Lichens or endophytes? The enigmatic genus Leptosillia in the Leptosilliaceae fam. nov. (Xylariales), and Furfurella gen. nov. (Delonicicolaceae)

Abstract

Based on DNA sequence data, the genus Leptosillia is shown to belong to the Xylariales. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of ITS-LSU rDNA sequence data and of a combined matrix of SSU-ITS-LSU rDNA, rpb1, rpb2, tef1 and tub2 reveal that the genera Cresporhaphis and Liberomyces are congeneric with Leptosillia. Coelosphaeria fusariospora, Leptorhaphis acerina, Leptorhaphis quercus f. macrospora, Leptorhaphis pinicola, Leptorhaphis wienkampii, Liberomyces pistaciae, Sphaeria muelleri and Zignoëlla slaptonensis are combined in Leptosillia, and all of these taxa except for C. fusariospora, L. pinicola and L. pistaciae are epitypified. Coelosphaeria fusariospora and Cresporhaphis rhoina are lectotypified. Liberomyces macrosporus and L. saliciphilus, which were isolated as phloem and sapwood endophytes, are shown to be synonyms of Leptosillia macrospora and L. wienkampii, respectively. All species formerly placed in Cresporhaphis that are now transferred to Leptosillia are revealed to be non-lichenized. Based on morphology and ecology, Cresporhaphis chibaensis is synonymised with Rhaphidicyrtis trichosporella, and C. rhoina is considered to be unrelated to the genus Leptosillia, but its generic affinities cannot be resolved in lack of DNA sequence data. Phylogenetic analyses place Leptosillia as sister taxon to Delonicicolaceae, and based on morphological and ecological differences, the new family Leptosilliaceae is established. Furfurella, a new genus with the three new species, F. luteostiolata, F. nigrescens and F. stromatica, growing on dead branches of mediterranean fabaceous shrubs from tribe Genisteae, is revealed to be the closest relative of Delonicicola in the family Delonicicolaceae, which is emended. ITS rDNA sequence data retrieved from GenBank demonstrate that the Leptosilliaceae were frequently isolated or sequenced as endophytes from temperate to tropical regions, and show that the genus Leptosillia represents a widely distributed component of endophyte communities of woody plants.

Phylogeny, Global Biogeography and Pleomorphism of Zanclospora

“…Sequences of six gene markers: ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (ITS) of the nuclear rRNA cistron, the small subunit 18S ribosomal DNA gene (18S) and the large subunit 28S ribosomal DNA gene (28S) (approximately 1800 base pairs at the 5′-end), domains 5–7 of the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II ( rpb2 ), the intermediate section of the coding region of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha ( tef1-α ) and coding and non-coding regions of beta-tubulin ( tub2 ) marked by exons 2−6, were analysed to assess evolutionary relationships of Zanclospora and similar fungi. GenBank accession numbers for sequences retrieved from GenBank and published in other studies [ 9 , 39 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ] are listed in Table S1 .…”

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“…Two other genera viz Lacrymospora and Parapyrenis were previously recognized in Requienellaceae by Wijayawardene et al (2017) and Maharachchikumbura et al (2018). However, Jaklitsch et al (2016) and Voglmayr et al (2019) only accepted Requienella and Acrocordiella for their phylogenetic analyses. Lacrymospora is differentiated from Parapyrenis by blackening of the thallus around the ascomata (Aptroot 1991) and asymmetrical ascospores with several rows of granules, indicating septation (Calatayud et al 2001).…”

“…The morphological features of asexual morphs of Requienellaceae remain undetermined. Members of this family mainly occur as saprobes on dead wood or lichenicolous and borderline lichens (Aptroot 1991, Hawksworth & Halici 2007, Jaklitsch et al 2016, Voglmayr et al 2019.…”

Drivers of grass endophyte communities in prairies of the Pacific Northwest, USA

“…However, examination of the literature revealed that a wide range of fungi often occur as endophytes, including lichenicolous fungi (Huang et al 2018, Moler and Aho 2018, Voglmayr et al 2019) and insect pathogens (Razinger et al 2018, Rondot andReineke 2018). We expect that the kinds of fungi known to occur as endophytes will only increase as more NGS studies are published.…”