Article
Microbiology
Viridiana Magana-Duenas, Jose Francisco Cano-Lira, Alberto Miguel Stchigel
Summary: This study collected plant debris submerged in freshwater from different locations in Spain, developing new species of freshwater ascomycetes. Through phylogenetic analysis, new species of Amniculicola, Elongatopedicellata, Neovaginatispora, Pyrenochaetopsis, Pilidium, and Pseudosigmoidea were identified. These findings contribute to the understanding of the diversity and taxonomy of freshwater ascomycetes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jasmin Almer, Philipp Resl, Hordur Gudmundsson, Denis Warshan, Olafur S. Andresson, Silke Werth
Summary: Photosymbiodemes are a unique form of lichen symbiosis involving a lichenized fungus, a cyanobacterium, and a green alga. This study examined the gene expression of different sectors of the lichen Peltigera britannica, comparing those with only cyanobacterial photobionts to those with both green algal and cyanobacterial photobionts. The results showed that specific symbiosis partners significantly influenced fungal gene expression, and the symbionts exhibited different responses to temperature increases.
Article
Plant Sciences
Gintaras Kantvilas
Summary: This study presents six species of the lichen genus Lecanactis found in Tasmania, with one new species described as an endemic to Tasmania. Short descriptions and discussions are provided for all species. A key for all 11 Australian species of the genus is included in the study, along with first time records of certain species in Australia and New South Wales.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Braulio M. Fraga, Carmen E. Diaz
Summary: In this study, we identified several monosubstituted tricycloalternarenes with erroneous structures and proposed correction strategies. We also determined that mono-hydroxylated tricycloalternarenes can only exist at specific positions, and further determined the structures and configurations of several compounds.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Braulio M. Fraga, Carmen E. Diaz
Summary: This work corrected erroneous structures of disubstituted tricycloalternarenes and explained the existence of only two types of disubstituted tricycloalternarenes in nature. It also established the configurations of phyllostictone A and the structure of phyllostictone D through comparison.
Article
Mycology
Ming-Zhu Dou, Min Li, Ze-Feng Jia
Summary: In this study, the genus Chapsa in China was examined using morphological characteristics, chemical traits, and molecular phylogenetic analysis. A new species to science and two new records to China were identified. The newly discovered species, Chapsa murioelongata, is characterized by specific features and Chapsa wolseleyana was reclassified based on phenotypic traits. Sequence data and phylogenetic analyses supported the position of these species within the Chapsa genus. A key to known Chapsa species in China was provided.
Article
Mycology
Todd J. Widhelm, Felix Grewe, Bernard Goffinet, Mats Wedin, Trevor Goward, Luis F. Coca, Isabel Distefano, Alica Kosuthova, H. Thorsten Lumbsch
Summary: The evolutionary history of the lichenized fungal order Peltigerales, particularly the Collematineae, has been successfully resolved using phylogenomic data, despite conflicting signal in exon trees. Rapid diversification events were identified in the early evolution of the suborder. A minimum subset of exons that could reconstruct phylogenetic relationships with higher support than the complete dataset was identified. Comparisons between the minimum and complete datasets showed similar results in species tree inferences, bipartition analyses, and divergence time estimations, although errors in divergence time estimations were higher in the minimum dataset. Target capture datasets yielded higher support values compared to topologies reconstructed using traditional nuclear and mitochondrial markers.
Article
Soil Science
Lin Xu, Bingjian Zhu, Chaonan Li, Zhichao Zhou, Minjie Yao, Xiaobing Zhou, Junming Wang, Bingchang Zhang, Xiangzhen Li
Summary: The study found that later developed stages of biocrusts exhibited higher values of ecosystem multifunctionality indices, while the diversity of 16S rRNA gene decreased with succession. The increasing relative abundance of non-cyanobacterial photosynthetic organisms was identified as the key predictor driving ecosystem multifunctionality indices during biocrust succession.
Article
Plant Sciences
Piotr Mleczko, Dorota Hilszczanska, Filip Karpowicz, Maciej Kozak, Marco Leonardi, Aleksandra Rosa-Gruszecka, Anna Tereba, Giovanni Pacioni
Summary: This study reports the discovery of Tuber wenchuanense, a species originally described from Sichuan, China, in the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland. Both morphological and molecular analysis were conducted, and the ectomycorrhiza of this truffle with Picea abies was described for the first time. The distribution of T. wenchuanense, reconstructed based on nucleotide sequence data, reveals its holarctic range and its preference for mountainous coniferous forests and alpine/arctic tundra.
Review
Microbiology
Tang-Chang Xu, Yi-Han Lu, Jun-Fei Wang, Zhi-Qiang Song, Ya-Ge Hou, Si-Si Liu, Chuan-Sheng Liu, Shao-Hua Wu
Summary: The genus Diaporthe and its anamorph Phomopsis are widely distributed worldwide and are considered potential sources for diverse bioactive metabolites. Most species are plant pathogens or endophytes, and studies have found a large number of bioactive secondary metabolites from these genera, with activities such as cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties. Polyketides are the most common chemical group, comprising 64% of the compounds.
Article
Plant Sciences
Bruce McCune, Sarah Norvell Conway
Summary: Hypogymnia tuckerae is a newly described lichenized fungus found in the United States and China. Genetic analysis revealed that it is distinct from other species and has a close relationship with Hypogymnia species from the southern hemisphere. Additionally, a new species called H. discopruina was discovered in southwestern China, characterized by unique morphological features. These new species require adjustments to the classification keys for Hypogymnia.
Article
Plant Sciences
Mahmoud S. Bakhit, Mohamed A. Abdel-Wahab
Summary: A new fungus, Safagamyces marinus gen. et sp. nov., was discovered in decaying stem of Phragmites australis inside Safaga mangrove. Phylogenetic analysis placed the fungus as a distinct branch basal to a node containing three asexual marine genera. It is characterized by branched conidia and sympodial conidial proliferation.
Article
Microbiology
Xing-Juan Xiao, Jian Ma, Li-Juan Zhang, Ning-Guo Liu, Yuan-Pin Xiao, Xing-Guo Tian, Zong-Long Luo, Yong-Zhong Lu
Summary: During a study of helicosporous fungi in China, six new taxa belonging to the Helicosporium genus were discovered. Morphological comparisons and multi-gene phylogenetic analyses were carried out to identify these taxa and three novel species were named. Detailed descriptions, illustrations, and comparisons with similar fungi were provided, along with a list and key to accepted Helicosporium species.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Isaac Garrido-Benavent, Sergio Perez-Ortega, Asuncion de los Rios, Helmut Mayrhofer, Fernando Fernandez-Mendoza
Summary: The study reveals the presence of three partially admixed phylogenetic species within the Pseudephebe genus, with one exhibiting an amphitropical distribution and the others having restricted distributions. The Quaternary glacial cycles strongly influenced their distribution, with a possible Northern Hemisphere origin for one of the species.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Gopinathan Nair Gokul, Jacob Thomas, Nisha Mathew
Summary: This study describes a new species of fungus causing black mildew disease on Aporosa cardiosperma in the Konni forest division of Kerala state, India. It is the first report of the genus Prillieuxina growing as a biotroph on host family Euphorbiaceae.
