Tempo and Mode of Genome Evolution in the Budding Yeast Subphylum.

Budding yeasts (subphylum Saccharomycotina) are found in every biome and are as genetically diverse as plants or animals. To understand budding yeast evolution, we analyzed the genomes of 332 yeast species, including 220 newly sequenced ones, which represent nearly one-third of all known budding yeast diversity. Here, we establish a robust genus-level phylogeny comprising 12 major clades, infer the timescale of diversification from the Devonian period to the present, quantify horizontal gene transfer (HGT), and reconstruct the evolution of 45 metabolic traits and the metabolic toolkit of the budding yeast common ancestor (BYCA). We infer that BYCA was metabolically complex and chronicle the tempo and mode of genomic and phenotypic evolution across the subphylum, which is characterized by very low HGT levels and widespread losses of traits and the genes that control them. More generally, our results argue that reductive evolution is a major mode of evolutionary diversification.

Ambiviricota, a novel ribovirian phylum for viruses with viroid-like properties.

Fungi harbor a vast diversity of mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Recently, novel fungal MGEs, tentatively referred to as 'ambiviruses,' were described. 'Ambiviruses' have single-stranded RNA genomes of about 4-5 kb in length that contain at least two open reading frames (ORFs) in non-overlapping ambisense orientation. Both ORFs are conserved among all currently known 'ambiviruses,' and one of them encodes a distinct viral RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRP), the hallmark gene of ribovirian kingdom Orthornavirae. However, 'ambivirus' genomes are circular and predicted to replicate via a rolling-circle mechanism. Their genomes are also predicted to form rod-like structures and contain ribozymes in various combinations in both sense and antisense orientations-features reminiscent of viroids, virusoids, ribozyvirian kolmiovirids, and yet-unclassified MGEs (such as 'epsilonviruses,' 'zetaviruses,' and some 'obelisks'). As a first step toward the formal classification of 'ambiviruses,' the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) recently approved the establishment of a novel ribovirian phylum, Ambiviricota, to accommodate an initial set of 20 members with well-annotated genome sequences.

Allelopathic effects of phenolic acid extracts on Morchella mushrooms, pathogenic fungus, and soil-dominant fungus uncover the mechanism of morel continuous cropping obstacle.

The prominent problem of continuous cropping obstacle has been frustrating the morel farming. To deepen the understanding on morel continuous cropping obstacle, the allelopathic effects of phenolic acid extracts from morel continuous cropping soils on growth and development of Morchella sextelata, M. eximia, M. importuna, pathogenic fungus Fusarium sp. and soil-dominant fungus Chaetomium sp. were investigated. These effects were expressed as response index (RI). Under actual content of phenolic acids (6.150 µg/g fresh mixed continuous cropping soil), the mycelial growth of all tested morel strains was inhibited (RI < 0), while the allelopathic effect of control phenolic acids (4.252 µg/g fresh mixed control soil) was between promotion and inhibition, which suggested that the phenolic acid extracts from morel continuous cropping soils may exhibit certain extent of autotoxicity for the existence of morel-specific allelochemicals. In addition, the aggravated pigmentation and reduced occurrence of sclerotium in three Morchella fungi at growth inhibitory concentrations of phenolic acids indicated the induction of morel strain aging. Meanwhile, most concentrations of phenolic acids showed stimulatory effects on sporulation of Fusarium sp. and Chaetomium sp. (RI > 0), manifesting the enrichment of soil-borne pathogenic fungi and dominance of certain fungal population in soil ecosystem. Collectively, the allelopathic effects of phenolic acid extracts play an instrumental role in morel continuous cropping obstacle. The study will be beneficial for healthy development of morel artificial cultivation.

Scaptona ramosa gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from nest of the stingless bee.

