Bezerromycetales and Wiesneriomycetales ord. nov. (class Dothideomycetes), with two novel genera to accommodate endophytic fungi from Brazilian cactus

Abstract

During a survey of endophytic fungi from the cactus Tacinga inamoena in a Brazilian tropical dry forest (Caatinga) some undescribed ascomycetous fungi were isolated. These fungi are characterized by superficial and immersed, globose to subglobose, smooth or hairy ascomata, bitunicate asci, and muriformly septate, ellipsoidal ascospores. Multigene phylogenetic analyses using sequences from partial ITS, SSU and LSU nrDNA and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene (tef1) demonstrated a monophyletic clade accommodating these endophytic fungi in the class Dothideomycetes, closely related to the order Tubeufiales. Based on morphological features and phylogenetic analyses, these fungi could not be placed in the order Tubeufiales, in the new order Wiesneriomycetales, or any other known genus in the class Dothideomycetes. Thus, two new genera (Bezerromyces, with B. brasiliensis and B. pernambucoensis, and Xiliomyces with X. brasiliensis), a new family (Bezerromycetaceae) and a new order (Bezerromycetales) are introduced to accommodate these novel taxa. Our phylogenetic analyses also demonstrated that the clade accommodating Wiesneriomycetaceae represents a new order, here introduced as Wiesneriomycetales.

Evolution of lifestyles in Capnodiales

“…Diverse lifestyles are found amongst the Dothideomycetes including epiphytes, endophytes, saprobes, plant and animal pathogens, mycoparasites, mycorrhizal, lichenised and rock-inhabiting fungi ( Schoch et al., 2009 , Schoch and Grube, 2015 , Ametrano et al., 2019 ). The Dothideomycetes is divided into two subclasses, Pleosporomycetidae and Dothideomycetidae, and some incertae sedis lineages, accommodating more than 25 orders, 110 families and over 19 000 species, thereby representing the largest class of Ascomycota ( Schoch et al., 2009 , Hyde et al., 2013 , Jaklitsch et al., 2015 , Schoch and Grube, 2015 , Van Nieuwenhuijzen et al., 2016 , Bezerra et al., 2017 , Videira et al., 2017 , Wijayawardene et al, 2017 ). Morphologically they are mostly characterised by ascostromatic development and bitunicate asci with fissitunicate dehiscence ( Schoch & Grube 2015 ).…”

Mycosphaerellaceae: Chaos or clarity?

“…The Dothideomycetes currently includes more than 25 orders, 100 families and over 1 500 genera ( Schoch et al., 2009 , Hyde et al., 2013 , Trakunyingcharoen et al., 2014 , Crous et al., 2015a , Crous et al., 2015c , van Nieuwenhuijzen et al. 2016 , Bezerra et al. 2017 ).…”

Wood staining fungi revealed taxonomic novelties in Pezizomycotina: New order Superstratomycetales and new species Cyanodermella oleoligni

“…Exploration of unique habitats, such as sapwood in remote forests (Gazis et al., 2012, Gazis et al., 2014), cacti in tropical dry forest (Bezerra et al., 2013, Bezerra, 2016), marine borderline lichens (Pérez-Ortega et al. 2016), deep sea water (Jebaraj et al.…”