Hymenochaetales: a molecular phylogeny for the hymenochaetoid clade

Abstract

The hymenochaetoid clade is dominated by wood-decaying species previously classified in the artificial families Corticiaceae, Polyporaceae and Stereaceae. The majority of these species cause a white rot. The polypore Bridgeoporus and several corticioid species with inconspicuous basidiomata live in association with brown-rotted wood, but their nutritional strategy is not known. Mycorrhizal habit is reported for Coltricia perennis but needs confirmation. A surprising element in the hymenochaetoid clade is a group of small white to brightly pigmented agarics earlier classified in Omphalina. They form a subclade together with some similarly colored stipitate stereoid and corticioid species. Several are associated with living mosses or one-celled green algae. Hyphoderma pratermissum and some related corticioid species have specialized organs for trapping and killing nematodes as a source of nitrogen. There are no unequivocal morphological synapomorphies known for the hymenochaetoid clade. However almost all species examined ultrastructurally have dolipore septa with continuous parenthesomes while perforate parenthesomes is the normal condition for other homobasidiomycete clades. The agaricoid Hymenochaetales have not been examined. Within Hymenochaetales the Hymenochaetaceae forms a distinct clade but unfortunately all morphological characters supporting Hymenochaetaceae also are found in species outside the clade. Other subclades recovered by the molecular phylogenetic analyses are less uniform, and the overall resolution within the nuclear LSU tree presented here is still unsatisfactory.