Zymoseptoria ardabiliae and Z. pseudotritici, two progenitor species of the septoria tritici leaf blotch fungus Z. tritici (synonym: Mycosphaerella graminicola).

Zymoseptoria is a newly described genus that includes the prominent wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici (synonyms Mycosphaerella graminicola and Septoria tritici). Studies indicated that the center of origin of Z. tritici is in the Middle East where this important pathogen emerged during the domestication of wheat. Several Zymoseptoria species have been found on uncultivated grasses in the Middle East, and in this article we describe two new Zymoseptoria species from Iran. These species, isolated from Elymus repens, Dactylis glomerata and Lolium perenne, are named Z. ardabiliae and Z. pseudotritici. Both species were identified by means of morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of a seven-gene DNA dataset. These taxa comprise some of the closest known relatives of the wheat pathogen Z. tritici, confirming the reported close phylogenetic relationship between Z. tritici and Z. pseudotritici.