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Abstract
The phylogenetic relationships of the lichen genus Placopsis and related genera in the Agyriales were analyzed using molecular data. We obtained a total of 66 new sequences from the nuclear ITS, LSU and the mitochondrial SSU rDNA. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted in a Bayesian and a maximum-parsimony framework. Our analyses show that Placopsis is paraphyletic with members of Orceolina nesting within the genus. A morphological character supporting the Placopsis-Orceolina clade is the non-amyloid ascus. The section Aspiciliopsis as defined by sunken fruiting bodies is not supported, but the type species of Aspiciliopsis is more closely related to Orceolina. This clade shares apothecia with reduced amphithecia as apomorphic character. We suggest resurrecting the generic name Aspiciliopsis. Trapelia is the sister genus to Placopsis and Aspiciliopsis/Orceolina.
We wish to acknowledge David Galloway (Roxburgh) for his great help in identifying several Placopsis specimens. Many thanks also go to Yves Frenot (Paimpont) and Leo Sancho (Madrid) for organizing the expeditions to Kerguelen, Crozet and Livingston, and to Uwe Becker (Cologne), Rainer Cezanne (Darmstadt), Starri Heidmarsson (Akureyri), Bruce McCune (Corvallis), Zdenĕk Palice (Prague), Harrie Sipman (Berlin) and Einar Timdal (Oslo) for sending fresh material for DNA extraction. Charlotte Hansen (Copenhagen) excellently supported our laboratory work and Nora Wirtz (Essen) kindly provided four new sequences. We are very grateful to Steffen Pauls (Biebergemünd) who improved the manuscript linguistically. This study was supported by an IHP grant at Copenhagen Biosystematics Centre (COBICE) to IS and by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft to HTL.