Multigene phylogenetic and morphological evidence for seven new species of Aquanectria and Gliocladiopsis (Ascomycota, Hypocreales) from tropical areas

ABSTRACT

Aquanectria and Gliocladiopsis are two closely related genera of Hypocreales. They are also morphologically similar, forming hyaline, penicillate conidiophores and hyaline, straight to sinuous, 0–1-septate phialoconidia. During a revision of gliocladiopsis-like isolates originating from rain forest areas of South America (Ecuador, French Guiana) and Southeast Asia (Singapore), multilocus phylogenetic inferences, based on DNA sequences encoding partial β-tubulin (TUB2), translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1- α), histone H3 (HIS3) genes and the nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS), revealed the occurrence of seven new phylogenetic species. These phylogenetic species also revealed unique combinations of phenotypes, allowing morphological distinction from their closest phylogenetic relatives. Four new species of Aquanectria and three new species of Gliocladiopsis are described and illustrated. Three of the four Aquanectria species deviate from the other species in the genus by having shorter conidia, which are in the size range observed in Gliocladiopsis species. They are placed in Aquanectria based on the phylogenetic analysis, but this also makes the morphological distinction between these two genera obsolete.

KEYWORDS:

• Ecuador
• oil pollution
• Singapore
• South America
• Southeast Asia
• systematics
• 7 new taxa

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank PetroAmazonas for facilitating access to the oil-polluted ponds and laboratory facilities in the Research Center for Environmental Technologies located in Sacha Camp. Strains from Singapore were obtained through cooperation with Olivier Laurence, Mycosphere S.a.r.l. Cony Decock also thanks Dr. Annaïg Le Guen, Director of the “CNRS Guyane,” for granting authorization and facilities for field research at the CNRS Nouragues “Inselberg” and “Pararé” forest plots, and the CNRS staff members in Cayenne and at both camps. The authors also warmly thank Stéphanie Huret for her help with the sequencing program.

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Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the CIUF-CUD (currently ARES, Académie de Recherche et d’Enseignement Supérieur Wallonie-Bruxelles, Commission de la Coopération pour le Dévelopment) for the PIC project “Reinforcement of the fungal expertise in Ecuador via case studies of fungal plants interactions in selected ecosystems and the development of biotechnology-oriented fungal resource centres.” Ana Gordillo acknowledges the financial support received from PUCE projects when working in Ecuador. Cony Decock gratefully acknowledges the financial support received from the Belgian State–Belgian Federal Science Policy and the FNRS (Belgium) through an FRFC (Fonds de la Recherche Fondamentale Collective) project (FRFC no. 2.4515.06).