Phylogenetics of the Pezizaceae, with an Emphasis on Peziza

Phylogenetic relationships among members of the Pezizaceae were studied using 90 partial LSU rDNA sequences from 51 species of Peziza and 20 species from 8 additional epigeous genera of the Pezizaceae, viz. Boudiera, Iodophanus, Iodowynnea, Kimbropezia, Pachyella, Plicaria, Sarcosphaera and Scabropezia, and 5 hypogeous genera, viz. Amylascus, Cazia, Hydnotryopsis, Ruhlandiella and Tirmania. To test the monophyly of the Pezizaceae and the relationships to the genera Marcelleina and Pfistera (Pyronemataceae), 6 species from the families Ascobolaceae, Morchellaceae and Pyronemataceae were included. Maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of these sequences suggest that the Pezizaceae is paraphyletic, because the non-amyloid Marcelleina is nested within it. If Marcelleina were transferred to the Pezizaceae, then the family would be monophyletic. Although the Pezizaceae is traditionally characterized by amyloid asci, our results indicate that the amyloid reaction is a symplesiomorphy, which has been lost in some lineages, e.g., in those including Marcelleina and Cazia. Nodes deep in the tree could not be resolved, but 7 groups of species (I-VII) are generally well supported or present in all trees. Peziza species, which constitute the core of the family, are present in all groups except group III, confirming the non-monophyly of the genus. The analyses suggest that the other included genera of the Pezizaceae are all nested within Peziza, the placement of Iodophanus being unresolved. The morphologically distinct Peziza gerardii, which forms a clade with Marcelleina, appears to be the sister group to the rest of the Pezizaceae. Morphological features were studied and evaluated in the context of the phylogeny. Distinct types of ascus amyloid reactions were found to support different rDNA lineages, e.g., a distinct amyloid ring zone at the apex is a synapomorphy for group IV, an intense and unrestricted amyloid reaction of the apex is mostly found in group VI, and asci that are weakly or diffusely amyloid in the entire length are present in group II. Other morphological features, such as spore surface relief, guttulation, excipulum structure and pigments, while not free from homoplasy, do support the groupings. Anamorphs likewise provide clues to higher-order relationships within the Pezizaceae. Several macro- and micromorphological features, however, appear to have evolved several times independently, including ascomatal form and habit (epigeous, semihypogeous or hypogeous), spore discharge mechanisms, and spore shape. Parsimony-based optimization of character states on our phylogenetic trees suggested that transitions to truffle and truffle-like forms evolved at least three times within the Pezizaceae (in group III, V and VI). The 9 hypogeous species included are nested in lineages with epigeous pezizaceous taxa. Species with apothecia of various shapes and with forcible spore discharge are spread among all groups and the apothecium is suggested to be symplesiomorphic in the Pezizaceae. The results indicate that the apothecia forming Pezizaceae have given rise to at least 3 different forms of hypogeous ascomata without forcible spore discharge: ptychothecia, stereothecia and exothecia.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Phylogenetic Diversity in the Core Group of Peziza Inferred from ITS Sequences and Morphology

Species delimitation within the core group of Peziza is highly controversial. The group, typified by P. vesiculosa, is morphologically coherent and in previous analyses of LSU rDNA sequences it formed a highly supported clade. Phylogenetic diversity and species limits were investigated within the group using sequences from the complete ITS region (ITSI-5.8S-ITS2). Eighty-three specimens were selected for molecular study from a larger sample of material studied morphologically to explore the intra- and interspecific variation of each putative species. The sister group taxon, P. ampelina was used as the outgroup and two specimens of P. subcitrina were additionally included. Seven independent lineages of rDNA were identified (I-VII), each representing one to several species. These lineages form two larger clades, A (II, and I or III) and B (IV-VII), supported by macromorphology: small (generally less than 2 cm), shallowly cup- to disc-shaped apothecia (A) and large (up to 15 cm), deeply cup-shaped to expanded apothecia (B). The overall exciple structure (a stratified or non-stratified medullary layer) and to some degree spore surface relief, likewise support the groupings. Clade A contains taxa with smooth or nearly smooth spores (except for P. lohjaensis), while clade B contains taxa with a range of spore ornamentations, from smooth, finely warty to distinctly warty, and spiny. The position of groups I (P. vesiculosa and P. ammophila) and III (P. lohjaensis) are uncertain, and these taxa also deviate morphologically from the other clade A members. The following species are recognized based on morphology and ITS rDNA analyses: P. ammophila and P. vesiculosa (I); P. alcis, P. ampliata, P. domiciliana, P. fimeti, P. nivalis, and a number of putative species or intraspecific entities (II); P. lohjaensis (III); P. sp. c (IV); P. arvernensis (V); P. echinispora and P. sp. d (VI); and P. varia (VII). The nomenclature of these species is analyzed and taxa are typified as necessary. Based on ITS and morphology, we found no justification for recognizing more than one species in the 'P. varia complex', including 27 specimens that have been referred to under the names P. cerea, P. micropus and P. repanda, from an array of substrates and different geographical areas. Morphological characters previously used to delimit species within this complex, such as colour variation of the apothecia, presence or absence of a stipe, stratified or non-stratified medullary exciple (or thickness of the excipular layers), cell types in the outermost exciple and moniliform vs filiform paraphyses were not correlated with the subgroups supported by ITS analyses and appeared to be plastic. Therefore, P. cerea and P. micropus are placed in synonymy with P. varia. The name P. repanda is rejected. Levels of sequence divergence were low within group II, comprising 33 small apothecial specimens. Twelve fine-scale lineages were identified, but the analyses did not resolve relationships among these. P. granulosa sensu Boudier is considered a synonym of P. fimeti. These have previously been distinguished mainly by occurrence on various soil types, including burnt soil and soil mixed with sawdust or woodchips vs on dung. The substrate and habitat have been much emphasized in the taxonomy of Peziza, but the results obtained here indicate that populations on a diverse array of substrates may be closely related, or indeed, conspecific.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Wood-inhabiting fungal responses to forest naturalness vary among morpho-groups

The general negative impact of forestry on wood-inhabiting fungal diversity is well recognized, yet the effect of forest naturalness is poorly disentangled among different fungal groups inhabiting dead wood of different tree species. We studied the relationship between forest naturalness, log characteristics and diversity of different fungal morpho-groups inhabiting large decaying logs of similar quality in spruce dominated boreal forests. We sampled all non-lichenized fruitbodies from birch, spruce, pine and aspen in 12 semi-natural forest sites of varying level of naturalness. The overall fungal community composition was mostly determined by host tree species. However, when assessing the relevance of the environmental variables separately for each tree species, the most important variable varied, naturalness being the most important explanatory variable for fungi inhabiting pine and aspen. More strikingly, the overall species richness increased as the forest naturalness increased, both at the site and log levels. At the site scale, the pattern was mostly driven by the discoid and pyrenoid morpho-groups inhabiting pine, whereas at the log scale, it was driven by pileate and resupinate morpho-groups inhabiting spruce. Although our study demonstrates that formerly managed protected forests serve as effective conservation areas for most wood-inhabiting fungal groups, it also shows that conservation planning and management should account for group- or host tree -specific responses.Peer reviewe

Morphological traits predict host-tree specialization in wood-inhabiting fungal communities

Tree species is one of the most important determinants of wood-inhabiting fungal community composition, yet its relationship with fungal reproductive and dispersal traits remains poorly understood. We studied fungal communities (total of 657 species) inhabiting broadleaved and coniferous dead wood (total of 192 logs) in 12 semi-natural boreal forests. We utilized a trait-based hierarchical joint species distribution model to examine how the relationship between dead wood quality and species occurrence correlates with reproductive and dispersal morphological traits. Broadleaved trees had higher species richness than conifers, due to discomycetoids and pyrenomycetoids specializing in them. Resupinate and pileate species were generally specialized in coniferous dead wood. Fungi inhabiting broadleaved trees had larger and more elongated spores than fungi in conifers. Spore size was larger and spore shape more spherical in species occupying large dead wood units. These results indicate the selective effect of dead wood quality, visible not only in species diversity, but also in reproductive and dispersal traits. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd and British Mycological Society. All rights reserved.peerReviewe

Fall risk in an active elderly population – can it be assessed?

BACKGROUND: Falls amongst elderly people are often associated with fractures. Training of balance and physical performance can reduce fall risk; however, it remains a challenge to identify individuals at increased risk of falling to whom this training should be offered. It is believed that fall risk can be assessed by testing balance performance. In this study a test battery of physiological parameters related to balance and falls was designed to address fall risk in a community dwelling elderly population. RESULTS: Ninety-four elderly males and females between 70 and 80 years of age were included in a one year follow-up study. A fall incidence of 15% was reported. The test battery scores were not different between the fallers and non-fallers. Test scores were, however, related to self-reported health. In spite of inclusion of dynamic tests, the test battery had low fall prediction rates, with a sensitivity and specificity of 50% and 43% respectively. CONCLUSION: Individuals with poor balance were identified but falls were not predicted by this test battery. Physiological balance characteristics can apparently not be used in isolation as adequate indicators of fall risk in this population of community dwelling elderly. Falling is a complex phenomenon of multifactorial origin. The crucial factor in relation to fall risk is the redundancy of balance capacity against the balance demands of the individuals levels of fall-risky lifestyle and behavior. This calls for an approach to fall risk assessment in which the physiological performance is evaluated in relation to the activity profile of the individual

Ruwenzoria, a new genus of the Xylariaceae from Central Africa

During a foray to the mountain rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a peculiar species of Xylariaceae was found, which could not be accommodated in any of the existing genera. It is recognised as representative of a new genus, named Ruwenzoria, owing to the presence of a new combination of teleomorphic and anamorphic characters that are regarded as significant for generic segregation within the Xylariaceae. Studies on its secondary metabolites in stromata and cultures by high performance liquid chromatography, coupled with diode array and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-DAD/MS), and on its phylogenetic affinities based on 5.8S/ITS rDNA sequence data, respectively, revealed a close relationship of the new taxon to the genera Daldinia and Entonaema, from which it differs by having neither a hollow, gelatinous nor a conspicuously zonate stromatal interior, and an anamorph featuring enteroblastic rather than holoblastic conidiogenesis. A specimen from the same geographic region, previously identified as Daldinia bakeri by R.W.G. Dennis was found to constitute a mixture of stromata of Ruwenzoria and an additional, undescribed Daldinia species. The latter fungus is not formally described due to the scantiness of the material, but its morphological characteristics are illustrated