Dollar spot disease of amenity turfgrasses is associated with four fungal species belonging to a new genus called Clarireedia
Dollar spot is an economically important fungal disease of amenity turfgrasses. The causal agent of this disease was first described in 1937 as Sclerotinia homoeocarpa. The taxonomic placement of this fungus has been subject to ongoing debate for more than 70 years. Recent taxonomic studies have indicated that this fungus would better be placed in the family Rutstroemiaceae than in Sclerotiniaceae. It was also shown that the fungus did not belong to the genus Sclerotinia but to a new genus for which the name Clarireedia gen. nov. was proposed. Finally during these phylogenetic studies, it was discovered that dollar spot disease was in fact associated with four distinct fungal species: Clarireedia homoeocarpa comb. nov. (=Slerotinia homoeocarpa) and the following three new species: Clarireedia bennettii sp. nov., Clarireedia jacksonii sp. nov., and Clarireedia monteithiana sp. nov.
Sources
Salgado-Salazar C, Beirn LA, Ismaeiel A, Boehm MJ, Cargone I, Putman AI, Tredway LP, Clarke BB, Crouch JA (2018) Clarireedia: a new fungal genus comprising four pathogenic species responsible for dollar spot disease of turfgrass. Fungal Biology 122(8), 761-773.