Phylogenetic Insights and First Record of Auriculoscypha anacardiicola on Holigarna arnottiana from the Northern Western Ghats, India

This study records Auriculoscypha anacardiicola on a new anacardiaceous host, Holigarna arnottiana for the first time from the Northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India.This enigmatic fungus has a triple tropical level symbiosis between fungus-insect-plants and is only found in the Western Ghats and adjacent habitats in India.Auriculoscypha anacardiicola is a basidiomycetous fungus associated with coccid scale insect, Neogreenia zeylanica and anacardiaceous trees, Anacardium occidentale and Mangifera indica.This fungus was previously documented from the Malabar region of Kerala, India.The phylogeny based on the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) placed the basidiomycete from the new host allied to the existing strains in the Auriculoscypha clade of the order Septobasidiales, allied to the genus Septobasidium.This study extends the geographic occurrence of this genus from the south to the northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra.