Diagnostics for a troubled backbone: testing topological hypotheses of trapelioid lichenized fungi in a large-scale phylogeny of Ostropomycetidae (Lecanoromycetes).

ABSTRACT: Trapelioid fungi constitute a widespread group of mostly crust-forming lichen mycobionts that are key to understanding the early evolutionary splits in the Ostropomycetidae, the second-most species-rich subclass of lichenized Ascomycota. The uncertain phylogenetic resolution of the approximately 170 species referred to this group contributes to a poorly resolved backbone for the entire subclass. Based on a data set including 657 newly generated sequences from four ribosomal and four protein-coding gene loci, we tested a series of a priori and new evolutionary hypotheses regarding the relationships of trapelioid clades within Ostropomycetidae. We found strong support for a monophyletic group of nine core trapelioid genera but no statistical support to reject the long-standing hypothesis tha

SUBMITTER: Resl P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4746758 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature