Taxonomy and phylogeny of yellow Clavaria species with clamped basidia-Clavaria flavostellifera sp. nov. and the typification of C. argillacea, C. flavipes and C. sphagnicola.

This study explores species limits of a group of Clavaria species with taxonomic and nomenclatural problems and discusses the phylogeny and circumscription of the genus. The nuc 28S rDNA (28S) and internal transcribed spacer region phylogenies resolve species relationships, and the ITS is shown to be an adequate barcode marker for Clavaria. Yellow, clamped species of Clavaria are distributed in two clades, (i) C. flavostellifera, sister to C. incarnata and C. asterospora in ITS analyses, characterized by producing ornamented spores, and (ii) C. argillacea-C. citrinorubra-C. flavipes-C. sphagnicola, with smooth spores. Clavaria flavostellifera is described as new species based on morphological and molecular characters. Molecular evidence that supports C. sphagnicola as distinct from C. argillacea is provided. The usefulness of spore ornamentation as a taxonomic character is discussed; it is present only in some taxa and then only on spores trapped in the hymenium. Descriptions of C. argillacea, C. flavipes and C. sphagnicola are provided, along with color photographs and a key to yellow species of Clavaria with clamped basidia. Camarophyllopsis and Clavicorona are recovered within a paraphyletic Clavaria in our 28S phylogeny. Clampless contextual hyphae and narrow, slightly thick-walled mycelial hyphae are proposed as synapomorphies of Camarophyllopsis and Clavaria.

Revision of taxonomic concept and systematic position of some Clavariaceae species.

A taxonomic and nomenclatural revision of some representatives of Clavariaceae is presented based on extensive collecting in central and western Europe. Five species originally described from Europe are identified, redescribed and delimited: Clavaria fragilis, Ramariopsis crocea, R. corniculata, R. helvola and R. pulchella. Lectotypes, epitypes or neotypes are designated for all these species. Descriptions are based on macro- and micromorphological characters and supplemented with DNA analyses of the nrLSU regions from 20 specimens. The molecular phylogenetic analyses reconstructed a phylogram showing relationships among the discussed species as well as some closely related taxa. The taxonomic value of the ratio of length and width of spores (Q-value) is discussed.

Hydrous ferric oxides (HFO's) precipitated from contaminated waters at several abandoned Sb deposits - Interdisciplinary assessment.

The presented paper represents a comprehensive analysis of ochre sediments precipitated from Fe rich drainage waters contaminated by arsenic and antimony. Ochre samples from three abandoned Sb deposits were collected in three different seasons and were characterized from the mineralogical, geochemical, and microbiological point of view. They were formed mainly by poorly crystallized 2-line ferrihydrite, with the content of arsenic in samples ranging from 7 g·kg-1 to 130 g·kg-1 and content of antimony ranging from 0.25 g·kg-1 up to 12 g·kg-1. Next-generation sequencing approach with 16S RNA, 18S RNA and ITS markers was used to characterize bacterial, fungal, algal, metazoal and protozoal communities occurring in the HFOs. In the 16S RNA, the analysis dominated bacteria (96.2%) were mainly Proteobacteria (68.8%) and Bacteroidetes (10.2%) and to less extent also Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Nitrosprae and Chloroflexi. Alpha and beta diversity analysis revealed that the bacterial communities of individual sites do not differ significantly, and only subtle seasonal changes were observed. In this As and Sb rich, circumneutral microenvironment, rich in iron, sulfates and carbonates, methylotrophic bacteria (Methylobacter, Methylotenera), metal/reducing bacteria (Geobacter, Rhodoferax), metal-oxidizing and denitrifying bacteria (Gallionella, Azospira, Sphingopyxis, Leptothrix and Dechloromonas), sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Sulfuricurvum, Desulphobulbaceae) and nitrifying bacteria (Nitrospira, Nitrosospira) accounted for the most dominant ecological groups and their impact over Fe, As, Sb, sulfur and nitrogen geocycles is discussed. This study provides evidence of diverse microbial communities that exist in drainage waters and are highly important in the process of mobilization or immobilization of the potentially toxic elements.

Megaphylogeny resolves global patterns of mushroom evolution.

Mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes) have the greatest morphological diversity and complexity of any group of fungi. They have radiated into most niches and fulfil diverse roles in the ecosystem, including wood decomposers, pathogens or mycorrhizal mutualists. Despite the importance of mushroom-forming fungi, large-scale patterns of their evolutionary history are poorly known, in part due to the lack of a comprehensive and dated molecular phylogeny. Here, using multigene and genome-based data, we assemble a 5,284-species phylogenetic tree and infer ages and broad patterns of speciation/extinction and morphological innovation in mushroom-forming fungi. Agaricomycetes started a rapid class-wide radiation in the Jurassic, coinciding with the spread of (sub)tropical coniferous forests and a warming climate. A possible mass extinction, several clade-specific adaptive radiations and morphological diversification of fruiting bodies followed during the Cretaceous and the Paleogene, convergently giving rise to the classic toadstool morphology, with a cap, stalk and gills (pileate-stipitate morphology). This morphology is associated with increased rates of lineage diversification, suggesting it represents a key innovation in the evolution of mushroom-forming fungi. The increase in mushroom diversity started during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic radiation event, an era of humid climate when terrestrial communities dominated by gymnosperms and reptiles were also expanding.