Cryptic species in Stachybotrys chartarum

Abstract

Stachybotrys chartarum has received much attention as a possible cause of sick-building syndrome. Because morphological species recognition in fungi can hide diversity, we applied a phylogenetic approach to search for cryptic species. We examined 23 isolates from the San Francisco Bay Area, and another seven from around the US. Using markers we developed for three polymorphic protein coding loci (chitin synthase 1, beta-tubulin 2, and trichodiene synthase 5), we infer that two distinct phylogenetic species exist within the single described morphological species. We have found no correlation between genetic isolation and geographic distance.

• fungal species
• molecular evolution
• phylogenetic species
• population genetics
• sick-building syndrome

We thank Brian Shelton of PathCon Laboratories, Norcross, Georgia for providing isolates of S. chartarum obtained from throughout the US, and Scott Kroken, Jamie Platt, and Martin Bidartondo for providing guidance throughout the project.

The work was supported by Torrey Mesa Research Institute, the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, and NIH-NIAID.