Lecanora austrocalcicola (Lecanoraceae, lichenized fungi), a new species from a limestone outcrop in Brazil

Phaseolinae is one of the most diverse groups within the family Leguminosae, characterized by a style bearing a pollen brush and seeds with an epihilum. This subtribe has a complex taxonomic history and has undergone several changes over time. In the early 2000s, our research team found a phaseoloid liana growing in a limestone outcrop in western Bahia, Brazil. Its identity remained a mystery until recently, when we revisited the locality to study it in more detail and gathered material to generate nuclear ITS and plastid trnK/matK sequences. These sequences were included in a broadly sampled Phaseolinae matrix used to perform phylogenetic analyses and an ancestral character states reconstruction. Our results demonstrate that the enigmatic taxon represents a new lineage within subtribe Phaseolinae, sister to the genus Sigmoidotropis. This new lineage, along with Sigmoidotropis and Ancistrotropis, forms a clade here called the Sigmoid‐keel clade, since all representatives present flowers with sigmoid keel petals. The new taxon is here described as Delgadoa bambuicola gen. & sp. nov., a new genus and a new species of woody lianas known from only two localities in the state of Bahia. We also present an identification key to the genera of the Sigmoid‐keel clade, descriptions, illustrations, a distribution map, taxonomic comments, and a conservation status assessment of the new genus.

Diarthron linifolium Turcz. is an annual herb usually found in sandy soil or limestone areas. Plants in the genus Diarthron are known to have toxic chemicals that may, however, be potentially useful as an anticancer treatment. Diarthron linifolium is a unique species among the species of the genus distributed in Korea. Here, we determine the genetic variation of D. linifolium collected in Korea with a full chloroplast genome and investigate its evolutionary status by means of a phylogenetic analysis. The chloroplast genome of Korean D. linifolium has a total length of 172,644 bp with four subregions; 86,158 bp of large single copy and 2,858 bp of small single copy (SSC) regions are separated by 41,814 bp of inverted repeat (IR) regions. We found that the SSC region of D. linifolium is considerably short but that IRs are relatively long in comparison with other chloroplast genomes. Various simple sequence repeats were identified, and our nucleotide diversity analysis suggested potential marker regions near ndhF. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that D. linifolium from Korea is a sister to the group of Daphne species.

Habenaria karstica J.A.N.Bat. sp. nov., a new species from limestone outcrops (i.e., karst) in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is described. The new species is ecologically very distinct since it is the only Neotropical species of the genus that grows on limestone outcrops under full sun, associated with mat-forming saxicolous plants. It is morphologically similar to species of the Habenaria repens complex, and separation is only possible through a combination of morphological characters. Bayesian and parsimony phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear (rDNA ITS, ETS) and plastid (matK-trnK, rps16-trnK) DNA markers revealed that H. karstica belongs to H. sect. Spathaceae. The new species, however, differs in floral morphology from the other species in this clade. A survey of the literature and public plants datasets revealed 122 species and 58 genera of Orchidaceae in karsts of Brazil. Although small compared to the family’s diversity in the country, Orchidaceae is among the families with the highest number of species in some karst localities. Our results indicate that approximately 97% of Orchidaceae found in karsts of Brazil is not limited to limestone outcrops areas, and that species composition of each locality is primarily determined by the regional flora and the biome in which it is located.

ABSTRACTThis paper is dedicated to Otto Ludwig Lange on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Hymenelia prevostii and H. coerulea are common endolithic lichen species on limestone outcrops in the eastern alpine mountains. We investigated their photosynthetic properties under controlled laboratory conditions and analyzed them with respect to relevant meso- and macroclimatic parameters to determine specific adaptations to the extreme habitat.For the first time, it can be shown that endolithically living lichens are able to utilize water vapor alone to gain positive net photosynthesis (NP) rates. With respect to liquid water, both species reached optimum NP rates at low water content (H. prevostii: 0.26 mm, H. coerulea: 0.07 mm rainfall equivalent), and NP was increasingly depressed at water suprasaturation. In their preferred microhabitat on steep limestone outcrops in alpine regions, endolithic lichens avoid inundation over long time spans, but could perfectly utilize the high air humidity of monthly means between 60 and 80%. Due to light reduction by endolithic growth, both species revealed relatively high photosynthetic light compensation and saturation values, thus avoiding the high light intensities of the alpine habitat. Both lichen species were able to perform 90% of their optimal NP over a wide temperature range and still reached about one-third of their maximum NP rates at 2 °C, demonstrating their capability to cope with the large temperature changes occurring in their habitat.

