Phylogenetic relationship within the Erythrobasidium clade: molecular phylogenies, secondary structure, and intron positions inferred from partial sequences of ribosomal RNA and elongation factor-1alpha genes

Phylogenetic relationships within the Erythrobasidium clade as a lineage of the urediniomycetous yeasts were examined using partial regions of 18S rDNA, 5.8S rDNA, 26S rDNA, internal transcribed spacers (ITSs), and elongation factor (EF)-1alpha. Combined data analysis of all segments successfully yielded a reliable phylogeny and confirmed the cohesion of species characterized by Q-10(H2) as a major ubiquinone. Differences in secondary structure predicted for a variable region in 26S rDNA corresponded to major divergences in the phylogenetic tree based on the primary sequence. The common presence of a shortened helix in this region was considered to be evidence of monophyly for species with Q-10(H2), Sakaguchia dacryoides, Rhodotorula lactosa, and Rhodotorula lamellibrachiae, although it was not as strongly supported by the combined data tree. The information on intron positions in the EF-1alpha gene had potential usefulness in the phylogenetic inference between closely related species.