Multilocus phylogenetic reconstruction of the Clavariaceae (Agaricales) reveals polyphyly of agaricoid members

Abstract

The genus Camarophyllopsis contains species with lamellate (agaricoid) basidiomes in the family Clavariaceae (Agaricales), a group otherwise dominated by club-like (clavarioid) or branched (coralloid) forms. Previous studies have suggested that species classified in Camarophyllopsis occur in two independent lineages. We reconstructed a multilocus phylogeny of the Clavaria-Camarophyllopsis-Clavicorona clade in the Clavariaceae using RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2), nuclear ribosomal 28S, and nuclear ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 regions data and detected three independent groups of agaricoid fungi, including the genera Camarophyllopsis, Hodophilus, and Lamelloclavaria gen. nov, which distinctly differ in their pileipellis structure. In all, nine major lineages within the Clavaria-Camarophyllopsis-Clavicorona clade were recovered: Clavaria sensu stricto, Camarophyllopsis sensu stricto, Hodophilus, the Clavaria pullei clade, the Clavaria fumosa clade, Lamelloclavaria gen. nov., the Clavaria atrofusca clade, Holocoryne (= Clavaria sect. Holocoryne), and Clavicorona. Clavaria is paraphyletic and represented by five clades. Additional gene sampling is necessary to determine and confirm relatedness of these lineages before splitting Clavaria into additional genera.

• Agaricomycetes
• Basidiomycota
• evolution
• systematics

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Pierre-Arthur Moreau, Christine Braaten, Adolf and Oluna Ceska, Zuzana Egertová, Emma Harrower, Stefan Jacobsson, Hailee Korotkin, Sava Kristic, Pierre-Arthur Moreau, Marisol Sánchez-García, Else Vellinga, and Mike Wood for their contribution of specimens, photographs, and/or assistance with fieldwork. We also thank the staff and curators of the herbaria at GB, MICH, NY, OSC, SAV, TENN, UBC, and WTU for providing loans and other assistance. We appreciate contributions made by Soňa Jančovičová in preparation of line drawings. This work was supported by an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant ( DEB-1210302) to JMB and PBM and by a grant from the Slovak-American Foundation and the national grant Vega 02/0075/14 to SA. The authors appreciate constructive comments from two reviewers, associate editor Andrew Methven, and discussion with Jean-Marc Moncalvo on an earlier version of this manuscript.