Two novel species of Alternaria (Pleosporales, Pleosporaceae) from cowpea (Fabaceae) in China

The genus Alternaria ( Pleosporales , Pleosporaceae ) is globally distributed, occurs on a wide variety of substrates, and comprises saprobic, endophytic, and pathogenic species. In this study, four unidentified Alternaria isolates were obtained from symptomatic leaves of cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata ) in Hainan Province, China. These Alternaria spp. were characterized based on morphological features and phylogenetic analysis with multiple loci ( GAPDH , RPB2 , Alt a 1 , EndoPG , and OPA10-2). Based on the combined morphological and phylogenetic evidence, two novel species in Alternaria sect. Alternaria are described: A. unguiculatae sp. nov . and A. hainanensis sp. nov . This study expands the known diversity of Alternaria associated with Fabaceae , particularly cowpea, in China.