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- Gilbert Temu, Stella, 1987-
(author)
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Lichens in Mountain Rainforests of Tanzania : Studies of Usnea and Calicioids
- 2020
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Lichens occur in various habitats. They often have narrow niches and are sensitive to environmental changes leading to their use as bioindicators of environmental disturbances and conditions; air and heavy metal pollution, agricultural toxins, assessing forest continuity and drought tolerance. Lichenological studies in Africa, particularly in Tanzania, have been scarce, and those available have been mainly based on morphology and chemistry data. The aim of my doctorate was to investigate lichens, in particular Usnea and calicioid lichens in mountain rain forests in Tanzania, using both traditional and molecular approaches.Paper I and II explored Usnea subgenus Eumitria. In paper I, molecular, morphological and chemical methods were utilized. A phylogeny of Eumitria from Tanzania based on a four-markers data set supported monophyly of Eumitria, where sixty-two new sequences were reported. In paper II additional specimens of the Usnea pectinata aggregate from Tanzania and São Tomé and Príncipe were studied, and forty-two specimens were examined by an integrative approach (molecular, morphological, chemical data). The U. pectinata aggregate was monophyletic, containing several subclades, some characterized morphologically and chemically. Paper III and IV focused on calicioids. Paper III summed up earlier information on Tanzanian calicioids along with new discoveries (twenty-six species), with notes on their habitats and distributions. Chaenothecopsis kilimanjaroensis was described as new, Chaenotheca hispidula and Pyrgillus cambodiensis new to Africa: Calicium lenticulare and Chaenothecopsis debilis new to Tanzania. In paper IV, Coniocybe was revised and emended to include along with its type C. furfuracea, also C. brachypoda and C. confusa. A three marker phylogeny was used to infer its phylogenetic position and Coniocybe eufuracea was described as new.This thesis contributes to the knowledge of the lichens in Tanzania and Africa at large by building capacity in lichenology and its applications for future research. It provided integrated data for Usnea species from Africa, adding to the knowledge of this difficult group (only two sequences of Usnea from Africa have previously been published). It provided new information on calicioid lichens in Tanzania and by uncovering a rich diversity in both of the groups studied provided a foundation for further investigations of lichen biodiversity.
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- Kistenich, Sonja, et al.
(author)
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Molecular systematics and character evolution in the lichen family Ramalinaceae (Ascomycota: Lecanorales)
- 2018
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In: Taxon. - : INT ASSOC PLANT TAXONOMY-IAPT. - 0040-0262 .- 1996-8175. ; 67:5, s. 871-904
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Ramalinaceae is the fourth-largest family of lichenized ascomycetes with 42 genera and 913 species exhibiting considerable morphological variation. Historically, generic boundaries in the Ramalinaceae were primarily based on morphological characters. However, molecular systematic investigations of subgroups revealed that current taxonomy is at odds with evolutionary relationships. Tropical members of the family remain particularly understudied, including the large genus Phyllopsora. We have generated and collected multilocus sequence data (mtSSU, nrITS, nrLSU, RPB1, RPB2) for 149 species associated with the Ramalinaceae and present the first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the family. We used ancestral state reconstructions on our molecular family phylogeny to trace the evolution of character states. Our results indicate that the Ramalinaceae have arisen from an ancestor with long, multiseptate ascospores living in humid temperate forests, and that the phyllopsoroid growth form has evolved multiple times within the family. Based on our results using integrative taxonomy, we discuss sister-relations and taxon-delimitation within five well-supported clades: The Bacidia, Biatora- ,Ramalina-, Rolfidium-, and Toninia-groups. We reduce six genera into synonymy and make 49 new nomenclatural combinations. The genera Bacidia, Phyllopsora, Physcidia and Toninia are polyphyletic and herein split into segregates. We describe the two genera Bellicidia and Parallopsora and resurrect the genera Bibbya, Kiliasia, Sporacestra, and Thalloidima. According to our new circumscription, which also includes some additional changes, the family Ramalinaceae now comprises 39 genera.
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- Kistenich, Sonja, et al.
