scholarly journals Updates on the Taxonomy of Mucorales with an Emphasis on Clinically Important Taxa

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walther ◽  
Wagner ◽  
Kurzai

Fungi of the order Mucorales colonize all kinds of wet, organic materials and represent a permanent part of the human environment. They are economically important as fermenting agents of soybean products and producers of enzymes, but also as plant parasites and spoilage organisms. Several taxa cause life-threatening infections, predominantly in patients with impaired immunity. The order Mucorales has now been assigned to the phylum Mucoromycota and is comprised of 261 species in 55 genera. Of these accepted species, 38 have been reported to cause infections in humans, as a clinical entity known as mucormycosis. Due to molecular phylogenetic studies, the taxonomy of the order has changed widely during the last years. Characteristics such as homothallism, the shape of the suspensors, or the formation of sporangiola are shown to be not taxonomically relevant. Several genera including Absidia, Backusella, Circinella, Mucor, and Rhizomucor have been amended and their revisions are summarized in this review. Medically important species that have been affected by recent changes include Lichtheimia corymbifera, Mucor circinelloides, and Rhizopus microsporus. The species concept of Rhizopus arrhizus (syn. R. oryzae) is still a matter of debate. Currently, species identification of the Mucorales is best performed by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Ecologically, the Mucorales represent a diverse group but for the majority of taxa, the ecological role and the geographic distribution remain unknown. Understanding the biology of these opportunistic fungal pathogens is a prerequisite for the prevention of infections, and, consequently, studies on the ecology of the Mucorales are urgently needed.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. ACCEPTED
Author(s):  
Wendu A. Darge ◽  
Samuel S. Woldemariam

The genus Botryosphaeria identified in 1863 as saprophytes of dead tissue of woody plants have been described as pathogens of economically important plantation trees in agriculture and native forests. The genus is a species-rich, worldwide distributed occurring on diverse host ranges. Species of the Botryosphaeria are reported as the pathogens of many plantation trees, including species of Acacia, Eucalyptus, and Pinus causing canker and rapid dieback diseases which often end up in death. Botryosphaeria fungal pathogens have cross pathogenicity on different host tree species which enables them important and focus area of research. The taxonomy of Botryosphaeria spp. have been under research, identification of these fungi has generally been based on morphological features of the anamorph that usually seen under the microscope. Characters that are used to classify genera in the Botryosphaeria have mostly relied on the macroscopic features of the ascospores and the conidial features. Currently, molecular techniques such as DNA sequencing involving amplification of ITS region are important for exact identification of the genera to species level. Recent molecular, phylogenetic and morphological findings showed that order Botryosphaeriales is diverse consisting nine families and 33 genera with 23 genera only in the family Botryosphaeriaceae. Botryosphaeria spp. are naturally endophytes associated with tree plants known to cause monocyclic or polycyclic diseases resulting in polyetic epidemics. The factor that makes plants more prone to Botryosphaeria fungal species is assumed to be stress or wounding associated with the host plants. Global climate change driven drought is an important factor that initiate stress resulting in nutrient deficiencies. Botryosphaeria fungal tree diseases can be best managed by ensuring plants are in optimal health through appropriate integration of cultural, silvicultural and fungicidal applications to effectively prevent and control the diseases.


2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. RANGSIRUJI ◽  
M. F. NEWMAN ◽  
Q. C. B. CRONK

Alpinia galanga is an important species cultivated as a culinary spice and is the type species of the genus. It is hence a member of sect. Alpinia subsect. Alpinia (with non-tubular bracteoles). However, molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that A. galanga is closely related to A. nigra in sect. Allughas (with tubular bracteoles). This clade, which includes A. conchigera, is strongly supported with a bootstrap value (BS) of 100% and a decay index (DI) of >+6. These results are based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the 18S–25S nuclear ribosomal DNA. The region (405–423bp) was sequenced from 17 accessions representing 16 taxa of Zingiberaceae, including 15 species of Alpinia and one outgroup. The sequence divergence ranged from 0.5 to 15.6% among the ingroup and from 10.1 to 13.3% between the ingroup and the outgroup. The results also strongly support the sister relationship of A. rafflesiana and A. javanica in section Allughas (BS=100%, DI=>+6), thus the whole section is paraphyletic. Section Alpinia subsect. Catimbium is monophyletic (BS=100%, DI=+5). On the other hand, sect. Alpinia subsect. Alpinia is paraphyletic (BS=100%, DI=>+6) with respect to sect. Alpinia subsect. Catimbium. The results from a phylogenetic analysis of a subset of the taxa using the spacer between trnL (UAA) 3′ exon and trnF (GAA) of chloroplast DNA confirmed the position of A. galanga in sect. Allughas. It appears that A. galanga has evolved within sect. Allughas and the absence of tubular bracteoles is a convergence with sect. Alpinia, possibly as a result of evolution under domestication.


