Morphological Species of Gloeandromyces (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales) Evaluated Using Single-locus Species Delimitation Methods

Abstract

In this paper, new species and formae of the genus Gloeandromyces (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales) are described and illustrated. These are: Gloeandromyces dickii sp. nov. on Trichobius joblingi from Nicaragua and Panama; G. pageanus f. alarum f. nov. on Tri. joblingi from Panama; G. pageanus f. polymorphus f. nov. on Tri. dugesioides and Tri. joblingi from Panama and Trinidad; and G. streblae f. sigmomorphus f. nov. on Tri. joblingi from Panama. Gloeandromyces pageanus on Tri. dugesioides from Panama as described in Nova Hedwigia 105 (2017) is referred to as G. pageanus f. pageanus. Support for these descriptions of species and formae comes from phylogenetic reconstruction of the large subunit ribosomal DNA and from the application of species delimitation methods (ABGD, bPTP, GMYC). Host specialization results in phylogenetic segregation by host species in both G. pageanus and G. streblae and this may represent a case of incipient speciation. A second mechanism driving diversity involves position-induced morphological adaptations, leading to the peculiar morphotypes that are associated to growing on a particular position of the integument (G. pageanus f. alarum, G. streblae f. sigmomorphus). 27 appendage, cells VI and VII, and perithecial projection and bumps usually darker. Cell I straight, broadening upwards, especially at anterior side, 3.4-4.1× longer than broad, carrying cells II and VI. Cell II trapezoidal, slightly broader than long, obliquely positioned. Cell III broadly triangular, slightly longer than broad.Basal cell of appendage pentagonal, with parallel anterior and posterior margins, carrying two short (up to 25 µm) branches of dichotomously dividing cells, outer suprabasal cell always higher than inner one, final cells antheridial. Cell VI broader than long, obliquely positioned, broadly lens-shaped or flattened between

Studies of Laboulbeniales onMyrmicaants (IV): host-related diversity and thallus distribution patterns ofRickia wasmannii

“…Most species of Laboulbeniales have been described based on morphological characters. In fact, only four species and four formae have been described based on combined morphological and molecular data [27,34,35]. In addition, for only a handful of species the taxonomic status has been assessed using molecular phylogenetic data following description.…”

“…We used three species delimitation methods to validate species limits of or within Rickia wasmannii (fide [30,34]): Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery method [55], General Mixed Yule Coalescent method [54], and a Poisson tree processes model approach [79]. All analyses were done with both the ITS and 28S datasets; the ITS region has been proposed as the universal barcode for all fungi [63] whereas the 28S locus was recently put forward as potential barcode for Laboulbeniomycetes because it is easy to amplify and has high discriminative power [30,75].…”

“…For example, in both G. pageanus Haelew. and G. streblae Thaxt., two phylogenetic clades can be found: one clade for isolates removed from Trichobius dugesioides Wenzel, 1966 (Diptera, Streblidae) and another clade for isolates from T. joblingi Wenzel, 1966 [33,34]. Similarly, Hesperomyces virescens Thaxt.…”

On the Fly: Tritrophic Associations of Bats, Bat Flies, and Fungi

“…Bat flies were screened for the presence of Laboulbeniales thalli at 40–50× magnification. Thalli were removed from their host at the attachment region and slide-mounted [ 22 , 72 ] for identification to species level [ 51 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ]. The results of this work have been incorporated into a database currently holding 11,936 bat flies with associated metadata: bat fly species and sex; bat host identification, sex, age, and reproduction status; presence/absence of Laboulbeniales, the position of infection, and fungus identification; geographic location and collecting date.…”

New scientific discoveries: Plants and fungi

“…Fourteen species of Laboulbeniomycetes that are obligatorily associated with arthropods were described from beetles, cockroaches, termites, flies (including the ectoparasitic bat flies), and true bugs (De Kesel & Haelewaters, 2019; Dogonniuck, Squires, & Weir, 2019; Haelewaters & Pfister, 2019; Haelewaters, Pfliegler, Gorczak, & Pfister, 2019b; Hyde et al, 2019; Song et al, 2019). A recent advance in taxonomic studies of these elusive fungi results from morphometry and molecular phylogeny (e.g., Haelewaters, De Kesel, et al, 2019; Haelewaters, De Kesel, & Pfister, 2018; Sundberg, Kruys, Bergsten, & Ekman, 2018).…”