Dracaena species are widely recognized for their exceptional drought tolerance, making them ideal candidates for sustainable landscaping and ecological restoration in arid regions. Limestone outcrops hosting Dracaena are unique ecosystems characterized by extreme environmental conditions such as nutrient-poor substrates. Thus, they provide valuable opportunities for studying fungal diversity and their adaptations. Despite their ecological importance, knowledge concerning fungal communities associated with limestone-inhabiting Dracaena species remains limited, particularly within the diverse biogeographic contexts of Thailand. Microfungal samples were collected from dead wood and leaves of Dracaena species across seven provinces in Thailand (Chiang Rai, Kanchanaburi, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ratchaburi, Songkhla, and Tak). Fungal taxa were identified and characterized through detailed morphological examinations combined with multi-gene phylogenetic analyses using Actin (act), Internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the large subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA (LSU), translation elongation fac-tor 1-alpha (tef1-α), and beta-tubulin (tub) gene regions. This study documents eleven fungal taxa isolated from Dracaena substrates, belonging to seven families across five fungal orders. Three new species viz. Cladosporium dracaenae, C. dracaenicola and Torula dracaenae were described, and eight new host records were established (Bipolaris coffeana, Curvularia lunata, Lasiodiplodia bruguierae, L. lignicola, L. thailandica, Longididymella clematidis, Ochroconis musae and Zasmidium citrigriseum). Species de-scriptions, color photographic plates, phylogenetic trees and updated taxonomic notes are provided for all isolated taxa. The findings advance the current understanding of microfungal diversity associated with limestone outcrop habitats and Dracaena species, contributing to broader ecological and conservation efforts. By revealing novel fungal species and previously undocumented host-fungus interactions, this study underscores the rich but underexplored fungal biodiversity of limestone ecosystems in Thailand.

A new species of Gesneriaceae discovered in remnants of deciduous forests on limestone outcrops in Minas Gerais, Brazil, is described and compared with morphologically related taxa. This plant presents the diagnostic features of the tribe Gloxinieae, but a unique combination of morphological traits distinguishes this taxon from previously described genera. Its phylogenetic position was inferred based on analyzing DNA sequences variation of five loci: the rpl16 intron, rps16 intron, trnL‐F intron‐spacer, a portion of the plastid‐expressed glutamine synthetase gene (ncpGS) and the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS). Molecular phylogenetic analyses confirm the position of this new species in the Gloxinieae, as a sister lineage of a clade including the Brazilian genera Mandirola and Goyazia. However, tests using topological constraints do not reject the alternative relationship that places this taxon with Gloxiniopsis in a monophyletic group. To accommodate this species in the current generic circumscription of Gloxinieae, the new genus Chautemsia A.O. Araujo & V.C. Souza is created.

Land snail diversity in the monsoon tropics of Northern Australia: revision of the genus<i>Exiligada</i>Iredale, 1939 (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Camaenidae), with description of 13 new species

ABSTRACTHerbivore diets are often generalistic, and communities of herbivores tend to share much of their diets. In the tropical lowlands of Malaysian Borneo, tens of different noncarnivorous land snail species are able to coexist in communities on limestone outcrops. We tried to answer the question whether diet differentiation plays a role in their coexistence. We show, with a large metabarcoding study of the plant diet from gut contents of 658 individual snails (from 26 species, with a focus on three of the most common species in the region), that the different snail species indeed share much of their plant diet, but that mean diet richness varies strongly among species (up to 15.3×). These differences are mostly explained by snail size, with larger snails having wider diets. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses of the plant diet by individual snails showed signs of clustering in c. 28% of the individuals, possibly suggesting phylogenetic specialization, although such clustering was weak when diets were considered by species. We discuss how observed trends in diet richness and diet clustering could also be explained by random feeding, with larger species simply eating more or less specifically, and by other, noncompetitive interactions, such as snails avoiding desiccation. Our study shows how to efficiently put the power of metabarcoding to work in unravelling the complex community processes commonly encountered in tropical ecosystems and is thus of substantial relevance to both community ecologists and conservationists.

Eugeniella palleola, Graphis paraschiffneri, and Malmidea cineracea are described from Nicaragua. Eugeniella palleola is characterized by having pale apothecial discs and prominent, white margins, and producing a complex chemistry including atranorin, stictic and norstictic acids, and an unknown substance. Graphis paraschiffneri has lirellae with a lateral thalline margin, striate labia, a completely carbonized excipulum, transversely septate ascospores, and contains norstictic acid in the thallus. Malmidea cineracea is characterized by a granulose-isidiate thallus with a yellowish medulla and a compact, crystal-encrusted excipulum. Malmidea nigromarginata and M. piperina are proposed as new combinations. Keys are presented to all known species of Eugeniella (9) and Malmidea (50).

Endophyte biology is a branch of science that contributes to the understanding of the diversity and ecology of microorganisms that live inside plants, fungi, and lichen. Considering that the diversity of endolichenic fungi is little explored, and its phylogenetic relationship with other lifestyles (endophytism and saprotrophism) is still to be explored in detail, this paper presents data on axenic cultures and phylogenetic relationships of three endolichenic fungi, isolated in laboratory. Cladonia curta Ahti & Marcelli, a species of lichen described in Brazil, is distributed at three sites in the Southeast of the country, in mesophilous forests and the Cerrado. Initial hyphal growth of Xylaria spp. on C. curta podetia started four days after inoculation and continued for the next 13 days until the hyphae completely covered the podetia. Stromata formation and differentiation was observed, occurring approximately after one year of isolation and consecutive subculture of lineages. Phylogenetic analyses indicate lineages of endolichenic fungi in the genus Xylaria, even as the morphological characteristics of the colonies and anamorphous stromata confirm this classification. Our preliminary results provide evidence that these endolichenic fungi are closely related to endophytic fungi, suggesting that the associations are not purely incidental. Further studies, especially phylogenetic analyses using robust multi-locus datasets, are needed to accept or reject the hypothesis that endolichenic fungi isolated from Xylaria spp. and X. berteri are conspecific.

A description and location of a new lichen species for Russia, Enchylium substellatum, are given. The lichen was collected on fine earth at outcrops of crystalline limestone in the stony steppe on the Olkhon Island (Lake Baikal, west coast), in an area characterized by a wide distribution of island intrazonal mountain steppes. The issues of ecology and distribution of this rare lichen are discussed. It was discovered in the same ecotope with other calciphilous lichens (Heppia solorinoides, Gyalidea asteriscus, Toninia tristis, T. diffracta, Gyalolechia fulgens, Buellia elegans, Phaeorrhiza sareptana var. sphaerocarpa, Bilimbia lobulata, Physconia jacutica, Peltigera rufescens, Mycobilimbia obscurata, Lecanora epibryon, Rinodina roscida), some of which belong to the arctic-alpine element of the flora, some to the desert-steppe element, and most species are mountain xerophytes. Based on an analysis of the World distribution and habitats, it was concluded that Enchylium substellatum is an arctic-high-mountain calciphilous terricolous lichen associated with dry habitats. The distribution of the species is limited to the Holarctic, the range is extremely disjunctive. The species is found in cold mountain steppes, cold mountain deserts and dry arctic deserts.

The new species Parakarstenia phyllostachydis was discovered on stems of Phyllostachys heteroclada in Sichuan Province of China and is placed in a new genus within Odontotremataceae in this paper. A multigene analysis of a combined nuclear ITS and LSU rDNA and mtSSU sequence dataset and comparable morphologies suggests the taxonomic affinity of the new taxon in this family. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference phylogenetic analyses provide evidence that the fungus is best placed in a distinct genus within this family. The new genus is compared with similar genera of Ostropales and a comprehensive description and illustration are offered. Parakarstenia is characterized by its distinct suite of features, such as initially immersed, intracortical, later erumpent and seemingly superficial, sessile and usually gregarious apothecia with a flat to slightly convex, greyish white or pale brown disc; a hairless, buff to yellow receptacle; a non-protruding margin, absent periphysoids and crystals, cylindrical to clavate asci with conical apex and a hemiamyloid (type RR) outer wall; and narrowly cylindrical-clavate to fusoid, vermiform, straight to medium curved, initially non-septate, at maturity transversely multiseptate ascospores. An updated phylogram for Ostropales with selected, predominantly non-lichenized members based on multigene analysis is provided.

Lichens are the result of a symbiotic interaction between fungi (mycobionts) and algae (phycobionts). Aside from mycobionts, lichen thalli can also contain non-lichenised fungal species, such as lichenicolous and endolichenic fungi. For this study, three surveys were conducted in China’s Yunnan Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region between 2017 and 2020. Several samples of four lichen species were collected during these surveys: Candelariafibrosa, Flavoparmeliacaperata, Flavopuncteliaflaventior and Ramalinasinensis. Six isolates of Coniochaeta were recovered from these four lichen species. The phylogenetic and morphological analyses revealed that two of these isolates were previously identified species, Coniochaetavelutinosa and C.acaciae. Those remaining were from potentially unknown species. We used molecular and morphological data to describe these previously-unknown species as Coniochaetafibrosaesp. nov., C.mongoliaesp. nov. and C.sinensissp. nov. The findings of this study significantly improve our understanding of the variety and habitat preferences of Coniochaeta in China and globally.

We examined the genetic diversity of Nostoc symbionts in some lichens by using the tRNA(Leu) (UAA) intron as a genetic marker. The nucleotide sequence was analyzed in the context of the secondary structure of the transcribed intron. Cyanobacterial tRNA(Leu) (UAA) introns were specifically amplified from freshly collected lichen samples without previous DNA extraction. The lichen species used in the present study were Nephroma arcticum, Peltigera aphthosa, P. membranacea, and P. canina. Introns with different sizes around 300 bp were consistently obtained. Multiple clones from single PCRs were screened by using their single-stranded conformational polymorphism pattern, and the nucleotide sequence was determined. No evidence for sample heterogenity was found. This implies that the symbiont in situ is not a diverse community of cyanobionts but, rather, one Nostoc strain. Furthermore, each lichen thallus contained only one intron type, indicating that each thallus is colonized only once or that there is a high degree of specificity. The same cyanobacterial intron sequence was also found in samples of one lichen species from different localities. In a phylogenetic analysis, the cyanobacterial lichen sequences grouped together with the sequences from two free-living Nostoc strains. The size differences in the intron were due to insertions and deletions in highly variable regions. The sequence data were used in discussions concerning specificity and biology of the lichen symbiosis. It is concluded that the tRNA(Leu) (UAA) intron can be of great value when examining cyanobacterial diversity.

For a long time, the taxonomic status of Denscantia, a genus endemic to the Atlantic Forest along the Brazilian coast, has been a topic of discussion. Phylogenetic analyses using two nuclear and four chloroplast DNA markers from 82 accessions representing 19 genera of the Spermacoce clade (tribe Spermacoceae, Rubiaceae) confirm that the Brazilian genus Denscantia is biphyletic. Together with the recovered phylogenetic relationships, the analyses of reproductive morphological characters, leaf morphology and anatomy, histochemical, geographic distribution ranges, and ecological niche derived from climatic space further demonstrate that Denscantia calcicola is a distinct lineage from the other Denscantia species. Therefore, the above-mentioned species should be taxonomically designated as a new monospecific genus, Leonoria. Significant morphological differences between Leonoria and Denscantia were found in inflorescence organization, style shape, fruit dehiscence and pollen morphology. Morphological and anatomical variation among leaf traits was found in epidermal cells, trichome distribution, mesophyll histochemistry and vascular organization. The analysis of occurrence records of 207 specimens demonstrates a clear ecological distinction between of Denscantia s.s. and Leonoria, which is ecologically confined to limestone outcrops associated with seasonally dry forests. The current study highlights the importance of an integrative taxonomic approach combining multiple sources of evidence to unravel complex taxonomic history within Spermacoceae.