Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) is a globally invasive ladybird. It has been intentionally introduced in many countries as a biological control agent, whereas it has been ...unintentionally released in many others. Climatic factors are important in limiting the spread of H. axyridis. For example, very few records are known from tropical or desert regions. Currently, no published reports are known from Central America. Here, we report H. axyridis from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Puerto Rico. Specimens were either observed by the authors, discovered in dried insect collections, or retrieved from searching through online photographs available from the citizen science project iNaturalist and the photo-sharing website Flickr. These new records and the wide distribution of H. axyridis in Latin America suggest several invasion events, which have gone unnoticed until now. We stress the need for further, large-scale monitoring and show the advantage of citizen science to assess the presence of invasive alien species.
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The discovery of a new fossil species of the Caribbeo-Mexican genus Proptomaphaginus (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae) from Dominican amber, associated with a new fossil parasitic fungus in the ...genus Columnomyces (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales), triggered an investigation of extant species of Proptomaphaginus and revealed the long-enduring parasitic association between these two genera. This effort resulted in the description of the fossil species †Proptomaphaginus alleni sp. nov., and one fossil and two extant species of Columnomyces, selectively associated with species of Proptomaphaginus: †Columnomyces electri sp. nov. associated with the fossil †Proptomaphaginus alleni in Dominican amber, Columnomyces hispaniolensis sp. nov. with the extant Proptomaphaginus hispaniolensis (endemic of Hispaniola), and Columnomyces peckii sp. nov. with the extant Proptomaphaginus puertoricensis (endemic of Puerto Rico). Based on biogeography, our current understanding is that the Caribbean species of Proptomaphaginus and their parasitic species of Columnomyces have coevolved since the Miocene. This is the first occurrence of such a coevolution between a genus of parasitic fungus and a genus of Coleoptera. The phylogenetic relations among Proptomaphaginus species are also addressed based on a parsimony analysis. Fossil specimens were observed by propagation phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray microtomography (PPC-SRμCT) and extant specimens were obtained through the study of preserved dried, pinned insects, attesting for the importance of (i) technological advancement and (ii) natural history collections in the study of microparasitic relationships.
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Molecular studies of fungi within the order Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota, Pezizomycotina) have been hampered for years because of their minute size, inability to grow in axenic culture, and lack of ...reliable and cost-efficient DNA extraction protocols. In particular, the genus Laboulbenia is notorious for low success with DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. This is attributed to the presence of melanin, a molecule known to inhibit PCR, in the cells. We evaluated the efficacy of a standard single cell-based DNA extraction protocol by halving the recommended amount of reagents to reduce the cost per extraction and adding bovine serum albumin (BSA) during the multiple displacement amplification step to reverse the effect of melanin. A total of 196 extractions were made, 111 of which were successful. We found that halving the reagents used in the single cell-based extraction kit did not significantly affect the probability of successful DNA extraction. Using the halved protocol reduces cost and resource consumption. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the probability of successfully extracting DNA based on whether BSA was added or not, suggesting that the amount of melanin present in cells of the thallus has no major inhibitory effect on PCR. We generated 277 sequences from five loci, but amplification of the internal transcribed spacer region, the mitochondrial small subunit rDNA, and protein-coding genes remains challenging. The probability of successfully extracting DNA from Laboulbeniales was also impacted by specimen storage methods, with material preserved in > 95% ethanol yielding higher success rates compared to material stored in 70% ethanol and dried material. We emphasize the importance of proper preservation of material and propose the design of Laboulbeniales-specific primers to overcome the problems of primer mismatches and contaminants. Our new insights apply not only to the genus Laboulbenia; Laboulbeniales generally are understudied, and the vast majority of species remain unsequenced. New and approachable molecular developments will benefit the study of Laboulbeniales, helping to elucidate the true diversity and evolutionary relationships of these peculiar microfungi.
