Multiple new cryptic pathogenic Phytophthora species from Fagaceae forests in Austria, Italy and Portugal

During surveys of <i>Phytophthora</i> diversity in natural and semi-natural <i>Fagaceae</i> forests in Austria, Italy and Portugal, four new cryptic species were isolated from rhizosphere soil samples. Multigene phylogeny based on nuclear ITS, ß-tubulin and HSP90 and mitochondrial <i>cox</i>1 and NADH1 gene sequences demonstrated that two species, <i>P. tyrrhenica</i> and <i>P. vulcanica</i> spp. nov., belong to phylogenetic Clade 7a, while the other two species, <i>P. castanetorum</i> and <i>P. tubulina</i> spp. nov., clustered together with <i>P. quercina</i> forming a new clade, named here as Clade 12. All four new species are homothallic and have low optimum and maximum temperatures for growth and very slow growth rates at their respective optimum temperature. They differed from each other and from related species by a unique combination of morphological characters, cardinal temperatures, and growth rates. Pathogenicity of all <i>Phytophthora</i> species to the root system of their respective host species was demonstrated in soil infestation trials.