Miscellaneous reports of lichenicolous fungi from Argentina including the new species Didymellopsis nephromatis

Two lichenicolous fungi are newly reported from Argentina: Myxophora leptogiophila (on Leptogium sp.) and Nectriopsis lecanodes (on Peltigera sp.). Didymellopsis nephromatis, found growing on Nephroma cellulosum, is described as new to science. A list of 60 lichenicolous fungi formerly known from the country is provided

Considerations and consequences of allowing DNA sequence data as types of fungal taxa

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 11 th 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

A revision of lichenicolous fungi growing on Cladonia, mainly from the northern hemisphere, with a worldwide key to the known species

The paper documents 70 species of fungi found on species of the lichen genus Cladonia, 65 of which are obligately lichenicolous. One genus, Brackelia, and seven species, Biciliopsis cladoniae, Brackelia lunkei, Caeruleoconidia biazrovii, Neolamya ahtii, Niesslia keissleri, Sclerococcum crassitunicatum and S. epicladonia, are here described as new to science. The names Caeruleoconidia and C. ochrolechiae are validated. Ameroconium cladoniae is considered as a heterotypic synonym of Taeniolella beschiana. Merismatium cladoniicola most likely is a heterotypic synonym of M. decolorans. Taxonomic notes on critical specimens, including those of Abrothallus cf. pezizicola, Arthonia cf. lepidophila, Cladophialophora cf. cladoniae, Hainesia cf. bryonorae, Merismatium cf. nigritellum as well as of unidentified species of Acremonium, Dactylospora, Leptosphaeria, Lichenopeltella and Pronectria found on Cladonia are provided. Cercidospora cladoniicola, Didymocyrtis cladoniicola, Hainesia longicladoniae, Pezizella ucrainica, Plectocarpon cladoniae and Polycoccum laursenii are documented as new to Asia. Biazrovia stereocaulicola, Hainesia longicladoniae and Polycoccum microcarpum are new to North America. The following species are new to various countries: Argentina (Bachmanniomyces uncialicola and Niesslia cladoniicola), Finland (Didymocyrtis foliaceiphila and Roselliniella cladoniae), Japan (Lichenosticta alcicorniaria), Lithuania (Abrothallus cf. pezizicola), Mongolia (Arthonia digitatae, Didymocyrtis cladoniicola, Epicladonia stenospora s. lat., Lichenostigma alpinum s. lat., Phaeopyxis punctum, Sphaerellothecium cladoniicola and Taeniolella beschiana), New Zealand (Abrothallus cladoniae s. lat. and Epicladonia sandstedei), Norway (Arthonia digitatae), Kazakhstan (Sphaerellothecium cladoniae), Kyrgyzstan (Epicladonia sandstedei), Papua New Guinea (Opegrapha cladoniicola), Portugal (Epicladonia stenospora s. lat.), Russia (Abrothallus cladoniae s. lat., A. cf. pezizicola, Arthrorhaphis aeruginosa, Didymocyrtis foliaceiphila, Hainesia longicladoniae, Neoburgoa freyi, Pezizella ucrainica and Polycoccum laursenii), Spain (Lichenoconium aeruginosum), U.S.A. (Biazrovia stereocaulicola, Hainesia longicladoniae, Niesslia cladoniicola and Polycoccum microcarpum), Venezuela (Roselliniella cladoniae) and Vietnam (Pyrenidium actinellum s. lat.). Epicladonia sandstedei and E. stenospora s. lat. are new to Macaronesia. Heterocephalacria bachmannii is for the first time documented in the polar desert biome. Biazrovia stereocaulicola, Coniochaeta sp., Merismatium coccisporum and Pyrenidium actinellum s. lat. are newly reported to occur on Cladonia. A key to 138 species of fungi so far known to occur on Cladonia is provided.The study of Mikhail P. Zhurbenko was financially supported by the grant of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research No. 14-04-01031 “Lichenicolous fungi of Northwest Caucasus” and by the research project of the Komarov Botanical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia) no. 01201255602 and carried out using equipment of the Core Facility Center “Cell and Molecular Technologies in Plant Science” of the Komarov Botanical Institute. His field work in the Russian Far East in 2013 was supported in part by a Dimensions of Biodiversity grant from the National Science Foundation DEB-1046065 awarded to Francois Lutzoni. Raquel Pino-Bodas has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development under grant agreement no. PIEF-GA-2013-625653 and Juan de la Cierva Incorporación funding from Ministry of Economy & Competitiveness, Spain

Phylogenetic placement within Lecanoromycetes of lichenicolous fungi associated with cladonia and some other genera

Though most of the lichenicolous fungi belong to the Ascomycetes, their phylogenetic placement based on molecular data is lacking for numerous species. In this study the phylogenetic placement of 19 species of lichenicolous fungi was determined using four loci (LSU rDNA, SSU rDNA, ITS rDNA and mtSSU). The phylogenetic analyses revealed that the studied lichenicolous fungi are widespread across the phylogeny of Lecanoromycetes. One species is placed in Acarosporales, Sarcogyne sphaerospora; five species in Dactylosporaceae, Dactylospora ahtii, D. deminuta, D. glaucoides, D. parasitica and Dactylospora sp.; four species belong to Lecanorales, Lichenosticta alcicorniaria, Epicladonia simplex, E. stenospora and Scutula epiblastematica. The genus Epicladonia is polyphyletic and the type E. sandstedei belongs to Leotiomycetes. Phaeopyxis punctum and Bachmanniomyces uncialicola form a well supported clade in the Ostropomycetidae. Epigloea soleiformis is related to Arthrorhaphis and Anzina. Four species are placed in Ostropales, Corticifraga peltigerae, Cryptodiscus epicladonia, C. galaninae and C. cladoniicola comb. nov. (= Lettauia cladoniicola). Three new species are described, Dactylospora ahtii, Cryptodiscus epicladonia and C. galaninae.This study has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. PIEF-GA-2013-625653 ‘CLADOF’. R. Pino-Bodas thanks the MINECO for a Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación no. 2015-23526 support. Study of M.P. Zhurbenko was carried out within the framework of the research project of the Komarov Botanical Institute Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia) no. 01201255602 and financially supported by the grant of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research no. 14-04-01031 ‘Lichenicolous fungi of Northwest Caucasu