Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T08:45:05.583Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Phylogenetic relationships of ophiostomatoid fungi associated with Protea infructescences in South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 1999

BRENDA D. WINGFIELD ,
CHRISTOPHER D. VILJOEN  and
MICHAEL J. WINGFIELD
BRENDA D. WINGFIELD
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, Tree Pathology Co-operative Programme and the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
CHRISTOPHER D. VILJOEN
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of the Orange Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300 South Africa
MICHAEL J. WINGFIELD
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, Tree Pathology Co-operative Programme and the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
Get access

Abstract

Five ophiostomatoid taxa have been found associated with the infructescences of Protea species, an ancient group of flowering plants endemic to South Africa. Two of these fungi are characterized by their unusual Knoxdavesia anamorphs and have been placed in Gondwanamyces. The three remaining species have Sporothrix anamorphs and have accordingly been accommodated in Ophiostoma. The phylogenetic relationships between the fungi associated with Protea spp. and other ophiostomatoid fungi in Ceratocystis and Ophiostoma are unknown. Large subunit ribosomal RNA sequence data was obtained for the fungi associated with Protea infructescences as well as for the type species of Ceratocystis and Ophiostoma. Both groups of ophiostomatoid fungi were phylogenetically distinct from either Ceratocystis or Ophiostoma, despite sharing morphological and physiological characters with these genera. The species of Ophiostoma associated with Protea infructescences group within the Ophiostomatales while species of Gondwanamyces group within the Microascales. Furthermore, the Ophiostoma spp. from Protea should reside in a separate genus and are a fascinating example of convergent evolution towards insect dispersal.

Type
Research Article
Information
Mycological Research , Volume 103 , Issue 12 , December 1999 , pp. 1616 - 1620
Copyright
© The British Mycological Society 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)