In this study, a novel genus is proposed, Scaptona, with a novel species, Scaptona ramosa, isolated from nests of stingless bees (Scaptotrigona sp.). The taxonomic novelty was determined by the phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from the internal transcribed spacer regions, small subunit rRNA (18S rRNA), large subunit rRNA (28S rRNA) and the RNA polymerase II second-largest subunit gene (RPB2) and paired with our morphological studies. Based on this single species, Scaptona is characterized by greyish green to dark grey colonies, densely and profusely branched conidiophores and single-celled, variously shaped hyaline conidia. Scaptona ramosa constitutes a distinct, well-supported lineage within Cephalothecaceae and can be clearly distinguished from other genera both by DNA sequence analysis and morphological traits. The holotype of S. ramosa is URM 95352. The ex-type strain has been deposited in the Micoteca URM culture collection as URM 8721T and URM 8722. The MycoBank accession number is MB 849456 for the genus and MB 849456 for the species.

Gypsum Cave Biofilm Communities are Strongly Influenced by Bat- And Arthropod-Related Fungi.

The Gypsum Karst of Sorbas, Almeria, southeast Spain, includes a few caves whose entrances are open and allow the entry and roosting of numerous bats. Caves are characterized by their diversity of gypsum speleothems, such as stalactites, coralloids, gypsum crusts, etc. Colored biofilms can be observed on the walls of most caves, among which the Covadura and C3 caves were studied. The objective was to determine the influence that bat mycobiomes may have on the fungal communities of biofilms. The results indicate that the fungi retrieved from white and yellow biofilms in Covadura Cave (Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota, Basidiomycota) showed a wide diversity, depending on their location, and were highly influenced by the bat population, the guano and the arthropods that thrive in the guano, while C3 Cave was more strongly influenced by soil- and arthropod-related fungi (Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota), due to the absence of roosting bats.

Myco-remediation of plastic pollution: current knowledge and future prospects.

To date, enumerable fungi have been reported to participate in the biodegradation of several notorious plastic materials following their isolation from soil of plastic-dumping sites, marine water, waste of mulch films, landfills, plant parts and gut of wax moth. The general mechanism begins with formation of hydrophobin and biofilm proceding to secretion of specific plastic degarding enzymes (peroxidase, hydrolase, protease and urease), penetration of three dimensional substrates and mineralization of plastic polymers into harmless products. As a result, several synthetic polymers including polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane and/or bio-degradable plastics have been validated to deteriorate within months through the action of a wide variety of fungal strains predominantly Ascomycota (Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Penicillium spp.). Understanding the potential and mode of operation of these organisms is thus of prime importance inspiring us to furnish an up to date view on all the presently known fungal strains claimed to mitigate the plastic waste problem. Future research henceforth needs to be directed towards metagenomic approach to distinguish polymer degrading microbial diversity followed by bio-augmentation to build fascinating future of waste disposal.

Analyses of Multilocus Sequences and Morphological Features Reveal Ilyonectria Species Associated with Black Rot Disease of Gastrodia elata.

Black rot is a common disease of Gastrodia elata, causing serious threats to G. elata production. In this study, a total of 17 Cylindrocarpon-like strains were isolated from G. elata black rot tissues. Multilocus sequence analyses based on ITS, HIS, TEF, and TUB combined with morphological characterizations were performed to identify six Ilyonectria species, including four new species, Ilyonectria longispora, I. sinensis, I. xiaocaobaensis, and I. yunnanensis, and two known species, I. changbaiensis and I. robusta. The pathogenicity of 11 isolates comprising type strains of the four new species and representative isolates from each of the six species was tested on healthy tissues of G. elata. All isolates were pathogenic to G. elata tissues, and symptoms were identical to black rot disease, confirming that our isolates were the causal agents of black rot disease of G. elata.

Differences in fungal communities in the fur of two- and three-toed sloths revealed by ITS metabarcoding.

