Phylogenetic analysis of 11 genetic loci and results from many genotyping studies revealed significant genetic diversity with the pathogenic Cryptococcus gattii/Cryptococcus neoformans species complex. Genealogical concordance, coalescence-based, and species tree approaches supported the presence of distinct and concordant lineages within the complex. Consequently, we propose to recognize the current C. neoformans var. grubii and C. neoformans var. neoformans as separate species, and five species within C. gattii. The type strain of C. neoformans CBS132 represents a serotype AD hybrid and is replaced. The newly delimited species differ in aspects of pathogenicity, prevalence for patient groups, as well as biochemical and physiological aspects, such as susceptibility to antifungals. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry readily distinguishes the newly recognized species.

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Families and genera assigned to Tremellomycetes have been mainly circumscribed by morphology and for the yeasts also by biochemical and physiological characteristics. This phenotype-based classification is largely in conflict with molecular phylogenetic analyses. Here a phylogenetic classification framework for the Tremellomycetes is proposed based on the results of phylogenetic analyses from a seven-genes dataset covering the majority of tremellomycetous yeasts and closely related filamentous taxa. Circumscriptions of the taxonomic units at the order, family and genus levels recognised were quantitatively assessed using the phylogenetic rank boundary optimisation (PRBO) and modified general mixed Yule coalescent (GMYC) tests. In addition, a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis on an expanded LSU rRNA (D1/D2 domains) gene sequence dataset covering as many as available teleomorphic and filamentous taxa within Tremellomycetes was performed to investigate the relationships between yeasts and filamentous taxa and to examine the stability of undersampled clades. Based on the results inferred from molecular data and morphological and physiochemical features, we propose an updated classification for the Tremellomycetes. We accept five orders, 17 families and 54 genera, including seven new families and 18 new genera. In addition, seven families and 17 genera are emended and one new species name and 185 new combinations are proposed. We propose to use the term pro tempore or pro tem. in abbreviation to indicate the species names that are temporarily maintained.

Notes on 113 fungal taxa are compiled in this paper, including 11 new genera, 89 new species, one new subspecies, three new combinations and xx reference specimens. A wide geographic and taxonomic range of fungal taxa are detailed. In the Ascomycota the new genera Angustospora (Testudinaceae), Camporesia (Xylariaceae), Clematidis, Crassiparies (Pleosporales genera incertae sedis), Farasanispora, Longiostiolum (Pleosporales genera incertae sedis), Multilocularia (Parabambusicolaceae), Neophaeocryptopus (Dothideaceae), Parameliola (Pleosporales genera incertae sedis), and Towyspora (Lentitheciaceae) are introduced. Newly introduced species are Angustospora nilensis, Aniptodera

The Lecanoromycetes is the largest class of lichenized Fungi, and one of the most species-rich classes in the kingdom. Here we provide a multigene phylogenetic synthesis (using three ribosomal RNA-coding and two protein-coding genes) of the Lecanoromycetes based on 642 newly generated and 3329 publicly available sequences representing 1139 taxa, 317 genera, 66 families, 17 orders and five subclasses (four currently recognized: Acarosporomycetidae, Lecanoromycetidae, Ostropomycetidae, Umbilicariomycetidae; and one provisionarily recognized, ‘Candelariomycetidae’). Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses on four multigene datasets assembled using a cumulative supermatrix approach with a progressively higher number of species and missing data (5-gene, 5+4-gene, 5+4+3-gene and 5+4+3+2-gene datasets) show that the current classification includes non-monophyletic taxa at various ranks, which need to be recircumscribed and require revisionary treatments based on denser taxon sampling and more loci. Two newly circumscribed orders (Arctomiales and Hymeneliales in the Ostropomycetidae) and three families (Ramboldiaceae and Psilolechiaceae in the Lecanorales, and Strangosporaceae in the Lecanoromycetes inc. sed.) are introduced. The potential resurrection of the families Eigleraceae and Lopadiaceae is considered here to alleviate phylogenetic and classification disparities. An overview of the photobionts associated with the main fungal lineages in the Lecanoromycetes based on available published records is provided. A revised schematic classification at the family level in the phylogenetic context of widely accepted and newly revealed relationships across Lecanoromycetes is included. The cumulative addition of taxa with an increasing amount of missing data (i.e., a cumulative supermatrix approach, starting with taxa for which sequences were available for all five targeted genes and ending with the addition of taxa for which only two genes have been sequenced) revealed relatively stable relationships for many families and orders. However, the increasing number of taxa without the addition of more loci also resulted in an expected substantial loss of phylogenetic resolving power and support (especially for deep phylogenetic relationships), potentially including the misplacements of several taxa. Future phylogenetic analyses should include additional single copy protein-coding markers in order to improve the tree of the Lecanoromycetes. As part of this study, a new module (“Hypha”) of the freely available Mesquite software was developed to compare and display the internodal support values derived from this cumulative supermatrix approach.

Microbial symbionts are instrumental to the ecological and long-term evolutionary success of their hosts, and the central role of symbiotic interactions is increasingly recognized across the vast majority of life. Lichens provide an iconic group for investigating patterns in species interactions; however, relationships among lichen symbionts are often masked by uncertain species boundaries or an inability to reliably identify symbionts. The species-rich lichen-forming fungal family Parmeliaceae provides a diverse group for assessing patterns of interactions of algal symbionts, and our study addresses patterns of lichen symbiont interactions at the largest geographic and taxonomic scales attempted to date. We analysed a total of 2356 algal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequences collected from lichens representing ten mycobiont genera in Parmeliaceae, two genera in Lecanoraceae and 26 cultured Trebouxia strains. Algal ITS sequences were grouped into operational taxonomic units (OTUs); we attempted to validate the evolutionary independence of a subset of the inferred OTUs using chloroplast and mitochondrial loci. We explored the patterns of symbiont interactions in these lichens based on ecogeographic distributions and mycobiont taxonomy. We found high levels of undescribed diversity in Trebouxia, broad distributions across distinct ecoregions for many photobiont OTUs and varying levels of mycobiont selectivity and specificity towards the photobiont. Based on these results, we conclude that fungal specificity and selectivity for algal partners play a major role in determining lichen partnerships, potentially superseding ecology, at least at the ecogeographic scale investigated here. To facilitate effective communication and consistency across future studies, we propose a provisional naming system for Trebouxia photobionts and provide representative sequences for each OTU circumscribed in this study.

DNA phylogenetic comparisons have shown that morphology-based species recognition often underestimates fungal diversity. Therefore, the need for accurate DNA sequence data, tied to both correct taxonomic names and clearly annotated specimen data, has never been greater. Furthermore, the growing number of molecular ecology and microbiome projects using high-throughput sequencing require fast and effective methods for en masse species assignments. In this article, we focus on selecting and re-annotating a set of marker reference sequences that represent each currently accepted order of Fungi. The particular focus is on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region in the nuclear ribosomal cistron, derived from type specimens and/or ex-type cultures. Re-annotated and verified sequences were deposited in a curated public database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), namely the RefSeq Targeted Loci (RTL) database, and will be visible during routine sequence similarity searches with NR_prefixed accession numbers. A set of standards and protocols is proposed to improve the data quality of new sequences, and we suggest how type and other reference sequences can be used to improve identification of Fungi.Database URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA177353

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