The Trichoderma harzianum demon: complex speciation history resulting in coexistence of hypothetical biological species, recent agamospecies and numerous relict lineages.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The mitosporic fungus Trichoderma harzianum (Hypocrea, Ascomycota, Hypocreales, Hypocreaceae) is an ubiquitous species in the environment with some strains commercially exploited for the biological control of plant pathogenic fungi. Although T. harzianum is asexual (or anamorphic), its sexual stage (or teleomorph) has been described as Hypocrea lixii. Since recombination would be an important issue for the efficacy of an agent of the biological control in the field, we investigated the phylogenetic structure of the species.

Results

Using DNA sequence data from three unlinked loci for each of 93 strains collected worldwide, we detected a complex speciation process revealing overlapping reproductively isolated biological species, recent agamospecies and numerous rel

SUBMITTER: Druzhinina IS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2858147 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature