Polyphyly and two emerging lineages in the rust genera Puccinia and Uromyces

The phylogenetic validity of Puccinia and Uromyces, Pucciniaceae, and closely related genera was evaluated using nucLSU rDNA sequences. Using a wide range of rust species with different life cycles and with different host specificities, Puccinia and Uromyces were shown to be highly polyphyletic and to also include representatives of the genera Aecidium, Cumminsiella, Dietelia, Endophyllum, Miyagia, and Uredo. Furthermore, the structure of the phylogenetic data did not reflect previous sub-generic delimitations based on teliospore pedicel structure, but rather suggests that at least two major lineages have evolved within Puccinia/Uromyces: Rusts with telial states on Poaceae were exclusively found in one of these groupings and those with telial states on Cyperaceae resided in the other lineage. This might suggest that the two lineages evolved in close association with these host groups in different biomes.We are grateful to the National Research Foundation (NRF), the NRF/DST Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB), the members of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP), the THRIP initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) South Africa and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for financial support, and Sappi for a Research Fellowship to W.M. We also thank Franz Oberwinkler, Markus Göker and Reinhard Berndt for specimens as well as Matthias Lutz and Dominik Begerow for specimens and unpublished sequences, and the curators of GZU, PREM and TUB for the loan of specimens and support