(author)
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Towards an integrative taxonomy of Phyllopsora (Ramalinaceae)
- 2019
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In: The Lichenologist. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0024-2829 .- 1096-1135. ; 51:4, s. 323-392
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Species identification in the tropical lichen genus Phyllopsora is generally challenging and is based on ascospore morphology, vegetative dispersal units, thallus structure and secondary chemistry. As several type specimens are in poor condition and difficult to interpret, it is often unclear how these old names fit with the currently used taxonomy. In the present study, we aim to identify species boundaries in Phyllopsora s. str. supported by an integrative approach using multiple sources of evidence. We investigated a substantial amount of herbarium as well as freshly collected material and generated mtSSU and ITS sequence data from most of the described species, including several types. Species delimitation analyses are applied on the gene trees using mPTP and we construct a species tree of both markers with *BEAST, facilitating discussion of species delimitation and sister-relationships. Comparing morphology, chemistry and molecular data, we found that the mPTP analyses split established species repeatedly. Based on our integrative results, we exclude nine species from the genus, resurrect one (P. melanoglauca Zahlbr.), reduce two into synonymy with other Phyllopsora species and describe five as new to science: Phyllopsora amazonica Kistenich & Timdal (which shares the secondary chemistry (atranorin and terpenoid pattern) with P. halei chemotype 1, but differs, e.g., in having smaller areolae that are attached to a thinner, white prothallus, and in having more persistently marginate and less convex apothecia), Phyllopsora concinna Kistenich & Timdal (which shares the secondary chemistry (atranorin and parvifoliellin) with P. parvifoliella and P. rappiana, but differs from both in forming larger isidia, having a white prothallus, apothecial margin paler than the disc, and longer and broader ascospores), Phyllopsora furfurella Kistenich & Timdal (which is here segregated from P. furfuracea based on having a white prothallus and in containing skyrin in the hypothecium (K+ red)), Phyllopsora isidosa Kistenich & Timdal (which differs from P. byssiseda in forming a more crustose thallus with more delicate isidia, and from P. isidiotyla in forming somewhat coarser, less branched isidia) and Phyllopsora neotinica Kistenich & Timdal (a neotropical species here segregated from the now exclusively paleotropical P. chodatinica, differing in containing an unknown xanthone (not chodatin)). Lectotypes are designated for Biatora pyrrhomelaena Tuck., Lecidea leucophyllina Nyl., L. pertexta Nyl., and P. brachyspora Mull. Arg. In total, we accept 54 species in the genus Phyllopsora.
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- Leavitt, Steven D., et al.
(author)
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Multiple, Distinct Intercontinental Lineages but Isolation of Australian Populations in a Cosmopolitan Lichen-Forming Fungal Taxon, Psora decipiens (Psoraceae, Ascomycota)
- 2018
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In: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. - 1664-302X. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multiple drivers shape the spatial distribution of species, including dispersal capacity, niche incumbency, climate variability, orographic barriers, and plate tectonics. However, biogeographic patterns of fungi commonly do not fit conventional expectations based on studies of animals and plants. Fungi, in general, are known to occur across exceedingly broad, intercontinental distributions, including some important components of biological soil crust communities (BSCs). However, molecular data often reveal unexpected biogeographic patterns in lichenized fungal species that are assumed to have cosmopolitan distributions. The lichen-forming fungal species Psora decipiens is found on all continents, except Antarctica and occurs in BSCs across diverse habitats, ranging from hot, arid deserts to alpine habitats. In order to better understand factors that shape population structure in cosmopolitan lichen-forming fungal species, we investigated biogeographic patterns in the cosmopolitan taxon P. decipiens, along with the closely related taxa P. crenata and P. saviczii. We generated a multi-locus sequence dataset based on a worldwide sampling of these taxa in order to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and explore phylogeographic patterns. Both P. crenata and P. decipiens were not recovered as monophyletic; and P. saviczii specimens were recovered as a monophyletic clade closely related to a number of lineages comprised of specimens representing P. decipiens. Striking phylogeographic patterns were observed for P. crenata, with populations from distinct geographic regions belonging to well-separated, monophyletic lineages. South African populations of P. crenata were further divided into well-supported sub-clades. While well-supported phylogenetic substructure was also observed for the nominal taxon P. decipiens, nearly all lineages were comprised of specimens collected from intercontinental populations. However, all Australian specimens representing P. decipiens were recovered within a single well-supported monophyletic clade consisting solely of Australian samples. Our study supports up to 10 candidate species-level lineages in P. decipiens, based on genealogical concordance and coalescent-based species delimitation analyses. Our results support the general pattern of the biogeographic isolation of lichen-forming fungal populations in Australia, even in cases where closely related congeners have documented intercontinental distributions. Our study has important implications for understanding factors influencing diversification and distributions of lichens associated with BSC.
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- Svensson, Måns, et al.
(author)
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The circumscription and phylogenetic position of Bryonora (Lecanoraceae, Ascomycota), with two additions to the genus
- 2022
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In: Mycologia. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0027-5514 .- 1557-2536. ; 114:3, s. 516-532
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lecanoraceae is one of the largest families of the Lecanoromycetes, with about 30 accepted genera, many of which, however, have uncertain status and/or circumscriptions. We assess the phylogenetic position of the genus Bryonora and its segregate Bryodina for the first time, using a six-locus phylogeny comprising the Lecanoraceae as well as closely related families. We find strong support for the placement of Bryonora in the Lecanoraceae, whereas there is no support for treating Bryodina as a genus separate from Bryonora. Hence, we reduce Bryodina to synonymy with Bryonora. Further, we describe Bryonora microlepis as new to science and transfer Lecanora castaneoides to Bryonora and L. vicaria to Miriquidica. A world key to Bryonora is included.
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- Thell, Arne, et al.
(author)
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New or interesting lichens and lichenicolous fungi from the Vadstena area, Östergötland, Sweden
- 2014
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In: Graphis Scripta. - 0901-7593. ; 26:1-2, s. 15-33
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Results from the excursion of the 20th biennial symposium in Vadstena 11–15 August 2013 are presented. Eight localities in and around Vadstena were visited. Forty-three species are reported as new to the province Östergötland [Ostrogothia], three of which are new to the Nordic countries: Lecanora compallens, Polycoccum kerneri and Tremella caloplacae, five are new to Sweden: Cornutispora ciliata, Pyrenula chlorospila, Thelidium cf. rimulosum, Verrucaria ochrostoma and V. polystictoides, and the following are new to Östergötland: Bagliettoa baldensis, B. calciseda, Briancoppinsia cytospora, Calogaya arnoldii ssp. obliterata, Clypeococcum hypocenomycis, Cornutispora lichenicola, Endococcus exerrans, Fuscidea arboricola, Illosporium carneum, Lepraria elobata, L. jackii, L. vouauxii, Leptochidium albociliatum, Lichenoconium lecanorae, Lichenochora weillii, Marchandiobasidium aurantiacum, Micarea byssacea, Monodictys anaptychiae, M. epilepraria, Parmelia serrana, Phaeosporobolus alpinus, Placopyrenium canellum, Porpidia soredizodes, Pyrenidium actinellum, Rinodina turfacea, Stereocaulon rivulorum, Syzygospora physciacearum, Thelenella muscorum, Tremella phaeophysciae, T. ramalinae, Trichonectria rubefaciens, Verrucaria dolosa, V. inaspecta, V. infumata and V. memnonia.
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- Westberg, Martin, 1969-, et al.
(author)
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New records of lichenized and lichenicolous fungi in Scandinavia
- 2015
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In: MycoKeys. - : Pensoft Publishers. - 1314-4057 .- 1314-4049. ; 11, s. 33-61
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fourteen species of lichenized or lichenicolous fungi are reported new to either Norway or Sweden or both countries. Several of these are rare and almost unknown. The reported species are: Acarospora insignis (new to Norway), A. pyrenopsoides (Norway, Sweden), A. versicolor (Norway), Calvitimela perlata (Sweden), Lecidea degeliana (Sweden), Nephroma helveticum (Sweden), Peltula placodizans (Norway), Phacographa protoparmeliae (Norway), Rhizocarpon pycnocarpoides (Norway, Sweden), Sarcogyne algoviae (Sweden), Sarcogyne hypophaeoides (Norway, Sweden), Tephromela grumosa (Norway), Tremella lobariacearum (Norway) and Tremella wirthii (Sweden). In addition Cladonia albonigra is confirmed from Sweden. Sarcogyne hypophaeoides is lectotypified and is also reported new to Austria.
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- Zamora, Juan Carlos, et al.
(author)
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Considerations and consequences of allowing DNA sequence data as types of fungal taxa
- 2018
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In: IMA Fungus. - : INT MYCOLOGICAL ASSOC. - 2210-6340 .- 2210-6359. ; 9:1, s. 167-185
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological diversity) with nomenclature (an artificial agreement to name biological diversity). Two proposals to amend the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), allowing DNA sequences alone (of any region and extent) to serve as types of taxon names for voucherless fungi (mainly putative taxa from environmental DNA sequences), have been submitted to be voted on at the 11th International Mycological Congress (Puerto Rico, July 2018). We consider various genetic processes affecting the distribution of alleles among taxa and find that alleles may not consistently and uniquely represent the species within which they are contained. Should the proposals be accepted, the meaning of nomenclatural types would change in a fundamental way from physical objects as sources of data to the data themselves. Such changes are conducive to irreproducible science, the potential typification on artefactual data, and massive creation of names with low information content, ultimately causing nomenclatural instability and unnecessary work for future researchers that would stall future explorations of fungal diversity. We conclude that the acceptance of DNA sequences alone as types of names of taxa, under the terms used in the current proposals, is unnecessary and would not solve the problem of naming putative taxa known only from DNA sequences in a scientifically defensible way. As an alternative, we highlight the use of formulas for naming putative taxa (candidate taxa) that do not require any modification of the ICN.
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