Abstract
The genus
Alternaria
is comprised of well-known plant pathogens causing various important diseases in plants, as well as being common allergens in animals and humans. Species of
Alternaria
can be found as saprobes associated with various dead plant materials. This research aims to enhance the taxonomy of saprobic species in the genus
Alternaria
found on grasses and herbaceous plants from Italy, based on multi-locus phylogenetic analyses of a concatenated ITS, LSU, SSU,
tef1-α
,
rpb2
,
gapdh
and
Alt-a1
DNA sequence dataset combined with morphological characteristics. Multi-locus phylogenetic analyses demonstrated six novel species belonging to the genus
Alternaria
sect.
Alternaria
as:
A. muriformispora
sp. nov.,
A. obpyriconidia
sp. nov.,
A. ovoidea
sp. nov.,
A. pseudoinfectoria
sp. nov.,
A. rostroconidia
sp. nov. and
A. torilis
sp. nov. Detailed morphological descriptions, illustrations and an updated phylogenetic relationship of taxa in the genus
Alternaria
sect.
Alternaria
are provided herein.