The systematics of Alternaria and allied genera traditionally has been based on the characteristics of conidia and the sporulation apparatus. This emphasis on morphology in the reconstruction of organismal relationships has resulted in taxonomic uncertainty and flux for a number of taxa in Alternaria and the related genera Stemphylium, Embellisia, Nimbya and Ulocladium. The present study used a molecular phylogenetic approach for systematic resolution and incorporated extensive taxon sampling (n = 176 species) representing 10 genera and analyses of 10 protein-coding loci. Phylogenetic analyses based on five of these genes revealed eight distinct asexual lineages of Alternaria that cluster as the sister group to the asexual paraphyletic genus Ulocladium, while taxa with known teleomorphs currently circumscribed as Alternaria (the infectoria species-group) cluster among genera that also have representatives with known teleomorphs. This work proposes to elevate the eight well supported asexual lineages of Alternaria to the taxonomic rank of section. Evolutionary relationships among Alternaria and closely related genera are discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.