Phylogenetic comparison and classification of laccase and related multicopper oxidase protein sequences.

A phylogenetic analysis of more than 350 multicopper oxidases (MCOs) from fungi, insects, plants, and bacteria provided the basis for a refined classification of this enzyme family into laccases sensu stricto (basidiomycetous and ascomycetous), insect laccases, fungal pigment MCOs, fungal ferroxidases, ascorbate oxidases, plant laccase-like MCOs, and bilirubin oxidases. Within the largest group of enzymes, formed by the 125 basidiomycetous laccases, the gene phylogeny does not strictly follow the species phylogeny. The enzymes seem to group at least partially according to the lifestyle of the corresponding species. Analyses of the completely sequenced fungal genomes showed that the composition of MCOs in the different species can be very variable. Some species seem to encode only ferroxidases, whereas others have proteins which are distributed over up to four different functional clusters in the phylogenetic tree.

New species of Clavulina from Guyana.

Two new species of Clavulina are described from rainforests dominated by ectomycorrhizal Dicymbe spp. (Caesalpiniaceae) in the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana. Clavulina nigricans, sp. nov. is unique for Clavulina in having 4-6 spores per basidium. Clavulina craterelloides, sp. nov. has an infundibuliform basidiome, previously unknown in the otherwise coralloid genus Clavulina. Macromorphological, micromorphological and habitat data are provided for each taxon, as well as justification for their placement in Clavulina based on morphological and molecular features.