Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Phylogeny and Taxonomy of the Genus Amphichorda (Bionectriaceae): An Update on Beauveria-like Strains and Description of a Novel Species from Marine Sediments

Version 1 : Received: 19 May 2023 / Approved: 22 May 2023 / Online: 22 May 2023 (12:25:58 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Guerra-Mateo, D.; Gené, J.; Baulin, V.; Cano-Lira, J.F. Phylogeny and Taxonomy of the Genus Amphichorda (Bionectriaceae): An Update on Beauveria-like Strains and Description of a Novel Species from Marine Sediments. Diversity 2023, 15, 795, doi:10.3390/d15070795. Guerra-Mateo, D.; Gené, J.; Baulin, V.; Cano-Lira, J.F. Phylogeny and Taxonomy of the Genus Amphichorda (Bionectriaceae): An Update on Beauveria-like Strains and Description of a Novel Species from Marine Sediments. Diversity 2023, 15, 795, doi:10.3390/d15070795.

Abstract

The genus Amphichorda has been recently re-erected as an independent linage from Beauveria, circumscribed within Cordycipitaceae. However, its phylogenetic relationships with other members of this family remain obscure. In our on-going efforts to expand the knowledge on the diversity of culturable ascomycetes from the Mediterranean Sea, we isolated several specimens of Amphichorda. Preliminary sequence analyses revealed great phylogenetic distance with accepted Amphichorda species and a close relation to Onychophora coprophila. Onychophora is a monotypic genus of enteroblastic conidiogenous cells, presumably related to Acremonium (Bionectriaceae); while Amphichorda exhibits holoblastic conidiogenesis. Here, we examine representative strains of Amphichorda species to resolve the taxonomy of the genus and the above-mentioned fungi combining morphological, ultrastructure and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses (ITS, LSU, tef1, BenA). The results revealed Amphichorda as a member of the Bionectriaceae, where its asexual morphs represent a transition between enteroblastic and holoblastic conidiogenesis for this group of fungi. We also describe and illustrate Amphichorda littoralis sp. nov., and propose the new combination Amphichorda coprophila. In addition, we stablish key phenotypic features to distinguish Amphichorda species and demonstrate the higher salt tolerance degree of A. littoralis, consistent with its marine origin. This work provides a comprehensive framework for future studies in the genus.

Keywords

Ascomycota; asexual fungi; marine fungi; multi-locus phylogeny; new taxa; taxonomy; ultrastructure

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.