Sloths have dense fur on which insects, algae, bacteria and fungi coexist. Previous studies using cultivation-dependent methods and 18S rRNA sequencing revealed that the fungal communities in their furs comprise members of the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. In this note, we increase the resolution and knowledge of the mycobiome inhabiting the fur of the two- (Choloepus hoffmanni) and three-toed (Bradypus variegatus) sloths. Targeted amplicon metagenomic analysis of ITS2 nrDNA sequences obtained from 10 individuals of each species inhabiting the same site revealed significant differences in the structure of their fungal communities and also in the alpha-diversity estimators. The results suggest a specialization by host species and that the host effect is stronger than that of sex, age and animal weight. Capnodiales were the dominant order in sloths' fur and Cladosporium and Neodevriesia were the most abundant genera in Bradypus and Choloepus, respectively. The fungal communities suggest that the green algae that inhabit the fur of sloths possibly live lichenized with Ascomycota fungal species. The data shown in this note offer a more detailed view of the fungal content in the fur of these extraordinary animals and could help explain other mutualistic relationships in this complex ecosystem.

Highlighting the Phototherapeutical Potential of Fungal Pigments in Various Fruiting Body Extracts with Informed Feature-Based Molecular Networking.

Fungal pigments are characterized by a diverse set of chemical backbones, some of which present photosensitizer-like structures. From the genus Cortinarius, for example, several biologically active photosensitizers have been identified leading to the hypothesis that photoactivity might be a more general phenomenon in the kingdom Fungi. This paper aims at testing the hypothesis. Forty-eight fruiting body-forming species producing pigments from all four major biosynthetic pathways (i.e., shikimate-chorismate, acetate-malonate, mevalonate, and nitrogen heterocycles) were selected and submitted to a workflow combining in vitro chemical and biological experiments with state-of-the-art metabolomics. Fungal extracts were profiled by high-resolution mass spectrometry and subsequently explored by spectral organization through feature-based molecular networking (FBMN), including advanced metabolite dereplication techniques. Additionally, the photochemical properties (i.e., light-dependent production of singlet oxygen), the phenolic content, and the (photo)cytotoxic activity of the extracts were studied. Different levels of photoactivity were found in species from all four metabolic groups, indicating that light-dependent effects are common among fungal pigments. In particular, extracts containing pigments from the acetate-malonate pathway, e.g., extracts from Bulgaria inquinans, Daldinia concentrica, and Cortinarius spp., were not only efficient producers of singlet oxygen but also exhibited photocytotoxicity against three different cancer cell lines. This study explores the distribution of photobiological traits in fruiting body forming fungi and highlights new sources for phototherapeutics.

A Multilocus Phylogeny Places Hymenula cerealis (syn. Cephalosporium gramineum) in the Helotiales, Leotiomycetes.

The soilborne fungus Hymenula cerealis causes Cephalosporium stripe, a vascular wilt disease of wheat and other grasses in the United States and other wheat-producing countries where winter wheat is subjected to snow cover and frozen soil. No sexual stage is known for H. cerealis, and consequently, its phylogenetic position relative to other fungi has been difficult to establish. The purpose of this study was to conduct a multilocus sequence analysis to determine the phylogenetic position of H. cerealis. Sequence data for five genes, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), partial large subunit nrDNA (LSU), partial RNA polymerase II second largest subunit region (RPB2), ß-tubulin gene, and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α), from a diverse set of C. gramineum isolates and other related fungi was obtained from GenBank or directly from isolates in the Murray lab and used to construct maximum-likelihood and Bayesian trees. Based on phylogenetic analysis of the single LSU and ß-tubulin genes, Cephalosporium gramineum is closely related to the Drepanopezizaceae and Ploettnerulaceae of Helotiales. Based on analyses of the DNA sequence of the ITS, RPB2, and TEF1-α genes, as well as the combined five-gene data set, C. gramineum belongs to the family Drepanopezizaceae, which is a sister taxon to the Ploettnerulaceae, and formed a well-supported clade (MLBP/BIPP = 95%/100%). In conclusion, H. cerealis belongs to the Helotiales, Leotiomycetes.

Diversity of anamorphic Cordyceps (formerly Isaria) isolated from Brazilian agricultural sites.

