Review of the lichen genus Usnea in the Philippines

The fruticose lichen Usnea is a cosmopolitan genus also found in the mountains of the Philippines.Despite its abundance,though,this lichen genus is not extensively studied in the country.Since the Philippine Usnea holds great potential in pharmaceutical and agricultural research,the basic knowledge on this lichen is important to establish.Therefore,this paper takes a detailed review of Usnea in the Philippines and summarizes all the literatures that have been conducted on it in all aspects.Further,the provinces that were already reported of the occurrence of this genus are plotted in one figure to also highlight those that have not been explored yet.Currently,81 species of Usnea were reported in the country.This includes a species that was previously under the genus Usnea but has been arguably reclassified to a different genus in the present(i.e.,Eumitria).This review also hopes to direct future studies regarding Usnea.

Phallales (Agaricomycetes, Fungi) from Southern Brazil

An illustrated and annotated checklist with key to 24 species of phalloids known to occur in Southern Brazil(States of Paraná,Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul)are presented.The species belong to the orders Clathraceae,Claustulaceae,Lysuraceae,Phallaceae and Protophallaceae.Doubtful species are also discussed.Abrachium floriforme and Staheliomyces cinctus are the first reports from Southern Brazil and Laternea pusilla is new to the State of Santa Catarina.

Xylaria oxyacanthae(Xylariaceae),a new record on Diospyros melanoxylon from India

Xylaria is the largest genus in Xylariaceae with wide range of hosts,and highly diversified species.In this study,Xylaria samples were collected from buried fruits of Diospyros melanoxylon in India.Morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer(ITS)data recovered supports our stain is Xylaria oxyacanthae,a new record to India.A detailed morphological description and comparison of closely related taxa are provided in this study.

Freshwater fungal number

A comprehensive account of fungal classification from freshwater habitats is outlined and discussed in the present review based on literature of biodiversity studies and recent morpho-phylogenetic analyses.A total of 3,870 freshwater fungal species are listed with additional details on the isolation source,habitat,geographical distribution,and molecular data.The Ascomycota(2,968 species,1,018 genera)dominated the freshwater fungal taxa wherein Sordariomycetes(823 species,298 genera)had the largest number,followed by Dothideomycetes(677 species,229 genera),Eurotiomycetes(276 species,49 genera),and Leotiomycetes(260 species,83 genera).Other phyla included in the updated classification of freshwater fungi are:Chytridiomycota(333 species,97 genera),Rozellomycota(221 species,105 genera),Basidiomycota(218 species,100 genera),Blastocladiomycota(47 species,10 genera),Monoblepharomycota(29 species,6 genera),Mucoromycota(19 spe-cies,10 genera),Aphelidiomycota(15 species,3 genera),Entomophthoromycota(6 species,4 genera),Mortierellomycota(5 species,3 genera),Olpidiomycota(4 species,1 genus),Zoopagomycota(3 species,2 genera),and Sanchytriomycota(2 species,2 genera).The freshwater fungi belong to 1,361 genera,386 families and 145 orders.The Pleosporales and Laboulbeniaceae are the largest freshwater fungal order and family comprised of 391 and 185 species,respectively.The most speciose genera are Chitonomyces(87,Laboulbeniomycetes),Verrucaria(50,Eurotiomycetes),Rhizophydium(52,Rhizophydiomycetes),Penicillium(47,Eurotiomycetes),and Candida(42,Saccharomycetes).

Araucaria angustifolia Aboveground Roots Presented High Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Colonization and Diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Almost 30 different arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) species, distributed in different genera such as Glomus, Acaulospora,Scutellospora, Entrophospora, Ambispora, Kuklospora, Gigaspora, and Archeospora, have been identified in the root zone of Araucaria angustifolia, known as Brazil Pine. During our AMF survey in this ecosystem, our attention was called to the presence of many superficially growing Araucaria roots. Our hypothesis was that these roots were colonized with AMF because of the presence of AMF spores in organic material aboveground. Samples of these superficial roots and the organic substrate they were growing on were evaluated for their mycorrhizal status. DNA was extracted from the AMF-colonized superficial roots and submitted to polymerase chain reaction(PCR) amplification using the NS31-AM1 primer pair, followed by cloning and sequencing. We found that the root colonization percentages were between 31% and 52%, and the number of AMF spores in the substrate ranged from 27 to 164 spores per 50 g dry substrate. The phylogenetic analyses and tree construction using maximum parsimony(MP) and neighbor-joining(NJ)methods identified 13 different species of the phylum Glomeromycota belonging to the genera Glomus, Funneliformis, Rhizophagus,Gigaspora, Acaulospora, and Archaeospora, and five isolates were identified only at the genus level. To our knowledge, this is the first report on Araucaria angustifolia with roots growing aboveground, producing runner roots that develop on dead tree trunks and organic material. The higher colonization of the aboveground roots than those commonly found in belowground Araucaria roots suggests that they may present active metabolic uptake of nutrients.