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The Basidiomycota constitutes a major phylum of the kingdom Fungi and is second in species numbers to the Ascomycota. The present work provides an overview of all validly published, currently used ...basidiomycete genera to date in a single document. An outline of all genera of Basidiomycota is provided, which includes 1928 currently used genera names, with 1263 synonyms, which are distributed in 241 families, 68 orders, 18 classes and four subphyla. We provide brief notes for each accepted genus including information on classification, number of accepted species, type species, life mode, habitat, distribution, and sequence information. Furthermore, three phylogenetic analyses with combined LSU, SSU, 5.8s, rpb1, rpb2, and ef1 datasets for the subphyla Agaricomycotina, Pucciniomycotina and Ustilaginomycotina are conducted, respectively. Divergence time estimates are provided to the family level with 632 species from 62 orders, 168 families and 605 genera. Our study indicates that the divergence times of the subphyla in Basidiomycota are 406–430 Mya, classes are 211–383 Mya, and orders are 99–323 Mya, which are largely consistent with previous studies. In this study, all phylogenetically supported families were dated, with the families of Agaricomycotina diverging from 27–178 Mya, Pucciniomycotina from 85–222 Mya, and Ustilaginomycotina from 79–177 Mya. Divergence times as additional criterion in ranking provide additional evidence to resolve taxonomic problems in the Basidiomycota taxonomic system, and also provide a better understanding of their phylogeny and evolution.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Biodiversity loss from disturbances caused by human activities means that species are disappearing at an ever increasing rate. The high number of species that have yet to be described have generated ...extreme crisis to the taxonomist. Therefore, more than in any other era, effective ways to discover and delimitate species are needed. This paper reviews the historically foremost approaches used to delimit species in Ascomycota, the most speciose phylum of Fungi. These include morphological, biological, and phylogenetic species concepts. We argue that a single property to delineate species boundaries has various defects and each species concept comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. Recently the rate of species discovery has increased because of the advancement of phylogenetic approaches. However, traditional phylogenetic methods with few gene regions lack species-level resolution, and do not allow unambiguous conclusions. We detail the processes that affect gene tree heterogeneity, which acts as barriers to delimiting species boundaries in classical low-rank phylogenies. So far, limited insights were given to the DNA-based methodologies to establish well-supported boundaries among fungal species. In addition to reviewing concepts and methodologies used to delimit species, we present a case study. We applied different species delimitation methods to understand species boundaries in the plant pathogenic and cryptic genus
Phyllosticta
(Dothideomycetes, Botryosphaeriales). Several DNA-based methods over-split the taxa while in some methods several taxa fall into a single species. These problems can be resolved by using multiple loci and coalescence-based methods. Further, we discuss integrative approaches that are crucial for understanding species boundaries within Ascomycota and provide several examples for ideal and pragmatic approaches of species delimitation.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Exploitation of organisms by multiple parasite species is common in nature, but interactions among parasites have rarely been studied. Myrmica ants are rich in parasites. Among others, the ...ectoparasitic Rickia wasmannii fungus and the parasitic caterpillars of myrmecophilous Phengaris butterflies often infect the same Myrmica colonies. In this study, we examined the effects of R. wasmannii on the adoption, long-term development, and survival of P. alcon. In laboratory conditions, caterpillars introduced into nests of Myrmica scabrinodis uninfected with R. wasmannii survived significantly longer compared to caterpillars introduced into infected nests. In the field, joint infection was less common than expected if both parasites exploited M. scabrinodis colonies independently. Pre-pupal caterpillars of P. alcon were somewhat larger in nests infected with R. wasmannii than those found in uninfected nests. Based on these results it seems that R. wasmannii infection of M. scabrinodis affects the survival and development of P. alcon caterpillars, suggesting competition between these two ant parasites.
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New scientific discoveries: Plants and fungi Cheek, Martin; Nic Lughadha, Eimear; Kirk, Paul ...
Plants, people, planet,
September 2020, 2020-09-00, 20200901, 2020-09-01, Volume:
2, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Research and publication of the planet's remaining plant and fungal species as yet unknown to science is essential if we are to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 “Life ...on Land” which includes the protection of terrestrial ecosystems and halting of biodiversity loss. If species are not known to science, they cannot be assessed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and so the possibility to protect them from extinction is reduced. Furthermore, until species are known to science they cannot be fully scientifically evaluated for their potential as new foods, medicines, and products which would help address SDGs 1,2,3, and 8.
