Coltriciella sonorensis sp. nov. (Basidiomycota, Hymenochaetales) from Mexico: evidence from morphology and DNA sequence data.

Coltriciella sonorensis is described here as a new species from Mexico. It is characterized by pleuropodal, flabelliform basidiomes, rounded to elongated or daedaloid pores, a well-developed sub-hymenium, and oblong to cylindrical basidiospores, slightly attenuated towards the apex. The specimen was collected on soil in an open Quercus stand in mixed Quercus–tropical deciduous forest in the Sierra de álamos–Río Cuchujaqui Biosphere Reserve, Sonora, Mexico. From a phylogenetic perspective, the species appears to be related to C. oblectabilis, also occurring in Mexico.     

Lithocarpus longzhouicus comb. nov. (Fagaceae) from China: based on morphological and molecular data

The taxonomic position of Castanopsis longzhouica C. C. Huang & Y. T. Chang has been controversial. Various authors included it in Castanopsis (D. Don) Spach, or Lithocarpus Bl. based on morphology, palynology and wood anatomy. In order to investigate this issue, sequences of nuclear ITS and the chloroplast genes matK and trnL-F of C. longzhouica were analyzed together with 72 representatives of 7 genera within Fagaceae. As for species of Lithocarpus , there were a 1-bp insertion and two unique 3-bp deletions from ITS2 of C. longzhouica distinguishing it from Castanopsis . The phylogenetic analyses on the separate ITS data and the joint data (ITS+ matK + trnL-F ) strongly supported a derived position of C. longzhouica within a clade consisting of members of Lithocarpus . The result is consistent with previous suggestions based on wood anatomy, suggesting that C. longzhouica should be transferred to Lithocarpus . In addition, the shallow cup-shaped, loose incoherent-scale and indehiscent cupule and the concave scar of C. longzhouica suggests a close relationship to species of Lithocarpus . Based on these data, the new combination Lithocarpus longzhouicus (C. C. Huang & Y. T. Chang) J. Q. Li & L. Chen is proposed.     

Culture studies of Acrochaete leptochaete comb. nov. and A. wittrockii comb. nov. (Chaetophoraceae, Chlorophyceae)

A culture study of the plants known as Phaeophila leptochaete (Huber) Nielsen and P. wittrockii (Wille) Nielsen proved that these are distinct species. Both have the Acrochaete type of hairs, and therefore, the new combinations Acrochaete leptochaete and A. wittrockii are introduced. Several isolates of both species were started from plants collected at different places in Europe.
A. leptochaete in culture was mainly characterised by having two or more (up to six) pyrenoids in many of its cells, while in A. wittrockii there invariably was only one. The swarmers formed by A. leptochaete had two or four flagella. Several hairs from one basal swelling were sometimes observed in one of the isolates. Another isolate often formed a hair on the germinated zoospore. The isolates of A. wittrockii had a variable morphology, from unicellular plants to large pseudoparenchymatous cell masses. Different kinds of swarmers were observed; zoospores with three flagella seemed typical, but ones with two or four flagella were also observed. Small, pale biflagellate swarmers were assumed to be gametes. One of the isolates of A. wittrockii differed from the rest as the only swarmer type observed was zoospores with two flagella. Chlorophilum ephemerum is considered identical to A. wittrockii. Observations on hair formation in A. repens suggested that the hair structure represents a separate cell.     

Evolutionary relationships of trichostrongyloid nematodes (Strongylida) inferred from ribosomal DNA sequence data

The evolutionary relationships of 21 species of trichostrongyloid nematodes were determined by use of sequence data of the second internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA aligned according to secondary structure information. Irrespective of the method of analysis used, the topologies of the phylogenetic trees derived from the molecular data differed with respect to all four hypotheses proposed previously for the evolutionary relationships of the different subfamilies within the Trichostrongylidae based on morphological data. Thus, the molecular data set did not resolve the conflict between the four previous proposals for the subfamilial relationships. Nonetheless, all trees derived from the molecular data showed strong support for the exclusion of the genera Filarinema and Amidostomum from the clade containing the species within the family Trichostrongylidae. This represents a major difference from the most recent proposal of the systematics of the Trichostrongyloidea in which these two genera were included within the Trichostrongylidae. Therefore, the molecular data support an earlier systematic framework in which Filarinema and Amidostomum were considered to be sister groups of the Trichostrongyloidea.     

