A new conifer-inhabiting species of Ceratocystis from Norway

A new species, Ceratocystis norvegica J. Reid & Hausner sp. nov., is described from Norway. Based on morphological criteria and analyses of rDNA internal transcribed spacer and small subunit rDNA sequences, strains collected from galleries of the bark beetle Ips typographus on Picea abies (L.) H. Karst, were shown to be distinct both from members of the Ceratocystis coerulescens complex and from other species described previously from conifers. Ceratocystis norvegica has the following defining characteristics: convergent ostiolar hyphae; a sharply defined temperature optimum at 20 °C; an apparent lack of a conidial state; and ascospores that on germination produce either self-fertile or self-sterile strains.