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Phylogenetic placement of Geastrum melanocephalum and polyphyly of Geastrum triplex

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Mycoscience

Abstract

Geastrum melanocephalum, originally described as Trichaster melanocephalus, is characterized by large basidiomata and an evanescent endoperidium. Although Trichaster was recently treated as a synonym of Geastrum and the specific name G. melanocephalum has often been used, it is still controversial whether Trichaster is an independent genus. Although a close affinity of G. melanocephalum and G. triplex has been suggested based on some morphological similarities, it is highly likely that G. triplex is polyphyletic because of its high morphological variability. To clarify the phylogenetic position of G. melanocephalum, it is therefore critical to evaluate the monophyly of G. triplex. This study sampled ITS, LSU, and atp6 genes from 144 specimens of Geastrales including G. melanocephalum and G. triplex from several continents. Results of phylogenetic analyses demonstrated G. melanocephalum is nested within Geastrum and is most closely related to the European and North American group of G. triplex. Morphological similarities of G. melanocephalum and European and North American G. triplex are also suggested. Based on phylogenetic and morphological evidence, we confirm Trichaster is a synonym of Geastrum, and the scientific name Geastrum melanocephalum should be accepted. Moreover, the present study revealed that taxa tentatively identified as “G. triplex” are highly polyphyletic, and a taxonomic revision of “G. triplex” is therefore needed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Stellan Sunhede for his valuable cooperation in the fieldwork and in preparation of the manuscript. We also express our sincere thanks to Dr. Jun-ichi Peter Abe, Ms. Yumiko Hirayama, Dr. Tsuyoshi Hosoya, Mr. Tomohiro Miyanaga, Mr. Haruo Sakamoto, Ms. Pota Siriporn, and Dr. Yuichi Yamaoka for encouraging and assisting our laboratory work. Thanks also go to Dr. Tamotsu Hoshino, Mr. Shinya Kotoku, Ms. Hideko Miwa, Dr. Takuo Sawahata, Mr. Masahito Taniguchi, Mr. Akitomo Uchida, Mr. Yukinori Yamamoto, and members of the biology club of Mito Daiichi High School for collecting Geastrum specimens. We also thank curators of the following mycological herbaria for kindly arranging and providing fungal specimens for this work: C, CORD, F, K, L, PDD, QCNE, S, SAPA, and TENN. This research was financed in part by a JSPS grant-in-aid (No. 222635) and a grant from the Tokai Board of Education, Ibaraki Prefecture, to T.K., and also by a JSPS grant-in-aid for young scientists B (No. 21770096) and a grant from the Institute for Fermentation, Osaka (IFO) to K.H.. This work is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree for T.K.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Parasitic Mycology, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Ten-nodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Taiga Kasuya & Makoto Kakishima

  2. Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science, 4-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0005, Japan

    Kentaro Hosaka & Kunihiko Uno

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  1. Taiga Kasuya
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  2. Kentaro Hosaka
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  3. Kunihiko Uno
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  4. Makoto Kakishima
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Correspondence to Taiga Kasuya.

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Kasuya, T., Hosaka, K., Uno, K. et al. Phylogenetic placement of Geastrum melanocephalum and polyphyly of Geastrum triplex . Mycoscience 53, 411–426 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10267-012-0186-z

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