First molecular phylogeny of mycoparasitic species of Sphaerellopsis isolated from rust fungi in Australia

Abstract

Three species, Sphaerellopsis filum , S. macroconidialis , and S. paraphysata , from Queensland and Victoria, Australia, were identified and characterised by multilocus sequence analyses. This study clarifies earlier reports of Sphaerellopsis in Australia and provides the first report of S. filum in Australia. We also confirm the presence of S. macroconidialis and S. paraphysata in Australia. A single-locus phylogeny based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) provided sufficient resolution for species-level identification and yielded a topology consistent with that of the combined dataset of ITS, large subunit of the rDNA, and the RNA polymerase II second largest subunit. The high intron variability in the translation elongation factor 1-α region among Sphaerellopsis spp. made it unsuitable for phylogenetic analysis. The specimens and data generated here lay the groundwork for future studies into the evolution and molecular basis of mycoparasitism in Sphaerellopsis .