Phylogenetic relationships of endophytic and endolichenic fungi reveal a new order within the class Eurotiomycetes
K. H. CHEN (1), J. Miadlikowska (1), K. Molnár (1), E. A. Arnold (2), J. M. U’Ren (2), E. Gaya (1), F. Lutzoni (1). (1) Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, U.S.A.; (2) School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Eurotiomycetes (Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota) consists of a broad array of fungi, including animal pathogens, saprobes, lichen-forming fungi, extremotolerant rock-inhabiting fungi, plant pathogens, and endophytes. In general, little is known about the phylogenetic relationships of newly discovered endophytes relative to known taxa. We used multi-locus analyses to examine relationships of eurotiomycetous endophytes and endolichenic fungi isolated in culture from diverse sites in North America. Analyses of six loci (nLSU, nSSU, mtSSU, <i>RPB1</i>, <i>RPB2</i> and <i>MCM7</i>) grouped fungal endophytes into three distinct, well-supported clades. The majority are nested within Chaetothyriales and Eurotiales. The remaining fungal endophytes are clustered into a monophyletic clade that was never reported in previous phylogenetic analyses of the Eurotiomycetes. This novel clade seems to represent a new order of fungi mainly consisting of foliar endophytic and, to a lesser degree, endolichenic fungi. A plant pathogen that was previously considered to have uncertain placement, <i>Dolabra nepheliae</i>, falls within this novel clade. This result highlights the importance of a reliable phylogenetic framework to infer the evolutionary history and ecology of fungal endophytes, and the contribution of fungal endophytes toward the reconstruction of a comprehensive fungal tree of life.
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