Introduction of some endophytic fungi of sour cherry trees (Prunus cerasus) in Iran

Endophytic fungi are beneficial fungi to their host plants and help them to endure biotic and abiotic stresses with different methods. In order to identify some endophytic fungi of sour cherry trees, healthy plant samples including twigs and leaves were collected from several provinces of Iran. A total number of 176 isolates were obtained and studied taxonomically. Based on morphological features and ITS regions sequence data, 10 different fungal species, namely, Aureobasidium namibiae, A. pullulans, Alternaria multiformis, A. rosae, Botryosphaeria dothidea, Cladosporium tenuissimum, Coniolariella limonispora, Didymosphaeria variabile, Epicoccum nigrum, Lecanicillium muscarium, and Neoscytalidium dimidiatum were identified as endophytic fungi of sour cherry trees in Iran. Among these species, Aureobasidium namibiae is new for the mycobiota of Iran. All identified species except A. pullulans, are reported here for the first time as endophytic fungi of sour cherry trees in the world.