DNA barcode identification of lichen-forming fungal species in the Rhizoplaca melanophthalma species-complex (Lecanorales, Lecanoraceae), including five new species

By

Leavitt, Steven Don, 1979-
Fernández-Mendoza, Fernando
Pérez-Ortega, Sergio
Sohrabi, Mohammad
Divakar, Pradeep Kumar
Lumbsch, Thorsten
St. Clair, Larry L.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2013

Original Publication

MycoKeys

Volume

7

Pages

1-22

Subjects

Bio-monitoring , BPP , coalescence , cosmopolitan distribution , cryptic species , molecular identification , Symbiosis

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2011-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.7.4508

 

Abstract

Recent studies using sequence data from multiple loci and coalescent-based species delimitation have revealed several species-level lineages within the phenotypically circumscribed taxon Rhizoplaca melanophthalma sensu lato. Here, we formally describe five new species within this group, R. occulta, R. parilis, R. polymorpha, R. porterii, and R. shushanii, using support from the coalescent-based species delimitation method implemented in the program Bayesian Phylogenetics and Phylogeography (BPP) as the diagnostic feature distinguishing new species. We provide a reference DNA sequence database using the ITS marker as a DNA barcode for identifying species within this complex. We also assessed intraspecific genetic distances within the six R. melanophthalma sensu lato species. While intraspecific genetic distances within the five new species were less than or equal to the lowest interspecific pairwise comparison values, an overlap in genetic distances within the R. melanophthalma sensu stricto clade suggests the potential for additional phenotypically cryptic lineages within this broadly distributed lineage. Overall, our results demonstrate the potential for accurately identifying species within the R. melanophthalma group by using molecular-based identification methods.