Generic hyper-diversity in Stachybotriaceae.
The family Stachybotriaceae was recently introduced to include the genera Myrothecium, Peethambara and Stachybotrys. Members of this family include important plant and human pathogens, as well as several species used in industrial and commercial applications as biodegraders and biocontrol agents. However, the generic boundaries in Stachybotriaceae are still poorly defined, as type material and sequence data are not readily available for taxonomic studies. To address this issue, we performed multi-locus phylogenetic analyses using partial gene sequences of the 28S large subunit (LSU), the internal transcribed spacer regions and intervening 5.8S nrRNA (ITS), the RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2), calmodulin (cmdA), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1) and β-tubulin (tub2) for all available type and authentic strains. Supported by morphological characters these data resolved 33 genera in the Stachybotriaceae. These included the nine already established genera Albosynnema, Alfaria, Didymostilbe, Myrothecium, Parasarcopodium, Peethambara, Septomyrothecium, Stachybotrys and Xepicula. At the same time the generic names Melanopsamma, Memnoniella and Virgatospora were resurrected. Phylogenetic inference further showed that both the genera Myrothecium and Stachybotrys are polyphyletic resulting in the introduction of 13 new genera with myrothecium-like morphology and eight new genera with stachybotrys-like morphology.
CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands;
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Lombard
CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands;
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Houbraken
Mycothèque de l'Université catholique de Louvain (MUCL, BCCM ), Earth and Life Institute - Microbiology (ELIM), Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2 bte L7.05.06, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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Decock
CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands;
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Samson
CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands;
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Meijer
Department of Taxonomy, Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences, CZ-252 43, Prùhonice, Czech Republic.
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Réblová
CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands;
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Groenewald
CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands;; Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.; Microbiology, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.; Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR), Laboratory of Phytopathology, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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Crous
biodegraders; generic concept; human and plant pathogens; indoor mycobiota; multi-gene phylogeny; species concept; taxonomy