Morphological and molecular characterization of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungus, Acaulospora punctata in Iran

A new species of Acaulospora was found in the mountainous region of Iran (Kerman province, Raviz), at 2118 m asl around the roots of Prunus cerasus. The new species was named A. punctata by Ohel, 2013, because of its ornamentation on the outer spore wall with point-like. The spores are yellowwhite, globose to subglobose, 105–139 μm in diameter, and have three walls that each of which consists of some layers. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences obtained from the ITS and partial LSU & SSU of the ribosomal genes confirm the new species in a separate clade within the Acaulosporaceae. According to the phylogenetic analysis, the fungus as named b-pooneh placed in a monophyletic group within the genus Acaulospora next to Acaulospora covernata, and A. ignota.