Epicoccum zapotae: a new species isolated from Manilkara zapota fruits in Central Mexico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2026.97.5566Keywords:
Didymellaceae, Epicoccum, Morphology, Phylogenetic, Sapodilla fruitAbstract
The genus Epicoccum exhibits substantial intraspecific morphological and genetic diversity, which has made it difficult to correctly identify and delimit species on the basis of morphological characteristics alone. Against this background, this study was aimed to report the morphological and molecular identification of a new species belonging to the genus Epicoccum, isolated from sapodilla fruit (Manilkara zapota) in Veracruz, Mexico, named
E. zapotae. The morphological characteristics and the phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated sequences of LSU, ITS, and β-TUB support the fact that the isolate is a new species of the genus Epicoccum. This discovery contributes to the knowledge of the diversity of Epicoccum species in tropical ecosystems.
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