Rhododendron aureodorsale (Ericaceae) comb. nov. from southwestern Shaanxi,China

In this paper, we propose that Rhododendron clementinae Forrest ex W. W. Sm. subsp. aureodorsale W. P. Fang ex J. Q. Fu should be recognized at species rank as Rhododendron aureodorsale (W. P. Fang ex J. Q. Fu) Y. P. Ma & J. Nielsen. This species is similar to R. clementinae, but has an isolated distribution range, and differs by having tawny indumentum without pellicle on the abaxial leaf surface, sparse hairs on both pedicel and sepals, and always 7 corolla lobes.     

Parietochloris incisa comb. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta)

A coccoid green alga, Myrmecia incisa Reisigl, was isolated from the soil of Mt Tateyama, Japan. Electronmicroscopy revealed that the organism has pyrenoids sparsely covered with starch segments and traversed by many parallel thylakoid membranes, and zoo-spores with counterclockwise basal body orientation. Due to the presence of these features, we have proposed a reclassification of M. incisa into the genus Parietochloris, Trebouxiophyceae.     

Thladiantha tomentosa (Cucurbitaceae) comb. nov. from southwestern China

In this paper, we propose that Thladiantha cordifolia (Blume) Cogn. var. tomentosa A. M. Lu & Z. Y. Zhang should be recognized at species rank as Thladiantha tomentosa (A. M. Lu & Z. Y. Zhang) W. Jiang & H. Wang. This species is similar to T. cordifolia and T. angustisepala W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes, from which it differs mainly by having ovate bracts, linear sepals, and ellipsoidal, rostrate, ribbed verrucose fruits.     

Ptilagrostis milleri comb. nov. (Poaceae: Stipeae)

Based on a comparison of the macro‐morphology and lemma micro‐morphology, Stipa milleri Noltie is transferred to Ptilagrostis Griseb. as P. milleri (Noltie) M. Nobis & A. Nobis. Lemma epidermal patterns in the examined species are presented and discussed.     

potamolejeunea Holtii (Spruce) nov.comb.

Abstract

Bryophytes usually have anti-feeding properties to defend against microbial and herbivore attack; however, the consumption of Haplocladium microphyllum (Hedw.) Broth. capsules by Agrotis sp. larvae is rather common in Shanghai in the spring. To test whether H. microphyllum is the only moss eaten, and why the gametophytes of H. microphyllum are not eaten, a series of quantitative experiments were carried out to understand the feeding habits of Agrotis larvae on the given moss materials at three growth stages of larval life. The results show that the larvae can feed on the capsules of six moss species to different degrees: Funaria hygrometrica Hedw., H. microphyllum, Physcomitrium sphaericum (C.F.Ludw. ex Schkuhr) Brid., Trematodon longicollis Michx., Ditrichum pallidum (Hedw.) Hampe, and Pogonatum inflexum (Lindb.) Sande Lac. The capsules of the first four species were grazed heavily by the larvae, compared with limited consumption of the latter two (D. pallidum and P. inflexum), which even induced a high mortality rate among the larvae. With the growth of the larval instar, the daily demand for moss capsules by the larvae increases gradually. The lipid content of the capsules may play an important role when the larva selects its feeding target.     

