A new species, Rugonectria artocarpicola sp. nov., causing canker disease of jackfruit in Vietnam

Species in the genus Rugonectria were reported as plant pathogens causing canker diseases or found on the bark of dead woody plants. A survey conducted in 2023 revealed that new disease symptoms showing cankers with orange to reddish perithecia were observed on branches and trunks of jackfruit trees ( Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) cultivated in the Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam. Morphological characteristics and a multi-locus DNA sequence analysis of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, partial sequences of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha ( TEF1 ) and the beta-tubulin ( TUB ) genes revealed that the fungus isolated from the disease samples represents a new species described here as Rugonectria artocarpicola sp. nov. The pathogenicity test confirmed that the fungal species is pathogenic to A. heterophyllus .