Study on two species of Ophiostoma in relation with Dutch elm disease in Iran

Abstract

An investigation was carried out in some areas of Golestan Province including: Loveh forest, Soosara, Daland forest park, Tooskestan; Gilan Province including Siahkal and Asalem forests; Arasbaran and landscape of urban trees during 1999–2007. In this investigation, based on some morphological, physiological and molecular characteristics and also comparison with standard isolates two species <em>Ophiostoma</em> <em>ulmi</em> and <em>O. novo-ulmi</em> were identified as casual agents of Dutch elm disease where majority of isolates belonged to <em>O. novo-ulmi</em>. This is the first report of <em>O. novo-ulmi</em> on <em>Ulmus glabra</em> and <em>U.</em> <em>carpinifolia</em>, from Tooskestan forest and urban elm trees and here it is compared with <em>O. ulmi</em>. The <em>O. novo-ulmi</em> isolates of Iran belonged to the EAN (Euro-Asian) populations based on sequence comparison.