Societal Impact Statement
Research and publication of the planet's remaining plant and fungal species as yet unknown to science is essential if we are to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 “Life on Land” which includes the protection of terrestrial ecosystems and halting of biodiversity loss. If species are not known to science, they cannot be assessed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and so the possibility to protect them from extinction is reduced. Furthermore, until species are known to science they cannot be fully scientifically evaluated for their potential as new foods, medicines, and products which would help address SDGs 1,2,3, and 8.
Summary
Scientific discovery, including naming new taxa, is important because without a scientific name, a species is invisible to science and the possibilities of researching its ecology, applications and threats, and conserving it, are greatly reduced. We review new scientific discoveries in the plant and fungal kingdoms, based largely on new names of taxa published in 2019 and indexed in the International Plant Names Index and Index Fungorum. Numbers of new species in both kingdoms were similar with 1942 new species of plant published and 1882 species of fungi. However, while >50% of plant species have likely been discovered, >90% of fungi remain unknown. This gulf likely explains the greater number of higher order taxa for fungi published in 2019: three classes, 18 orders, 48 families and 214 genera versus one new family and 87 new genera for plants. We compare the kingdoms in terms of rates of scientific discovery, globally and in different taxonomic groups and geographic areas, and with regard to the use of DNA in discovery. We review species new to science, especially those of interest to humanity as new products, and also by life‐form. We consider where future such discoveries can be expected. We recommend an urgent increase in investment in scientific discovery of plant and fungal species, while they still survive. Priorities include more investment in training taxonomists, in building and equipping collections‐based research centers for them, especially in species‐rich, income‐poor countries where the bulk of species as yet unknown to science are thought to occur.
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DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Cyttaria
is a morphologically and biologically distinct genus comprising wood-inhabiting species that are biotrophic associates of trees in the genera
Nothofagus
sensu stricto and
Lophozonia
in ...southern South America, Australia, and New Zealand. The uniqueness of the fruit bodies and habitat of
Cyttaria
has led taxonomists to justify its placement in its own order, Cyttariales, in Leotiomycetes. A multilocus phylogenetic reconstruction of the class Leotiomycetes incorporating new sequence data from
Cyttaria nigra
shows Cyttariaceae to have an isolated position near the base of Helotiales, with weak support for a relationship with
Polydesmia pruinosa
(incertae sedis) and Chlorociboriaceae. Cyttariales is here proposed as a synonym of Helotiales.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Laboulbeniales
(
Ascomycota
) are an order of understudied, biotrophic microfungi uniquely associated with arthropods. More than 2300 species are described but only a fraction of those have been ...sequenced. Molecular studies have shown that cryptic diversity and phenotypic plasticity are present within the
Laboulbeniales
. Thus far, all of the 146 genera described in
Laboulbeniales
have been based on morphological characteristics; features commonly used to delineate genera are the organization of receptacle cells and the number of perithecial outer wall cells. The genus
Botryandromyces
was erected to accommodate two species,
B. heteroceri
and
B. ornatus
(type), which share similar morphological characteristics and are different from other genera in their number of perithecial outer wall cells. Here, we generated sequences of multiple loci (18S, ITS, and 28S) of
B. heteroceri
and several
Laboulbenia
species. Our phylogenetic analyses retrieved
Botryandromyces
within
Laboulbenia
with high support. The two
Botryandromyces
species are similar to related
Laboulbenia
species in their upper receptacle (i.e., cells IV and V). We propose to transfer
Botryandromyces ornatus
and
B. heteroceri
to
Laboulbenia
as
L. heteroceri
and
L. mairei
nom. nov., respectively, due to a complicated taxonomic history. These results advocate the use of molecular data and the necessity of an integrative taxonomy approach in the study of
Laboulbeniales
not only to delineate species, but also to investigate relationships among species, genera, and higher taxa as well as to understand the evolution of morphology in this group of fungi.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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