First report of Lasiodiplodia theobromae and L. venezuelensis associated with blue stain on Ficus insipida wood from the Natural Forest of Venezuela.

Although several Botryosphaeriaceae species have been relatively well-studied on economically important crops and forest plantations, little is known regarding their presence and ecology on native tree species in the natural tropical forests in South America. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the fungi associated with blue stain symptoms of the wood on Ficus insipida in lumber yards from the Imataca natural forest in Eastern Venezuela using morphological descriptions and DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) and part of the translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF) gene. Results of this study showed the botryosphaeriaceous taxa Lasiodiplodia theobromae and L. venezuelensis to be the main fungi associated with blue stain symptoms. This study represents the first report of these fungi on F. insipida lumber in the Natural Forest of Venezuela. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]