Cryptovalsa ampelina was the prevalent species in Albacete and Valencia provinces, while Eutypa lata was the most frequently isolated species in Cádiz. This province showed the greatest species diversity, since all the species were isolated there except the putative new species closely related to Diatrype stigma or Diatrypella iranensis. Thiswas found only in Valencia province. Possible relationships between the different species distributions and climatic conditions in the three regions are discussed.