Biscogniauxia rosacearum, first evidence in Germany and pest risk analysis for the potentially quarantine relevant charcoal canker fungus

Since Biscogniauxia rosacearum has been detected in Germany for the first time, a pest risk analysis (PRA) for this wood-decaying fungus with potential quarantine relevance is presented. This species which is known to be distributed throughout the Mediterranean region and presumably native to the Middle East, is usually found on Rosaceae and other deciduous trees. Two new host tree species were identified, Abies grandis and Pseudotsuga menziesii. Furthermore, this ascomycete was compared to Biscogniauxia mediterranea, which is prevalent in Germany, and was distinguished in a multigene phylogeny based on ITS, TUB, and ACT sequence alignment. In addition, a qPCR -assay using a previously published species-specific primer combination for the detection of B. mediterranea was tested on a selection of isolated B. mediterranea and B. rosacearum strains, and subsequently assigned to B. rosacearum.