Ancestral state reconstruction infers phytopathogenic origins of sooty blotch and flyspeck fungi on apple

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ancestral state reconstruction infers phytopathogenic origins of sooty blotch and flyspeck fungi on apple

AU - Ismail, Siti Izera

AU - Batzer, Jean Carlson

AU - Harrington, Thomas C.

AU - Crous, Pedro W.

AU - Lavrov, Dennis V.

AU - Li, Huanyu

AU - Gleason, Mark L.

N1 - 10.3852/15-036

PY - 2016/3/1

Y1 - 2016/3/1

N2 - Members of the sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) complex are epiphytic fungi in the Ascomycota that cause economically damaging blemishes of apples worldwide. SBFS fungi are polyphyletic, but approx. 96% of SBFS species are in the Capnodiales. Evolutionary origins of SBFS fungi remain unclear, so we attempted to infer their origins by means of ancestral state reconstruction on a phylogenetic tree built utilizing genes for the nuc 28S rDNA (approx. 830 bp from near the 59 end) and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2). The analyzed taxa included the well-known genera of SBFS as well as non-SBFS fungi from seven families within the Capnodiales. The non-SBFS taxa were selected based on their distinct ecological niches, including plant-parasitic and saprophytic species. The phylogenetic analyses revealed that most SBFS species in the Capnodiales are closely related to plant-parasitic fungi. Ancestral state reconstruction provided strong evidence that plant-parasitic fungi were the ancestors of the major SBFS lineages. Knowledge gained from this study may help to better understand the ecology and evolution of epiphytic fungi.

AB - Members of the sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) complex are epiphytic fungi in the Ascomycota that cause economically damaging blemishes of apples worldwide. SBFS fungi are polyphyletic, but approx. 96% of SBFS species are in the Capnodiales. Evolutionary origins of SBFS fungi remain unclear, so we attempted to infer their origins by means of ancestral state reconstruction on a phylogenetic tree built utilizing genes for the nuc 28S rDNA (approx. 830 bp from near the 59 end) and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2). The analyzed taxa included the well-known genera of SBFS as well as non-SBFS fungi from seven families within the Capnodiales. The non-SBFS taxa were selected based on their distinct ecological niches, including plant-parasitic and saprophytic species. The phylogenetic analyses revealed that most SBFS species in the Capnodiales are closely related to plant-parasitic fungi. Ancestral state reconstruction provided strong evidence that plant-parasitic fungi were the ancestors of the major SBFS lineages. Knowledge gained from this study may help to better understand the ecology and evolution of epiphytic fungi.

U2 - 10.3852/15-036

DO - 10.3852/15-036

M3 - Article

SN - 0027-5514

VL - 108

SP - 292

EP - 302

JO - Mycologia

JF - Mycologia

IS - 2

ER -