New Endophytic Fusarium spp. from Fraxinus excelsior Leaves in Slovakia.

is currently suffering from ash dieback disease caused by the fungus . Co-occurrence of large numbers of other fungi with endophytic as well as pathogenic lifestyles has been observed on . In this study, new endophytic spp. isolate from Slovak territory, associated with , was characterised. Using morphology-based approaches, the fungus was assigned to the genus . The isolate formed thick-walled hyaline, fusiform, slightly curved macroconidia, produced from monophialides in sporodochia, pointed at the tip, mostly 3 - 5 septate, occasionally 6 septate, and 40 - 68 × 3.8 - 5.0 µm in size with basal pedicellate cells. For more accurate taxonomic affiliation, molecular sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacer, translation elongation factor 1-alpha sequences, and partial -tubulin gene were performed. While the internal transcribed spacer sequence of the isolate showed the highest similarity to the species, translation elongation factor 1-alpha and partial -tubulin sequences were distantly related to the species. Based on these data, the isolate could probably be considered a new species of the genus.