Author(s):  
D. G. Melnikov ◽  
L. I. Krupkina

Based on the published data of molecular phylogenetic studies of the tribe Cariceae Dumort. genera (Cyperaceae), obtained by an international collaboration (The Global Carex Group, 2016; et al.), and morphological characters of the genera (Kukkonen, 1990; and others), new nomenclatural combinations and replacement names in the genus Carex L. are published for 11 species, one subspecies and two sections previously included in the genus Kobresia Willd.


Author(s):  
Richard W. Jobson ◽  
Paulo C. Baleeiro ◽  
Cástor Guisande

Utricularia is a morphologically and ecologically diverse genus currently comprising more than 230 species divided into three subgenera—Polypompholyx, Utricularia, and Bivalvaria—and 35 sections. The genus is distributed worldwide except on the poles and most oceanic islands. The Neotropics has the highest species diversity, followed by Australia. Compared to its sister genera, Utricularia has undergone greater rates of speciation, which are linked to its extreme morphological flexibility that has resulted in the evolution of habitat-specific forms: terrestrial, rheophytic, aquatic, lithophytic, and epiphytic. Molecular phylogenetic studies have resolved relationships for 44% of the species across 80% of the sections. Scant data are available for phylogeography or population-level processes such as gene flow, hybridization, or pollination. Because nearly 90% of the species are endemics, data are urgently needed to determine how to protect vulnerable species and their habitats.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 266 (2) ◽  
pp. 134 ◽  
Author(s):  
QI ZHAO ◽  
YAN-JIA HAO ◽  
JIAN-KUI LIU ◽  
KEVIN D. HYDE ◽  
YANG-YANG CUI ◽  
...  

Infundibulicybe rufa sp. nov., is described from Jiuzhaigou Biosphere Reserve, southwestern China. It is characterized by the combination of the following characters: umbilicate to slightly infundibuliform, reddish brown pileus; decurrent, cream lamellae; cylindrical stipe concolorous with the pileus surface. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region indicates that I. rufa is closely related to I. mediterranea and I. bresadolana. A description, line drawings, phylogenetic placement and comparison with allied taxa for the new taxon are presented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. eabe2741
Author(s):  
Paschalia Kapli ◽  
Paschalis Natsidis ◽  
Daniel J. Leite ◽  
Maximilian Fursman ◽  
Nadia Jeffrie ◽  
...  

The bilaterally symmetric animals (Bilateria) are considered to comprise two monophyletic groups, Protostomia (Ecdysozoa and the Lophotrochozoa) and Deuterostomia (Chordata and the Xenambulacraria). Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have not consistently supported deuterostome monophyly. Here, we compare support for Protostomia and Deuterostomia using multiple, independent phylogenomic datasets. As expected, Protostomia is always strongly supported, especially by longer and higher-quality genes. Support for Deuterostomia, however, is always equivocal and barely higher than support for paraphyletic alternatives. Conditions that cause tree reconstruction errors—inadequate models, short internal branches, faster evolving genes, and unequal branch lengths—coincide with support for monophyletic deuterostomes. Simulation experiments show that support for Deuterostomia could be explained by systematic error. The branch between bilaterian and deuterostome common ancestors is, at best, very short, supporting the idea that the bilaterian ancestor may have been deuterostome-like. Our findings have important implications for the understanding of early animal evolution.


2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bita Mousavi ◽  
Françoise Botterel ◽  
Jean-Marc Costa ◽  
Pascal Arné ◽  
Jacques Guillot ◽  
...  

AbstractMucormycoses are life-threatening fungal diseases that affect a variety of patients including those with diabetes mellitus or hematological malignancies. The responsible agents, the Mucorales, are opportunistic pathogens originating from the environment such as soil or decaying organic matter. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and diversity of human-pathogenic species of Mucorales in commercially available foodstuffs in France. All food samples were purchased from January 2014 to May 2015 in France. A total of 159 dried food samples including spices and herbs (n = 68), herbal tea (n = 19), cereals (n = 19), vegetables (n = 14), and other foodstuffs (n = 39) were analyzed. Each strain of Mucorales was identified phenotypically, and molecular identification was performed by ITS sequencing. From the 28 (17.6%) samples that were culture-positive for Mucorales, 30 isolates were recovered. Among the isolates, 13 were identified as Rhizopus arrhizus var. arrhizus, 10 R. arrhizus var. delemar, two Rhizopus microsporus, one Lichtheimia corymbifera, three Lichtheimia ramosa, and one Syncephalastrum racemosum. Culture-positive samples originated from different countries (Europe, Asia) and brands. The samples most frequently contaminated by Mucorales were spices and herbs (19/68, 27.9%), followed by herbal tea (2/19, 10.5%), cereals (2/19, 10.5%), other food products (5/39, 12.8%). The present study showed that human-pathogenic Mucorales were frequently recovered from commercially available foodstuffs in France with a large diversity of species. The potential danger represented by Mucorales present in food for immunocompromised patients should be further analyzed.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 263 (2) ◽  
pp. 98 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIA FERM ◽  
JESPER KÅREHED ◽  
BIRGITTA BREMER ◽  
SYLVAIN G. RAZAFIMANDIMBISON

