Fusarium Species Associated With Decaying Woody Debris of Sichuan Pepper

Abstract

Sichuan pepper ( Zanthoxylum bungeanum ), an aromatic plant native to southwestern China, is widely used in Sichuan cuisine for its distinctive tingling flavor. In this study, we describe seven Fusarium species isolated from decaying woody pruning debris during a survey of microfungi associated with Z. bungeanum in Sichuan Province, China. Morphological characteristics and multigene phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA (ITS), partial calmodulin ( cal ), RNA polymerase largest subunit ( rpb1 ), RNA polymerase II second largest subunit ( rpb2 ), translation elongation factor 1 Alpha ( tef1 ), and beta‐tubulin ( tub2 ) genes revealed two new species, Fusarium huajiao (belonging to the F. tricinctum species complex) and Fusarium sichuanense (belonging to the F. sambucinum species complex), as well as five new host records on Sichuan pepper: F. lateritium , F. sarcochroum , and F. stilboides (within the F. lateritium species complex), F. mianyangense (within the F. incarnatum–equiseti species complex), and F. pseudocircinatum (within the F. fujikuroi species complex). These findings expand the known fungal diversity associated with Sichuan pepper.