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First published online November 7, 2008; doi:10.3732/ajb.0800232 American Journal of Botany 95: 1548-1556 (2008) © 2008 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

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A new lineage of lichenized basidiomycetes inferred from a two-gene phylogeny: The Lepidostromataceae with three species from the tropics¹

² National Botanical Garden of Belgium, Domaine de Bouchout, B-1860 Meise, Belgium ³ Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444 USA ⁴ Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, University Koblenz-Landau, Universitätstraße 1, D-56070 Koblenz, Germany ⁵ Plant Taxonomy and Conservation Biology Unit, University of Liège, Sart Tilman B22, B-4000 Liège, Belgium

ABSTRACT

The lichen habit has apparently evolved independently in at least five major clades of mushroom-forming basidiomycetes (Agaricomycetes). Tracing the origin of lichenization in these groups depends on a clearer understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of basidiolichens to other fungi. We describe here a new family of basidiolichens made up of tropical, soil-inhabiting fungi that form lichenized, scale-like squamules and erect, coral-like fruiting structures. These structures are common to two basidiolichen genera, Multiclavula and Lepidostroma. Molecular studies have confirmed the phylogenetic position of Multiclavula species in the Cantharellales, but Lepidostroma species have never been sequenced. We obtained nuclear small and large subunit ribosomal sequences from specimens of L. calocerum collected in Costa Rica and Mexico and also from specimens of two Multiclavula spp. recently described from Rwanda. The phylogenetic placement of these fungi within the Agaricomycetes was investigated using likelihood and Bayesian analyses. Our results indicate that L. calocerum and the Rwandan species form a natural group unrelated to Multiclavula and sister to the Atheliales, members of which are neither lichen-forming nor clavarioid. The independent evolution of morphologically similar forms in so many groups of basidiomycetes is a remarkable example of convergence, indicating similar pathways to lichenization in these fungi.

Key Words: Africa • Agaricales • Atheliales • basidiomycetes • Lepidostroma • lichens • Multiclavula • neotropics • rDNA sequence analyses • symbiosis

Received for publication 8 July 2008. Accepted for publication 26 September 2008.

FOOTNOTES

¹ The authors thank F. Bungartz, J.-P. Duvivier, D. Genney, R. Lücking, and R. Walleyn for providing images of the basidiolichens in Fig. 1. C. Gerstmans and W. Baert are thanked for technical assistance. Financial support was received from the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) from Belgium.

⁶ Author for correspondence (e-mail: damien.ertz{at}br.fgov.be)

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