A total of 53 anamorphic strains of Brazilian Cordyceps species currently maintained in a government-owned culture collection, were reassessed for diversity and species identity using multi-loci-based phylogenetic methods. The strains used in this study were originally obtained from soil samples or were isolated from insects of the orders Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Diptera, mostly from agricultural sites. A Bayesian phylogenetic tree was constructed based on a concatenation of five loci (ITS, LSU, RPB1, RPB2 and TEF). In a few cases of ambiguity, morphological traits were also considered for species delimitations. Considerable variability within the set of strains was detected and six Cordyceps species were identified: C. amoenerosea, C. fumosorosea, C. javanica, C. tenuipes and, for the first time, C. brevistroma and C. spegazzinii are reported in Brazil. Four other taxonomically equivocal groups, closely related to other known taxa (C. amoenerosea, C. cateniannulata, C. polyarthra and C. spegazzinii), were also recognized, although further studies will be required to confirm their identifications or their descriptions as new species. Cordyceps javanica was the most common species in our dataset, originally isolated from soil and several different insect orders, and includes 17 strains from the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. Interestingly, strains previously identified as C. fumosorosea based on morphology and growth characteristics, were shown to be C. javanica, including the active ingredients of some commercial mycoinsecticides. Cordyceps farinosa, usually mentioned in the literature as occurring in Brazil, was not found in our study. Since most strains were from insect crop pests, further studies with hosts from non-agricultural settings or from environmental samples would be advisable for a deeper understanding of the occurrence of anamorphic Cordyceps in Brazil.

Characterization of Colletotrichum Causing Anthracnose on Rubber Trees in Yunnan: Two New Records and Two New Species from China.

Among the most damaging diseases of rubber trees is anthracnose caused by the genus Colletotrichum, which leads to significant economic losses. Nonetheless, the specific Colletotrichum spp. that infect rubber trees in Yunnan Province, an important natural rubber base in China, have not been extensively investigated. Here, we isolated 118 Colletotrichum strains from rubber tree leaves exhibiting anthracnose symptoms in multiple plantations in Yunnan. Based on comparisons of their phenotypic characteristics and internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA sequences, 80 representative strains were chosen for additional phylogenetic analysis based on eight loci (act, ApMat, cal, CHS-1, GAPDH, GS, his3, and tub2), and nine species were identified. Colletotrichum fructicola, C. siamense, and C. wanningense were found to be the dominant pathogens causing rubber tree anthracnose in Yunnan. C. karstii was common, whereas C. bannaense, C. brevisporum, C. jinpingense, C. mengdingense, and C. plurivorum were rare. Among these nine species, C. brevisporum and C. plurivorum are reported for the first time in China, and two species are new to the world: C. mengdingense sp. nov. in the C. acutatum species complex and C. jinpingense sp. nov. in the C. gloeosporioides species complex. Their pathogenicity was confirmed with Koch's postulates by inoculating each species in vivo on rubber tree leaves. This study clarifies the geographic distribution of Colletotrichum spp. associated with anthracnose on rubber trees in representative locations of Yunnan, which is crucial for the implementation of quarantine measures.

First Report of Brown Rot Caused by Monilinia polystroma on Sweet Cherry and Almond in Italy.

