Pythium cederbergense sp. nov. and related taxa from Pythium clade G associated with the South African indigenous plant Aspalathus linearis (rooibos).

The genus Pythium consists of more than 120 species and is subdivided into 11 phylogenetic clades (A-K) based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequence data. Pythium clade G contains only seven known species, with most not being well described. Our study characterized 12 Pythium isolates from Aspalathus linearis (rooibos) that fit into clade G. Phylogenetic analyses of the ITS region and a combined phylogeny of four gene regions (ITS, β-tubulin, COX1 and COX2 [cytochrome c oxidase subunits I, II]) identified five clade G subclades. The rooibos isolates formed two groups, Pythium Rooibos I (RB I) and II (RB II), that clustered into two separate clades within subclade 1. The nine Pythium RB I isolates formed a distinct clade from P. iwayamai and is described here as a new species, Pythium cederbergense sp. nov. The three Pythium RB II isolates had P. canariense and P. violae as their closest relatives and were genetically diverse, suggesting the presence of several new species or a species complex that cannot be resolved with the current data, thus precluding a species description of this group. Morphological analyses showed that P. cederbergense and Pythium RB II were indistinguishable from each other but distinct from known clade G species. Clade G studies are being hampered by imprecise morphological descriptions of P. violae, P. canariense and P. iwayamai and each species being represented by only one isolate. The P. cederbergense and Pythium RB II isolates all were nonpathogenic toward rooibos, lupin and oats seedlings. One oligonucleotide was developed for each of P. cederbergense and Pythium RB II, which was able to differentiate the isolates with DNA macro-array analyses.