Morphological and molecular characterization of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungus, Acaulospora punctata in Iran

A new species of Acaulospora was found in the mountainous region of Iran (Kerman province, Raviz), at 2118 m asl around the roots of Prunus cerasus. The new species was named A. punctata by Ohel, 2013, because of its ornamentation on the outer spore wall with point-like. The spores are yellow-white, globose to subglobose, 105–139 µm in diameter, and have three walls that each of which consists of some layers. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences obtained from the ITS and partial LSU & SSU of the ribosomal genes confirm the new species in a separate clade within the Acaulosporaceae. According to the phylogenetic analysis, the fungus as named b-pooneh placed in a monophyletic group within the genus Acaulospora next to Acaulospora covernata, and A. ignota.