More pieces to a huge puzzle: Two new Escovopsis species from fungus gardens of attine ants

By

Vidaurre Montoya, Quimi
Sutta Martiarena, Maria Jesus
Polezel, Danilo Augusto
Kakazu, Sérgio
Rodrigues, Andre

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

NeoBiota : advancing research on alien species and biological invasions

Volume

46

Pages

97-118

Subjects

Hypocreales , Parasitic fungi , Phylogeny , Symbiosis , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sophia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.46.30951

 

Abstract

Escovopsis (Ascomycota: Hypocreales, Hypocreaceae) is the only known parasite of the mutualistic fungi cultivated by fungus-growing ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini: Attina, the “attines”). Despite its ecological role, the taxonomy and systematics of Escovopsis have been poorly addressed. Here, based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses with three molecular markers (internal transcribed spacer, large subunit ribosomal RNA and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha), we describe Escovopsisclavatus and E.multiformis as new species isolated from fungus gardens of Apterostigma ant species. Our analysis shows that E.clavatus and E.multiformis belong to the most derived Escovopsis clade, whose main character is the presence of conidiophores with vesicles. Nevertheless, the most outstanding feature of both new species is the presence of a swollen region in the central hypha of the conidiophore named swollen cell, which is absent in all previously described Escovopsis species. The less derived Escovopsis clades lack vesicles and their phylogenetic position within the Hypocreaceae still remains unclear. Considering the high genetic diversity in Escovopsis, the description of these new species adds barely two pieces to a huge taxonomic puzzle; however, this discovery is an important piece for building the systematics of this group of fungi.