Brown rot decay is an important disease of pome and stone fruits. In Italy, the main pathogens on stone fruits are Monilinia laxa, M. fructigena, and M. fructicola (Spitaler et al. 2022a). In addition, Monilinia polystroma (G. Leeuwen) L. M. Kohn (van Leeuwen et al. 2002), was recently found in Italy on peach (Martini et al. 2014), pear (Martini et al. 2015), plum (Abate et al. 2018), apple (Rosati et al. 2021), and quince (Spitaler et al. 2022b). In South Tyrol province, sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) and almond (Prunus dulcis Mill. D. A. Webb), plants of the Rosaceae family and belonging to stone fruits, were observed to be frequently affected by brown rot. Affected cherries as well as almonds showed brown lesions, covered by yellowish or buff-colored stroma in concentric rings. Symptomatic cherries became shriveled, while symptomatic almonds remained firm. To determine the pathogen, single spore isolates were obtained from five symptomatic fruits, each from a cherry orchard of the cultivar Kordia in July 2021 and almond trees of the variety Dulcis in August 2021. Both sample sites were situated in Vadena/Pfatten. Infestation in the cherry orchard, covered by a rain-protection foil, was determined to be about 1 %. In almond, over 50 % of the fruits of various ripening stages showed brown rot symptoms. On potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 22 °C and a photoperiod of 16 h, isolates from both fruits matched the morphological characteristics of M. polystroma (Vasic et al. 2016) within 14 days. DNA was extracted from mycelium and the rRNA encoding gene region using ITS4 and ITS6 primers as well as a genomic sequence of unknown function using the primers UniMon_Forw and UniMon_Rev (Petróczy et al. 2012), were amplified and sequenced. MegaBLAST analysis revealed 100 % identity with M. polystroma sequences of the NCBI GenBank (rRNA encoding region: NR_154198; genomic region: JN128836). Sequences were deposited in GenBank under the accession numbers OP642545/OP654171 (cherry) and OP642546/OP654172 (almond). Pathogenicity was confirmed with mature cherries cultivar Duroncino or almost mature almond fruit of the variety Dulcis, respectively: 16 samples each for both fruits were surface-sterilized by dipping in 75 % ethanol for 10 s and subsequent rinsing with sterile water for 10 s. Mycelial plugs (1 mm) were dislodged from a 7-day old colony and inserted in a 1 mm hole into the fruits. Incubation was performed in plastic boxes under the conditions described above. PDA-inoculated fruit were used as controls. All cherries and all almonds were completely covered by brown rot lesions 7 days and 15 days post inoculation, respectively. Control fruits remained symptomless. Conidia were produced in branched chains on mycelium-inoculated fruit. Conidia were one-celled, limoniform, hyaline, measuring 13.1 to 22.2 × 9.7 to 14.8 µm (cherry) and 14.1 to 20.8 × 10.7 to 15.3 µm (almond). Additionally, 16 fruits each were inoculated with 20 µL conidial suspension (5 x 10^3 spores/mL) from mycelium-inoculated fruits. All cherries as well as all almonds were completely covered by brown rot lesions 7 days and 15 days post inoculation. Control fruits remained symptomless. To confirm identity, the fungus was isolated from five spore-inoculated fruits each for cherry and almond. The isolates showed identical morphological features and sequence identity as the original isolates. To our knowledge, this is also the first report of M. polystroma on almond, while the pathogen has already been reported on sweet cherry in Poland (Poniatowska et al. 2016). These additional host plants identified in this study suggest a broad impact of M. polystroma on Italian stone fruit production. Due to the economically important cultivation of stone fruit, further knowledge about the pathogens' host range will help to assign brown rot symptoms to M. polystroma and to improve targeted control strategies.

Four Undescribed Pyranones from the Scutellaria formosana-Derived Endophytic Fungi Ascomycota sp. FAE17.

Four undescribed pyranone derivatives, named ascomycopyrones A-D (1-4), as well as one known analogue simplicilopyrone (5) (this is the first study to report the absolute configuration), were isolated from the endophytic fungus Ascomycota sp. FAE17 derived from the flowers of Scutellaria formosa. The structures of these pyranones were identified by comprehensive spectroscopic and MS analyses, and the absolute configurations were determined by their experimental and quantum chemical electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. All isolated compounds were tested for various bioactivities, including antibacterial, cytotoxic activity, and NO inhibitory activity. Unfortunately, none of the compounds showed significant bioactivities.

Long-Chain Alkylphenol Biodegradation Potential of Soil Ascomycota.

