Month: September 2017

New publication

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Members of the lab contributed (while at UCONN) to this study:

Carvalho-Silva M., M. Stech, L.H. Soares-Silva, W.R. Buck, N. J. Wickett, Y.Liu & P.E.A.S. Câmara. 2017. A molecular phylogeny of the Sematophyllaceae sl (Hypnales) based on plastid, mitochondrial and nuclear markers, and its taxonomic implications. Taxon 66: 811–831.

Abstract reads: The Sematophyllaceae s.l. (Sematophyllaceae + Pylaisiadelphaceae) is a family of pleurocarpous mosses that is widely distributed throughout the globe, with centers of diversity in tropical forests. The circumscriptions of the family and its genera have been unstable, due to reductions in morphological complexity and alternative weightings of discrete morphological traits. Based on a sample spanning much of the generic diversity of the family, we inferred the phylogenetic relationships within the Sematophyllaceae s.l. from the variation in eight molecular markers from all three genomes (nuclear, mitochondrial, chloroplast). The Sematophyllaceae s.l. was resolved as monophyletic, as was the Sematophyllaceae s.str.; whereas the Pylaisiadelphaceae was found to be paraphyletic, although its monophyly could not be rejected. The morphological definition of the Pylaisiadelphaceae remains dubious, in the absence of unambiguous synapomorphies. The relationships of the clades of Pylaisiadelphaceae and Sematophyllaceae are discussed with respect to the circumscription of morphogenera, with a focus on the Sematophyllaceae crown clade (Aptychopsis, Chionostomum, Colobodontium, Donnellia, Macrohymenium, Paranapiacabaea, Pterogoniopsis, Rhaphidorrhynchium, Schroeterella, Sematophyllum, Warburgiella). Most genera of Sematophyllaceae were resolved as polyphyletic (e.g., Acroporium, Donnellia, Schroeterella, Sematophyllum, Trichosteleum) indicative of severe homoplasy in their putative diagnostic traits. We propose 4 new genera (Brittonodoxa, Microcalpe, Pocsia, Vitalia) and 19 new combina- tions (Aptychopsis cylindrothecia, A. estrellae, A. tequendamensis, Brittonodoxa allinckxiorum, B. cataractae, B. lithophila, B. squarrosa, B. steyermarkii, B. subpinnata, Microcalpe subsimplex, Pocsia matutina, Pterogoniopsis paulista, Schroeterella exigua, Trichosteleum amnigenum, T. lonchophyllum, Vitalia caespitosa, V. cuspidifera, V. esmeraldica, V. galipensis).

New publication on fungal mitogenome

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Antoine Simon, now a Ph.D. student at the University of Liège, Belgium, published his assembly and study of the structure of the mitochondrial genome in a lichen forming fungus: Simon, A., Y. Liu, E. Sérusiaux & B. Goffinet. 2017. Complete mitogenome sequence of Ricasolia amplissima (Lobariaceae) reveals extensive mitochondrial DNA rearrangement within the Peltigerales (lichenized ascomycetes). The Bryologist 120(3): 335–339. pdf Google Scholar

Abstract reads: The structure of mitochondrial genomes varies among non-lichenized fungi in terms of their genic and intronic content and genic order. Whether lichenized fungal mitogenomes are equally labile is unknown due to the paucity of available mitogenomes. We assembled the mitogenome of Ricasolia amplissima (Peltigerales, Lobariaceae), using massive parallel sequencing, and compared its structure to that of two species of Peltigera (Peltigeraceae). The mitochondrial genome of R. amplissima comprised 82,333 bp, with a 29.8% G+C content, and holds 15 unique protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and one non-coding RNA gene. Although the protein-coding gene content in the mitogenome of Peltigera and Ricasolia was identical, the relative gene order differed substantially, revealing that significant gene rearrangements also characterize the evolution of mitogenomes of lichenized ascomycetes at a relatively shallow phylogenetic depth, such as within the order Peltigerales.

 

New publication on Arctic Bryophyte Research

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Lily Lewis (formerly in our lab and now at the University of Florida) lead-authored a paper outlining needs of and for bryological research in the Arctic.  Lewis L.R., S.M. Ickert-Bond, E.M. Biersma, P. Convey, B. Goffinet, K. Hassel, H.J.D. Kruijer, C. La Farge, J. Metzgar, M. Stech, J.C. Villarreal & S.F. McDaniel. Future directions and priorities for Arctic bryophyte research. Arctic Science 3: 475–497. pdf (open) Google Scholar

Abstract reads: The development of evidence-based international strategies for the conservation and management of Arctic ecosystems in the face of climate change is hindered by critical knowledge gaps in Arctic floristic diversity and evolution. Particularly poorly studied are the bryophytes, which dominate the vegetation across vast areas of the Arctic and consequently play an important role in global biogeochemical cycles. Currently, much of what is known about Arctic floristic evolution is based on studies of vascular plants. Bryophytes, however, possess a number of features, such as poikilohydry, totipotency, several reproductive strategies, and the ability to disperse through microscopic diaspores, that may cause their responses to Arctic environments to differ from those of the vascular plants. Here we discuss several priority areas identified in the Arctic Council’s “Arctic Biodiversity Assessment” that are necessary to illuminate patterns of Arctic bryophyte evolution and diversity, including dispersal, glacial refugia, local adaptation, and ecological interactions with bryophyte- associated microbiomes. A survey of digitally available herbarium data archived in the largest online aggregate, GBIF, across the Arctic to boreal zones indicates that sampling coverage of mosses is heterogeneous and relatively sparse in the Arctic sensu stricto. A coordinated international effort across the Arctic will be necessary to address knowledge gaps in Arctic bryophyte diversity and evolution in the context of ongoing climate change.