Phylogeny ofCyclamen L. (Primulaceae): Evidence from morphology and sequence data from the internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA

A molecular phylogenetic study of the genusCyclamen L. (Primulaceae) has been undertaken, based on sequence data from the 5.8S gene in the ribosomal nuclear DNA and its flanking internal transcribed spacers ITS1 and ITS2. Sequence data from 15 species ofCyclamen and seven outgroup taxa selected from Primulaceae and Myrsinaceae were analyzed phylogenetically. A second analysis based on a combined morphological and molecular dataset was performed to evaluate earlier hypotheses of character evolution in the genus. The results indicate that four monophyletic subgroups may be recognized in the genus, viz.Cyclamen, Psilanthum Schwarz,Eucosme Schwarz andGyrophoebe Schwarz. Each of the four subgenera is diagnosed by distinct basic chromosome number, as well as by morphological and molecular characteristics.     

Systematic study of the genus Acetobacter with descriptions of Acetobacter indonesiensis sp. nov., Acetobacter tropicalis sp. nov., Acetobacter orleanensis (Henneberg 1906) comb. nov., Acetobacter lovaniensis (Frateur 1950) comb. nov., and Acetobacter estunensis (Carr 1958) comb. nov

Thirty-one Acetobacter strains obtained from culture collections and 45 Acetobacter strains isolated from Indonesian sources were investigated for their phenotypic characteristics, ubiquinone systems, DNA base compositions, and levels of DNA-DNA relatedness. Of 31 reference strains, six showed the presence of ubiquinone 10 (Q-10). These strains were eliminated from the genus Acetobacter. The other 25 reference strains and 45 Indonesian isolates were subjected to a systematic study and separated into 8 distinct groups on the basis of DNA-DNA relatedness. The known species, Acetobacter aceti, A. pasteurianus, and A. peroxydans are retained for three of these groups. New combinations, A. orleanensis (Henneberg 1906) comb. nov., A. lovaniensis (Frateur 1950) comb. nov., and A. estunensis (Carr 1958) comb. nov. are proposed for three other groups. Two new species, A. indonesiensis sp. nov. and A. tropicalis sp. nov. are proposed for the remaining two. No Indonesian isolates were identified as A. aceti, A. estunensis, and A. peroxydans. Phylogenetic analysis on the basis of 16S rDNA sequences was carried out for representative strains from each of the groups. This supported that the eight species belonged to the genus Acetobacter. Several strains previously assigned to the species of A. aceti and A. pasteurianus were scattered over the different species. It is evident that the value of DNA-DNA relatedness between strains comprising a new species should be determined for the establishment of the species. Thus current bacterial species without data of DNA-DNA relatedness should be reexamined for the stability of bacterial nomenclature.     

The evaluation for generic-level monophyly of Ancyrocephalinae (Monogenea, Dactylogyridae) using ribosomal DNA sequence data

To overcome the limited regional and taxonomic coverage in previous studies of the Ancyrocephalinae (Monogenea, Dactylogyridae), we present further findings on the molecular systematics and phylogeny of a broader selection of specimens, aiming to build a molecular phylogeny of the Ancyrocephalinae, and to assess the monophyly of each available genus, using D1-D2 domain of LSU rDNA and the combined LSU and partial sequence of SSU rDNA data sets. Our studies showed that 18 Haliotrema species were highly dispersive to form several clades with species from ten closely related genera. The host range of Euryhaliotrematoides species was not only restricted in butterfly fishes (Chaetodontidae), but widen to include the Lutjanidae. Euryhaliotrema was phylogenetically more closely related to Aliatrema than to Euryhaliotrematoides. Given that the species Haliotrema kurodai, Haliotrema spirotubiforum and Haliotrema anguiformis had a funnel-shaped base of the coiled male copulatory organ (MCO) lacking an accessory piece, and our molecular evidence, we proposed to transfer the three species to the Aliatrema as new combinations. We proposed to combine Bravohollisia and Caballeria into one genus, mainly based on molecular evidence and their similar MCO characters. Using SSU+ITS1 data set, Scutogyrus was robustly resolved as a polyphyletic group and its status should be questioned. Based on the present molecular evidence and their similar MCO characters, we proposed to combine Cichlidogyrus and Scutogyrus into one genus, Cichlidogyrus, by treating Scutogyrus as the synonym of Cichlidogyrus. Generally, the present study indicated that the vagina can make little contribution for understanding the generic-level monophyly, due to its high variability even among phylogenetically very closely related species, but it was useful for species determination. Given that phylogenetically closely related species from the same or closely related host species may have similar MCO characters but distinct haptoral characters, we consider that it is dangerous to erect a genus mainly based on different haptoral characters, particularly those separated from existing genera. The resultant phylogenetic reconstructions indicated that the radiation of some Haliotrema species has correlated with their hosts, because species from closely related fishes have correspondingly shown close relationships. Though the present study can not provide the comparison of host-parasite associations, phylogenetically closely related Haliotrema species which have similar morphological characters (both MCOs and haptors) but distinct/distantly related host species may indicate a speciation model of host-switching.     

