Pestalotiopsis sp. NC0098 on 2% malt extract agar (MEA). photo credit: J. M. U’Ren.

Pestalotiopsis sp. NC0098 was isolated in culture from the surface-sterilized photosynthetic tissue of the red maple, Acer rubrum (Sapindaceae), near Highlands, North Carolina as part of a study examining endophytic and endolichenic fungal communities across North America (U’Ren et al., 2012). We identified this isolate as an unidentified species of Pestalotiopsis (Pezizomycotina, Sordariomycetes, Xylariales, Sporocadeaceae) using ITS-partial LSU rDNA sequencing. Described species of Pestalotiopsis typically are plant pathogens, causing a diversity of symptoms including fruit rots and post-harvest infections. Pestalotiopsis spp. are also known to produce a vast spectrum of novel metabolites (Maharachchikumbura et al., 2014). A limited number of Pestalotiopsis spp. also are opportunistic pathogens of animals, such as P. clavispora as the causative agent in a fungal keratitis case (Monden et al., 2013). As an endophyte, NC0098 is particularly useful for comparative genomic analyses to examine the evolution of pathogenicity and virulence.