New and Rare Fungi on Alien Woody Plants in Sverdlovsk Region (The Middle Urals, Russia)

A groundbreaking study has documented 28 species of phytopathogenic and saprobic fungi, belonging to and divisions, on alien trees and shrubs in Sverdlovsk Region for the first time. In addition, 14 rare species – each with only two to four previous sightings in the region – were identified. Notably, four species – , , , and – were recorded in Russia for the first time. The surveyed fungi were found growing on 34 woody plant species, 27 of which occur outdoors while the remaining seven are restricted to greenhouse environments. The study also sheds light on dangerous invasive phytopathogenic fungi in the region, including and . Additionally, the invasive species , recently discovered in Sverdlovsk Region, has been recorded at a new site. The ITS1–5.8S–ITS2 sequence of collected at this location corresponds to the standard East Asian sequence variant. This suggests that local populations of in Sverdlovsk Region may not originate from Europe but rather from East Asia.