Confronting the constraints of morphological taxonomy in the Botryosphaeriales

dc.contributor.authorSlippers, Bernard
dc.contributor.authorRoux, Jolanda
dc.contributor.authorWingfield, Michael J.
dc.contributor.authorVan der Walt, F.J.J. (Francois Johannes Jacobus)
dc.contributor.authorJami, Fahimeh
dc.contributor.authorMehl, James William Montague
dc.contributor.authorMarais, G.J.
dc.contributor.emailbernard.slippers@fabi.up.ac.za.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-01-29T12:12:59Z
dc.date.available2015-01-29T12:12:59Z
dc.date.issued2014-09
dc.description.abstractIdentification of fungi and the International Code of Nomenclature underpinning this process, rests strongly on the characterisation of morphological structures. Yet, the value of these characters to define species in many groups has become questionable or even superfluous. This has emerged as DNA-based techniques have increasingly revealed cryptic species and species complexes. This problem is vividly illustrated in the present study where 105 isolates of the Botryosphaeriales were recovered from both healthy and diseased woody tissues of native Acacia spp. in Namibia and South Africa. Thirteen phylogenetically distinct groups were identified based on Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) rDNA PCR-RFLP and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α) sequence data, two loci that are known to be reliable markers to distinguish species in the Botryosphaeriales. Four of these groups could be linked reliably to sequence data for formerly described species, including Botryosphaeria dothidea, Dothiorella dulcispinae, Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae and Spencermartinsia viticola. Nine groups, however, could not be linked to any other species known from culture and for which sequence data are available. These groups are, therefore, described as Aplosporella africana, A. papillata, Botryosphaeria auasmontanum, Dothiorella capri-amissi, Do. oblonga, Lasiodiplodia pyriformis, Spencermartinsia rosulata, Sphaeropsis variabilis and an undescribed Neofusicoccum sp. The species described here could not be reliably compared with the thousands of taxa described in these genera from other hosts and regions, where only morphological data are available. Such comparison would be possible only if all previously described taxa are epitypified, which is not a viable objective for the two families, Botryosphaeriaceae and Aplosporellaceae, in the Botryosphaeriales identified here. The extent of diversity of the Botryosphaeriales revealed in this and other recent studies is expected to reflect that of other undersampled regions and hosts, and illustrates the urgency to find more effective ways to describe species in this, and indeed other, groups of fungi.en_ZA
dc.description.librariantm2015en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipTHRIP initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB), (DST) and National Research Foundation (NRF).en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.persoonia.orgen_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nhn/pimjen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSlippers, B, Roux, J, Wingfield, MJ, Van der Walt, FJJ, Jami, F, Mehl, JWM & Marais, GJ 2014, 'Confronting the constraints of morphological taxonomy in the Botryosphaeriales', Persoonia, vol. 33, pp. 155-168.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0031-5850
dc.identifier.other10.3767/003158514X684780
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/43486
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherNaturalis Biodiversity Center and Centraalbureau voor Schimmelculturesen_ZA
dc.rights© 2014 Naturalis Biodiversity Center & Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.orglicenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode).en_ZA
dc.subjectBotryosphaerialesen_ZA
dc.subjectMorphotaxaen_ZA
dc.subjectPhylogenyen_ZA
dc.subjectTaxonomyen_ZA
dc.subjectTree healthen_ZA
dc.titleConfronting the constraints of morphological taxonomy in the Botryosphaerialesen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Slippers_Confronting_2014.pdf
Size:
1022.5 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Article

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: