New Resinogalea species from Araucaria araucana resin in Chile and reclassification of the genus in the Cryptocaliciomycetidae

Abstract Araucaria araucana is an ancient conifer, native to the mountain ranges in Chile and Argentina. These trees host a large number of organisms, mainly insects, strongly or even exclusively associated with them. The recent emergence of a novel canker disease on A. araucana has emphasised the i...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Felipe Balocchi, Irene Barnes, Michael J. Wingfield, Rodrigo Ahumada, Cobus M. Visagie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2023-08-01
Series:IMA Fungus
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00122-9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832562746810433536
author Felipe Balocchi
Irene Barnes
Michael J. Wingfield
Rodrigo Ahumada
Cobus M. Visagie
author_facet Felipe Balocchi
Irene Barnes
Michael J. Wingfield
Rodrigo Ahumada
Cobus M. Visagie
author_sort Felipe Balocchi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Araucaria araucana is an ancient conifer, native to the mountain ranges in Chile and Argentina. These trees host a large number of organisms, mainly insects, strongly or even exclusively associated with them. The recent emergence of a novel canker disease on A. araucana has emphasised the importance of fungi associated with these iconic trees and has resulted in the discovery of various new species. In this study, we considered the identity of an unknown calicioid fungus consistently found on resin on the branches of A. araucana. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses placed isolates in the recently described sub-class Cryptocaliciomycetidae, closest to Cryptocalicium blascoi. However, the morphology of the ascomata and its occurrence in a unique niche suggested that the closest relative could be Resinogalea humboldtensis (Bruceomycetaceae, incertae sedis), a fungus with similar sporing structures found on resin of Araucaria humboldtensis in New Caledonia. There are no living cultures or sequence data available for either R. humboldtensis or its supposed closest relative, Bruceomyces castoris, precluding sequence-based comparisons. Morphological comparisons of the sporing structures on A. araucana confirmed that the ascomatal morphology of our unknown calicioid fungus and R. humboldtensis are almost identical and resemble each other more so than B. castoris or Cr. blascoi. A phylogenetic analysis based on the small subunit (SSU), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) rDNA regions resolved our strains into two clades with Cr. blascoi as its closest relative. Further analyses applying the Genealogical Concordance Phylogenetic Species Recognition (GCPSR) based on ITS, mini chromosome maintenance protein complex (MCM7), RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF) gene regions, confirmed that strains represent two new species. Based on our morphological observations and phylogenetic analyses, we introduce two new Resinogalea species, R. araucana and R. tapulicola, and reclassify the genus in the subclass Cryptocaliciomycetidae.
format Article
id doaj-art-81446059bec6461b97c006895cdf9457
institution Kabale University
issn 2210-6359
language English
publishDate 2023-08-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series IMA Fungus
spelling doaj-art-81446059bec6461b97c006895cdf94572025-02-03T01:21:50ZengBMCIMA Fungus2210-63592023-08-0114112010.1186/s43008-023-00122-9New Resinogalea species from Araucaria araucana resin in Chile and reclassification of the genus in the CryptocaliciomycetidaeFelipe Balocchi0Irene Barnes1Michael J. Wingfield2Rodrigo Ahumada3Cobus M. Visagie4Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of PretoriaDepartment of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, FABI, University of PretoriaDepartment of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, FABI, University of PretoriaSilviculture and Forest Health Division, BioforestDepartment of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, FABI, University of PretoriaAbstract Araucaria araucana is an ancient conifer, native to the mountain ranges in Chile and Argentina. These trees host a large number of organisms, mainly insects, strongly or even exclusively associated with them. The recent emergence of a novel canker disease on A. araucana has emphasised the importance of fungi associated with these iconic trees and has resulted in the discovery of various new species. In this study, we considered the identity of an unknown calicioid fungus consistently found on resin on the branches of A. araucana. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses placed isolates in the recently described sub-class Cryptocaliciomycetidae, closest to Cryptocalicium blascoi. However, the morphology of the ascomata and its occurrence in a unique niche suggested that the closest relative could be Resinogalea humboldtensis (Bruceomycetaceae, incertae sedis), a fungus with similar sporing structures found on resin of Araucaria humboldtensis in New Caledonia. There are no living cultures or sequence data available for either R. humboldtensis or its supposed closest relative, Bruceomyces castoris, precluding sequence-based comparisons. Morphological comparisons of the sporing structures on A. araucana confirmed that the ascomatal morphology of our unknown calicioid fungus and R. humboldtensis are almost identical and resemble each other more so than B. castoris or Cr. blascoi. A phylogenetic analysis based on the small subunit (SSU), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) rDNA regions resolved our strains into two clades with Cr. blascoi as its closest relative. Further analyses applying the Genealogical Concordance Phylogenetic Species Recognition (GCPSR) based on ITS, mini chromosome maintenance protein complex (MCM7), RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF) gene regions, confirmed that strains represent two new species. Based on our morphological observations and phylogenetic analyses, we introduce two new Resinogalea species, R. araucana and R. tapulicola, and reclassify the genus in the subclass Cryptocaliciomycetidae.https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00122-9Two new taxaMonkey puzzle treeResinicolous fungiResinogalea araucanaResinogalea tapulicola
spellingShingle Felipe Balocchi
Irene Barnes
Michael J. Wingfield
Rodrigo Ahumada
Cobus M. Visagie
New Resinogalea species from Araucaria araucana resin in Chile and reclassification of the genus in the Cryptocaliciomycetidae
IMA Fungus
Two new taxa
Monkey puzzle tree
Resinicolous fungi
Resinogalea araucana
Resinogalea tapulicola
title New Resinogalea species from Araucaria araucana resin in Chile and reclassification of the genus in the Cryptocaliciomycetidae
title_full New Resinogalea species from Araucaria araucana resin in Chile and reclassification of the genus in the Cryptocaliciomycetidae
title_fullStr New Resinogalea species from Araucaria araucana resin in Chile and reclassification of the genus in the Cryptocaliciomycetidae
title_full_unstemmed New Resinogalea species from Araucaria araucana resin in Chile and reclassification of the genus in the Cryptocaliciomycetidae
title_short New Resinogalea species from Araucaria araucana resin in Chile and reclassification of the genus in the Cryptocaliciomycetidae
title_sort new resinogalea species from araucaria araucana resin in chile and reclassification of the genus in the cryptocaliciomycetidae
topic Two new taxa
Monkey puzzle tree
Resinicolous fungi
Resinogalea araucana
Resinogalea tapulicola
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00122-9
work_keys_str_mv AT felipebalocchi newresinogaleaspeciesfromaraucariaaraucanaresininchileandreclassificationofthegenusinthecryptocaliciomycetidae
AT irenebarnes newresinogaleaspeciesfromaraucariaaraucanaresininchileandreclassificationofthegenusinthecryptocaliciomycetidae
AT michaeljwingfield newresinogaleaspeciesfromaraucariaaraucanaresininchileandreclassificationofthegenusinthecryptocaliciomycetidae
AT rodrigoahumada newresinogaleaspeciesfromaraucariaaraucanaresininchileandreclassificationofthegenusinthecryptocaliciomycetidae
AT cobusmvisagie newresinogaleaspeciesfromaraucariaaraucanaresininchileandreclassificationofthegenusinthecryptocaliciomycetidae