A new Leptographium species associated with the northern spruce engraver, Ips perturbatus, in western Canada

An undescribed Leptographium species was isolated from the spruce-infesting bark beetle Ips perturbatus collected from felled spruce trees and logs in northern British Columbia and Yukon Territory. Morphologically, this fungus is similar to L. abietinum and L. hughesii but differed in a number of characteristics (e.g. the arrangement of its conidiophores). The fungus grew optimally at 25 C on 2% malt-extract agar and showed a high level of tolerance to cycloheximide. Comparison of rDNA and β-tubulin gene sequences also confirmed that this Leptographium species represents an undescribed taxon. Thus we described it as a new species, Leptographium fruticetum sp. nov.