Phylogenetic position of the parasitoid nanoflagellate Pirsonia inferred from nuclear-encoded small subunit ribosomal DNA and a description of Pseudopirsonia n. gen. and Pseudopirsonia mucosa (Drebes) comb. nov

Sequences of the nuclear encoded small subunit (SSU) rRNA were determined for Pirsonia diadema, P. guinardiae, P. punctigerae, P. verrucosa, P. mucosa and three newly isolated strains 99-1, 99-2, 99-S. Based on phylogenetic analysis all Pirsonia strains, except P. mucosa, clustered together in one clade, most closely related to Hyphochytrium catenoides within the group of stramenopiles. However, P. mucosa was most closely related to Cercomonas sp. SIC 7235 and Heteromita globosa and belongs to the heterogenic group of Cercozoa. In addition to the SSU rDNA sequences, P. mucosa differs from the stramenopile Pirsonia species in some characteristics and was therefore redescribed in this paper as Pseudopirsonia mucosa. The three newly isolated strains 99-1, 99-2, and 99-S differed by 28 bp in their SSU rDNA sequences from their closest neighbour P. diadema and only 1 to 3 bp among themselves. These base differences and a host range similar to P. formosa were sufficient to assign them as new strains of P. formosa.     

Phylogenetic relationships of Australian strongyloid nematodes inferred from ribosomal DNA sequence data

The sequence of the second internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA was determined for the following strongyloid nematodes: Cylicocyclus insignis, Chabertia ovina, Oesophagostomum venulosum, Cloacina communis, Cloacina hydriformis, Labiostrongylus labiostrongylus, Parazoniolaimus collaris, Macropostrongylus macropostrongylus, Macropostrongylus yorkei, Rugopharynx australis, Rugopharynx rosemariae, Macropostrongyloides baylisi, Oesophagostomoides longispicularis and Paramacropostrongylus toraliformis, and compared with published sequences for species of Strongylus and for Hypodontus macropi. The resultant phylogenetic trees supported current hypotheses based on morphological evidence for the separation of the families Strongylidae and Chabertiidae, but did not support the separation of the endemic Australian genera as a distinctive clade within the Chabertiidae. The implications of this finding for the phylogenetic origins of the Australian strongyloids are discussed.     

Tuber latisporum sp. nov. and related taxa, based on morphology and DNA sequence data

A new species of white truffles, Tuber latisporum, is described from southwestern China. This species can be distinguished from other species in the genus by its white and pubescent ascomata, pseudoparenchymatous peridium and broadly ellipsoid ascospores with alveolate reticulum. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of this and morphologically similar species using ITS sequences demonstrated that it is significantly different from other white truffles such as T. borchii, T. puberulum, T. zhongdianense, T. liui, T. dryophilum, T. magnatum, T. rapaeodorum, T. foetidum and T. maculatum. Data from ITS sequences indicate that white and black truffles are not monophyletic lineages.