A total of 11 ascomycete strains destructing technical nonylphenol (NP) and 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP) were isolated from NP-contaminated soddy-podzolic loamy soil (Leningrad Region, Russia). The isolates proved capable of degrading NP and 4-t-OP at a high load (300 mg/L). The most efficient Fusarium solani strain 8F degraded alkylphenols (APs) both in cometabolic conditions and in the absence of additional carbon and energy sources. A decrease in APs was due to biodegradation or biotransformation by the strain and, to a minor extent, absorption by fungal cells. NP and 4-t-OP half-lives were, respectively, 3.5 and 6.4 h in cometabolic conditions and 9 and 19.7 h in the absence of additional carbon and energy sources. Amounts of the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) increased during NP and 4-t-OP biodegradation in cometabolic conditions by 1.7 and 2 times, respectively, as compared with a control. A high GSH level in F. solani 8F cells potentially implicated the metabolite in both AP biodegradation and strain resistance to oxidative stress. The study is the first to report on the NP and 4-t-OP degradation by the ascomycete F. solani in cometabolic conditions and in the absence of additional carbon and energy sources. The high AP degradation potential of soil ascomycetes was assumed to provide a basis for new environmentally safe bioremediation technologies for purification of soils and natural and waste waters contaminated with endocrine disruptors.

Diversity and novel lineages of black yeasts in Chaetothyriales from freshwater sediments in Spain.

Black yeasts comprise a group of Ascomycota of the order Chaetothyriales with highly variable morphology, a great diversity of ecological niches and life cycles. Despite the ubiquity of these fungi, their diversity in freshwater sediments is still poorly understood. During a survey of culturable Ascomycota from river and stream sediments in various sampling sites in Spain, we obtained 47 isolates of black yeasts by using potato dextrose agar supplemented with cycloheximide. A preliminary morphological study and sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and the large subunit (LSU) of the nuclear rDNA revealed that most of the isolates belonged to the family Herpotrichiellaceae. We have confidently identified 30 isolates representing the following species: Capronia pulcherrima, Cladophialophora emmonsii, Exophiala equina, Exophiala pisciphila, Exophiala radicis, and Phialophora americana. However, we encountered difficulty in assigning 17 cultures to any known species within Chaetothyriales. Combining phenotypic and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses based on the ITS, LSU, ß-tubulin (tub2) and translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1-α) gene markers, we propose the new genus Aciculomyces in the Herpotrichiellaceae to accommodate the novel species Aciculomyces restrictus. Other novel species in this family include Cladophialophora denticulata, Cladophialophora heterospora, Cladophialophora irregularis, Exophiala candelabrata, Exophiala dehoogii, Exophiala ramosa, Exophiala verticillata and Phialophora submersa. The new species Cyphellophora spiralis, closely related to Cyphellophora suttonii, is described, and the phylogeny of the genus Anthopsis in the family Cyphellophoraceae is discussed. By utilizing these four markers, we were able to strengthen the phylogenetic resolution and provide more robust taxonomic assessments within the studied group. Our findings indicate that freshwater sediments may serve as a reservoir for intriguing black yeasts, which warrant further investigation to address gaps in phylogenetic relationships, particularly within Herpotrichiellaceae. Citation: Torres-Garcia D, García D, Réblová M, et al. 2023. Diversity and novel lineages of black yeasts in Chaetothyriales from freshwater sediments in Spain. Persoonia 51: 194-228. doi: 10.3767/persoonia.2023.51.05.

Substrate, temperature, and geographical patterns among nearly 2000 natural yeast isolates.

Yeasts have broad importance as industrially and clinically relevant microbes and as powerful models for fundamental research, but we are only beginning to understand the roles yeasts play in natural ecosystems. Yeast ecology is often more difficult to study compared to other, more abundant microbes, but growing collections of natural yeast isolates are beginning to shed light on fundamental ecological questions. Here, we used environmental sampling and isolation to assemble a dataset of 1962 isolates collected from throughout the contiguous United States of America (USA) and Alaska, which were then used to uncover geographic patterns, along with substrate and temperature associations among yeast taxa. We found some taxa, including the common yeasts Torulaspora delbrueckii and Saccharomyces paradoxus, to be repeatedly isolated from multiple sampled regions of the USA, and we classify these as broadly distributed cosmopolitan yeasts. A number of yeast taxon-substrate associations were identified, some of which were novel and some of which support previously reported associations. Further, we found a strong effect of isolation temperature on the phyla of yeasts recovered, as well as for many species. We speculate that substrate and isolation temperature associations reflect the ecological diversity of and niche partitioning by yeast taxa.

