Major clades and phylogenetic relationships between lichenized and non‐lichenized lineages in Ostropales (Ascomycota: Lecanoromycetes)

Abstract

The fungal order Ostropales is unique in Ascomycota for including both lichen‐forming and non‐lichenized species and species with optional nutritional strategies depending on substrate. To address the phylogenetic relationships within the order, we assembled a dataset of 78 ostropalean species, including all major clades and 23 taxa that are only optionally lichenized or non‐lichenized. The analyses are based on sequences of the mtSSU and nuLSU rDNA and the protein‐coding gene RPB2. A close relationship of Graphidaceae and Gomphillaceae is suggested with the latter possibly nested within Graphidaceae. Odontotremataceae is composed of two distantly related groups. Coenogoniaceae and Porinaceae are sister taxa, and their relation to Gyalectaceae is unresolved. Gyalecta is paraphyletic with Belonia and Pachyphiale nested within. A polyphyletic Belonia indicates that perithecioid ascomata evolved more than once in Gyalectaceae. The new family Sagiolechiaceae is proposed to accommodate Rhexophiale and Sagiolechia and Solorinellaceae is reinstated distinct from Gomphillaceae. Belonia and Pachyphiale are reduced to synonymy with Gyalecta. The distribution of phenotypical character states is discussed with selected character states mapped onto a phylogenetic tree. A special focus is given on lifestyles. Our phylogeny suggests that there is more plasticity in the evolution of life‐styles in these fungi than was previously assumed.

A new classification for the family Graphidaceae (Ascomycota: Lecanoromycetes: Ostropales)

“…We summarized the findings of recent phylogenies (Staiger et al 2006;Mangold et al 2008;Baloch et al 2010;Rivas Plata and Lumbsch 2011a, b;Rivas Plata et al 2011a, b) to assemble a cartoon tree ( Fig. 1) that depicts the major clades of the emended Graphidaceae and their relationships within the family.…”

“…Lücking 2008). However, independent phylogenetic analysis provides strong support that they are not only part of a single clade but also that this clade is nested within Graphidaceae, being sister to the Fissurina clade (Baloch et al 2010;Rivas Plata and Lumbsch 2011b). The bulk of Gomphilloideae differs from the other subfamilies in the chlorococcoid photobiont, the gelatinous, anastomosing paraphyses, and the entirely thin-walled, non-amyloid ascospores.…”

“…It was also shown that Graphidaceae and Thelotremataceae were nonmonophyletic and that Thelotremataceae is nested within Graphidaceae, where they form five major clades Rivas Plata and Lumbsch 2011a). In addition, two independent studies supported a further family, Gomphillaceae, as part of Graphidaceae (Baloch et al 2010;Rivas Plata et al 2011a). These results require substantial formal changes in the nomenclature and classification of Graphidaceae, which are proposed in this paper.…”

“…Genera were delimited using a more detailed approach based on a series of partially correlated characters, such as excipular structure, ascospore type, thallus structure, and secondary chemistry. During the past decade, these results have been tested using molecular approaches, with a growing amount of sequence data available (Staiger 2002;Kalb et al 2004;Lumbsch et al 2004Lumbsch et al , 2008Frisch et al 2006;Staiger et al 2006;Mangold et al 2008;Baloch et al 2010;Rivas Plata and Lumbsch 2011a, b;Rivas Plata et al 2011a, b). As a result of these studies, the generic concepts were further refined, with over 50 genera currently accepted in Graphidaceae including the former Thelotremataceae.…”

Parallel evolution and phenotypic divergence in lichenized fungi: A case study in the lichen-forming fungal family Graphidaceae (Ascomycota: Lecanoromycetes: Ostropales)

“…Traditional characters used to define major lineages within Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, such as fruiting body type and development, have been shown to have evolved multiple times even among closely related lineages (Berbee and Taylor, 1992;Gargas and Taylor, 1995;Berbee, 1996;Hibbett et al, 2007;Larsson and Jeppson, 2008;Mugambi and Huhndorf, 2009). Striking examples among lichenized fungi are the order Ostropales in the Ascomycota and the family Hygrophoraceae (Agaricales) in the Basidiomycota, which now include lineages that previously had been placed in different classes due to their different fruiting body types: Porinaceae with perithecia in the otherwise apothecioid Ostropales and Dictyonema with resupinate basidiocarps in the otherwise mushroom-forming Hygrophoraceae Lawrey et al, 2009;Schmitt et al, 2009;Baloch et al, 2010).…”