A revision on the taxonomy of the genus Pseudocercospora

Pseudocercospora species are plant pathogenic fungi occurring on a wide range of herbaceous and woody plants. Since its early description of the genus, its taxonomy has always been challenging. In recent years, Multi-gene DNA sequence data have provided significant information on the accurate taxonomy of the genus Pseudocercospora. These data revealed that the species of Pseudocercospora are polyphyletic and evolved in more than one approach within family Mycosphaerellaceae, order Capnodiales, class Dothideomycetes, phylum Ascomycota. Also those species from different geographic regions but with the same morphology, symptomatology and host range, may reside in different phylogenetic clades. Accurate identification of the plant disease agent is the first step to adopt the appropriate management strategies of the diseases related to these plant pathogens. Key features of morphology and new genetic data for identifying the species of the genus are described in this article.