Multigene molecular phylogeny and biogeographic diversification of the earth tongue fungi in the genera Cudonia and Spathularia (Rhytismatales, Ascomycota).

ABSTRACT: The family Cudoniaceae (Rhytismatales, Ascomycota) was erected to accommodate the "earth tongue fungi" in the genera Cudonia and Spathularia. There have been no recent taxonomic studies of these genera, and the evolutionary relationships within and among these fungi are largely unknown. Here we explore the molecular phylogenetic relationships within Cudonia and Spathularia using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses based on 111 collections from across the Northern Hemisphere. Phylogenies based on the combined data from ITS, nrLSU, rpb2 and tef-1α sequences support the monophyly of three main clades, the /flavida, /velutipes, and /cudonia clades. The genus Cudonia and the family Cudoniaceae are supported as monophyletic groups, while the genus Spathularia is not monophyletic.

SUBMITTER: Ge ZW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4118880 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature