Twenty-four strains of six Cylindrocladiella
spp. were compared with respect to their morphology, nuclear
ribosomal DNA (nuclear
rDNA) polymorphisms, and restriction fragment length
polymorphisms of A+T-rich DNA (AT-DNA). Two distinct DNA profiles
were observed for the ten strains of C.
camelliae/peruviana-complex studied. One
profile corresponded with the type strain of C.
peruviana, which was earlier regarded as a synonym of
C. camelliae. Based on Southern analyses and AT-DNA,
C. parva, C. elegans
and C. lageniformis were confirmed to be distinct
species with little intraspecific variation. Although
C. infestans was shown to have
some variation among the four strains studied, they could
not clearly be distinguished as separate taxa. Based on
general morphology, nuclear rDNA and AT-DNA polymorphisms,
seven species of Cylindrocladiella are recognized.