Structural and functional changes in the fungal community of plant detritus in an invaded Atlantic Forest.

BACKGROUND: Changes in the fungal community in the litter decomposition by invasive plants can negatively impact nutrient cycling in natural ecosystems. One still does not know the dimension of this hypothesis, but apparently, it is not despicable. This study evaluated the assemblage composition of fungi during litter decomposition in areas of Atlantic Forest invaded or not invaded by Tradescantia zebrina using Illumina MiSeq and metabarcoding analysis. RESULTS: The invaded sample showed significantly higher richness and a difference in the species dominance than the invaded litter. Ascomycota was the first most abundant phylum in both areas. Even so, the dissimilarity between areas can be evidenced. The fungal from Basidiomycota were very representative in the non-invaded areas (ranged from an abundance of 43.29% in the non-invaded to 2.35% in the invaded sample). The genus Lepiota can indicate the primary functional group related to biomass degradation and showed the might difference about the invaded areas due to its essential reduction by the invader. In the invaded sample, there was a total absence of the endophyte-undefined saprotroph guild. Also, some genera not taxonomically characterized were eliminated in the invaded sample, revealing that the fungal biodiversity of areas has not yet been thoroughly characterized. CONCLUSIONS: Hence, makes impossible the real interpretation of the invasive plant impact, showing the importance of continuing research on fungal biodiversity. It is important to emphasize that the replacement of the native species by T. zebrina may be responsible for the elimination of fungal groups that have not yet been identified.

Ecological generalism drives hyperdiversity of secondary metabolite gene clusters in xylarialean endophytes.

Although secondary metabolites are typically associated with competitive or pathogenic interactions, the high bioactivity of endophytic fungi in the Xylariales, coupled with their abundance and broad host ranges spanning all lineages of land plants and lichens, suggests that enhanced secondary metabolism might facilitate symbioses with phylogenetically diverse hosts. Here, we examined secondary metabolite gene clusters (SMGCs) across 96 Xylariales genomes in two clades (Xylariaceae s.l. and Hypoxylaceae), including 88 newly sequenced genomes of endophytes and closely related saprotrophs and pathogens. We paired genomic data with extensive metadata on endophyte hosts and substrates, enabling us to examine genomic factors related to the breadth of symbiotic interactions and ecological roles. All genomes contain hyperabundant SMGCs; however, Xylariaceae have increased numbers of gene duplications, horizontal gene transfers (HGTs) and SMGCs. Enhanced metabolic diversity of endophytes is associated with a greater diversity of hosts and increased capacity for lignocellulose decomposition. Our results suggest that, as host and substrate generalists, Xylariaceae endophytes experience greater selection to diversify SMGCs compared with more ecologically specialised Hypoxylaceae species. Overall, our results provide new evidence that SMGCs may facilitate symbiosis with phylogenetically diverse hosts, highlighting the importance of microbial symbioses to drive fungal metabolic diversity.

Aquapteridospora jiangxiensis, a new aquatic hyphomycetous fungus from a freshwater habitat in China.

During an investigation of freshwater fungi in Jiangxi province, China, a new hyphomycetous fungus, Aquapteridospora jiangxiensis, was collected and isolated. Aquapteridospora jiangxiensis is characterized by its unbranched and guttulate conidiophores with multi-septa swollen at the base, polyblastic conidiogenous cells with sympodial proliferations, and denticles, and guttulate conidia with a sheath. A photo plate of the macro- and micro-morphology and a muti-loci (ITS, LSU, SSU, TEF1 and RPB2) phylogenetic tree are provided. A key to the species of Aquapteridospora is also presented in this paper.