Nomenclatural realignment of Neotyphodium species with genus Epichloë

Abstract

Nomenclatural rule changes in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants, adopted at the 18th International Botanical Congress in Melbourne, Australia, in 2011, provide for a single name to be used for each fungal species. The anamorphs of Epichloë species have been classified in genus Neotyphodium, the form genus that also includes most asexual Epichloë descendants. A nomenclatural realignment of this monophyletic group into one genus would enhance a broader understanding of the relationships and common features of these grass endophytes. Based on the principle of priority of publication we propose to classify all members of this clade in the genus Epichloë. We have reexamined classification of several described Epichloë and Neotyphodium species and varieties and propose new combinations and states. In this treatment we have accepted 43 unique taxa in Epichloë, including distinct species, subspecies, and varieties. We exclude from Epichloë the two taxa Neotyphodium starrii, as nomen dubium, and Neotyphodium chilense, as an unrelated taxon.

• anamorph
• Ascomycota
• classification
• Clavicipitaceae
• endophyte
• fungi
• grass
• nomenclature
• pleomorph
• Poaceae
• systematic
• taxonomy
• teleomorph

Acknowledgments

AL acknowledges support of the Genetic Diversity Centre, ETH Zurich, and a grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation ( 31003A-117729). CWB acknowledges support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). CLS acknowledges support from the United States National Science Foundation ( EPS-0814194), Department of Agriculture ( 2010-34457-21269), National Institute of General Medical Sciences ( R01GM086888), Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station, and Harry E. Wheeler Endowment. JFW and MT acknowledge support of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Micrographs were generated by Dr JinGe Liu and Dr Sladana Bec at the University of Kentucky and Ms Dorothy M. Hinton at USDA-ARS, Athens, Georgia. Additional technical support was provided by Mr Walter Hollin, and DNA sequencing was conducted by Ms Jennifer L. Wiseman, Ms Jennifer S. Webb, Ms Love Gill Robinson and Ms Cagney Coomer of the Advanced Genetic Technologies Center at the University of Kentucky. Isolate E7358 was provided (as strain GR 10140) by Dr. Koya Sugawara of NARO-ILGS, Japan. We thank Dr Anthony E. Glenn (USDA-ARS, Athens, Georgia) for his longstanding interest and discussions on the taxonomy of grass endophytes.