The Malagasy genus Carphalea (Rubiaceae) consists of six species (C. angulata, C. cloiselii, C. kirondron, C. linearifolia, C. madagascariensis, C. pervilleana) of shrubs or small trees and is recognizable by a distinctly lobed calyx, 2(–4)-locular ovaries, each locule with several ovules on a rod-like stalk arising from the base of the locule, and indehiscent fruits. Carphalea linearifolia, rediscovered in 2010, has not previously been included in any Rubiaceae molecular phylogenetic studies. We re-investigated the monophyly of Carphalea using sequence data from chloroplast (rps16 and trnT-F) and nuclear (ITS and ETS) markers analysed with parsimony and Bayesian methods. Carphalea linearifolia forms a clade with C. cloiselii and the type species C. madagascariensis. This clade is sister to a clade consisting of the rest of the Carphalea species plus the genus Triainolepis. According to these results, the new genus Paracarphalea is here described to accommodate Carphalea angulata, C. kirondron, and C. pervilleana. The conservation status of Carphalea linearifolia is assessed as critically endangered according to IUCN criteria.


Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 574
Author(s):  
Wasiatus Sa’diyah ◽  
Akira Hashimoto ◽  
Gen Okada ◽  
Moriya Ohkuma

The diversity of sporocarp-inhabiting fungi (SCIF) was examined using six samples of xylarialean fungi from two different forests in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan: a moist forest in the Sakuragawa area and an urban dry forest in the Tsukuba area. These fungi were enumerated using direct observation and dilution plate methods. We obtained 44 isolates, and careful morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies of these isolates revealed that approximately 30% of the operating taxonomic units were undescribed or cryptic species related to known fungi. Although typical mycoparasitic fungi, such as helotialean fungi and Trichoderma spp., were not isolated, the genera Acremonium, Acrodontium, and Simplicillium were detected. Comparisons of SCIF communities between the two forests suggested that the number of isolated species in the Sakuragawa area was lower than that in the Tsukuba area. Soil-borne fungi, such as Aspergillus, Beauveria, Penicillium, and Talaromyces, or polypores/corticioid mushrooms, are frequently detected in the Tsukuba area. Factors affecting SCIF communities in the two forests are discussed. Some noteworthy fungi are briefly described with notes on taxonomy, ecology, and molecular phylogeny.


Plant Disease ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 96 (10) ◽  
pp. 1583-1583 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Oro ◽  
S. Živković ◽  
Ž. Ivanović ◽  
L. Waeyenberge

The most globally recognized and economically important nematode on wheat is the cereal cyst nematode (CCN) complex (1). One of the most important species of this group is Heterodera filipjevi (Madžidov, 1981) Mulvey and Golden, 1983. During regular soil quarantine control in September 2010, Heterodera sp. cysts were found in soil samples originating from a wheat field in Gunaroš, Vojvodina Province, in northern Serbia. The wheat was a winter crop grown in a dryland production system and had an average cyst density of 2.50/100 cm3 of soil. Morphologically, the cysts were golden brown and lemon shaped with a posterior protuberance. The vulval cone was bifenestrate with horseshoe-shaped semifenestra, bullae, and underbridge. Cyst measurements (n = 30) ranged as follows: cyst length (without neck): 511.50 to 899.00 μm, cyst width: 201.50 to 682.00 μm, fenestral length: 44.80 to 65.60 μm, fenestral width: 24.00 to 40.00 μm, vulval bridge length: 12.80 to 20.80 μm, vulval bridge width: 6.40 to 14.40 μm, vulval slit: 6.00 to 12.80 μm, and underbridge length: 60.00 to 112.00 μm. The second-stage juveniles had an offset head, stylet with characteristic anchor-shaped basal knobs, four incisures, and a conical tail with a rounded tip. The J2 morphometrics (n = 30) were: length: 447.30 to 611.10 μm, width: 22.40 to 25.60 μm, stylet: 20.80 to 24.00 μm, tail length: 56.00 to 68.80 μm, tail width: 14.40 to 19.20 μm, and hyaline length: 35.20 to 44.80 μm. The ITS region was used for molecular analysis. Each DNA sample was extracted from a single cyst. Sequencing was done with primers TW81 and AB28 (2). In comparison with other H. filipjevi populations, the obtained sequence (GenBank Accession No. JX235959) revealed 99 to 100% similarity. Morphological and molecular data confirmed the existence of H. filipjevi. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of H. filipjevi from Serbia. Since wheat has important socioeconomic value for Serbia, after extensive surveys, additional phytosanitary measures may be necessary to prevent the spread of this parasite. References: (1) J. M. Nicol et al. Current Nematode Threats to World Agriculture. Genomics and Molecular Genetics of Plant-Nematode Interactions, Springer, New York, 2011. (2) A. M. Skantar et al. J. Nematol. 39:133, 2007.


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