Taxonomic Conclusions Research Articles

Genome-Based Taxonomic Classification of the Phylum Actinobacteria.

The application of phylogenetic taxonomic procedures led to improvements in the classification of bacteria assigned to the phylum Actinobacteria but even so there remains a need to further clarify relationships within a taxon that encompasses organisms of agricultural, biotechnological, clinical, and ecological importance. Classification of the morphologically diverse bacteria belonging to this large phylum based on a limited number of features has proved to be difficult, not least when taxonomic decisions rested heavily on interpretation of poorly resolved 16S rRNA gene trees. Here, draft genome sequences of a large collection of actinobacterial type strains were used to infer phylogenetic trees from genome-scale data using principles drawn from phylogenetic systematics. The majority of taxa were found to be monophyletic but several orders, families, and genera, as well as many species and a few subspecies were shown to be in need of revision leading to proposals for the recognition of 2 orders, 10 families, and 17 genera, as well as the transfer of over 100 species to other genera. In addition, emended descriptions are given for many species mainly involving the addition of data on genome size and DNA G+C content, the former can be considered to be a valuable taxonomic marker in actinobacterial systematics. Many of the incongruities detected when the results of the present study were compared with existing classifications had been recognized from 16S rRNA gene trees though whole-genome phylogenies proved to be much better resolved. The few significant incongruities found between 16S/23S rRNA and whole genome trees underline the pitfalls inherent in phylogenies based upon single gene sequences. Similarly good congruence was found between the discontinuous distribution of phenotypic properties and taxa delineated in the phylogenetic trees though diverse non-monophyletic taxa appeared to be based on the use of plesiomorphic character states as diagnostic features.

Description of two new genera (Antarctotetilla, Levantiniella) and a new species of Tetillidae.

Tetillidae is a sponge family distributed all over the world but with some genera apparently endemic from the Antarctic and Subantarctic (the "Antarctic clade"). Species identification results tricky due to the similarities of their morphological characters. However, molecular phylogenies have helped to resolve the family taxonomy. The last phylogenetic study on Tetillidae suggested the creation of two new genera: Levantiniella and Antarctotetilla. Lenvantiniella, from Middle East Mediterranean Sea, was previously classified within Cinachyrella, from which it differs in the small rounded surface cavities, distinctive from true porocalices. Antarctotetilla has up to now an Antarctic distribution, and harbors species wrongly classified within Tethya, Craniella, or Tetilla. The main differences of Antarctotetilla to other Tetillidae genera are the presence of pores grouped in small areas, and a poorly-defined cortex (pseudocortex). This study aims to re-describe in detail the species of Tetillidae that belong in the two above mentioned new genera, and to highlight that molecular phylogenies should be combined with morphological analyses to improve taxonomical decisions. We also describe a new Tetillidae species with a hair-like hispidation, which we name Antarctotetilla pilosa nov. sp. Furthermore, the types of Tethya coactifera and T. crassispicula (Lendenfeld, 1907) were reexamined because of some morphological similarities with Antarctotetilla. The minibarcode sequences (a small COI fragment) placed them within the Antarctic clade harboring Antarctotetilla and Cinachyra, but did not resolve their genus position. A morphological revision, however, suggests placing T. coactifera in Antarctotetilla, while T. crassispicula, which owns porocalices and a spicule-reinforced cortex, appeared to belong in Cinachyra.

Northern Hemisphere disjunctions in Lactuca (Cichorieae, Asteraceae): independent Eurasia to North America migrations and allopolyploidization

The Lactuca lineage is one of nine lineages in the lettuce subtribe (Cichorieae, Asteraceae) distributed in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. Within the Lactuca lineage two clades show disjunct Eurasian-North American distributions. One disjunct clade consists of diploids (x = 8) and allotetraploids (x = 17), the former restricted to Eurasia and the latter to North America and the Azores. In contrast, members of the other Eurasian-North American disjunct clade are all diploid (x = 9), like the remainder of the Lactuca lineage (diploid, x = 8 or 9). The aims of the present study were to investigate the migration pathways that led to the disjunct distributions of these two Eurasian-North American clades and the potential progenitors of the allopolyploid taxa. We conducted deep taxon sampling and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses using nuclear ribosomal DNA (ETS and ITS), a low-copy nuclear marker (A44) and five non-coding plastid markers. Divergence time estimations with BEAST and ancestral biogeographic estimations with BioGeoBEARS suggested that both lineages reached North America by the late Miocene. Cloning of the A44 region revealed two sequence copies within allopolyploid individuals that were resolved in divergent clades and this helped to identify potential progenitors. We provide competing hypotheses for the progenitor species and biogeographic pathways that gave rise to the allotetraploid lineage, and we propose a North American origin for the Azorean endemic. Taxonomic conclusions include L. graminifolia var. mexicana being raised to specific rank with the name L. brachyrrhyncha and the alleged endemic L. jamaicensis in fact represents the SE Asian L. indica, introduced to Jamaica.Citation: Jones K. E., Schilling E. E., Dias E. F. & Kilian N. 2018: Northern Hemisphere disjunctions in Lactuca (Cichorieae, Asteraceae): independent Eurasia to North America migrations and allopolyploidization. – Willdenowia 48: 259–284. doi: https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.48.48206Version of record first published online on 24 August 2018 ahead of inclusion in August 2018 issue.

(New) Species concepts, species delimitation and the inherent limitations of taxonomy

The species problem, despite decades of heated debates, has not been resolved yet. Recently, two new species concepts have been published, the mitonuclear compatibility species concept and the inclusive species concept. I briefly discuss them, together with a recent attempt at standardizing taxonomic decisions, in the broader framework of what I believe is an inherent limitation of taxonomy-imposing a discrete system on a continuous process (evolution) that leads to fuzzy boundaries in nature. In the light of this, taxonomists, biologists in general and conservationists alike will have to accept the fact that completely nonarbitrary species delimitation is impossible. This has serious ramifications in all disciplines that rely on species, and particularly species counts, as a basic currency for quantitative analyses (ecology, evolutionary biology) and practical decision-making (conservation and environmental policy).

Some comments on the taxonomy of Delphinium (Ranunculaceae) in western Oregon

In preparing the treatment of Delphinium for a future volume of Flora of Oregon, some taxonomic decisions were made that conflict with the 1997 treatment of the genus by Warnock in Flora of North America. The choice of groups to be recognized is based on the present author’s opinion that rapid evolution of Delphinium taxa occurred in the Willamette Valley following habitat disturbance caused by catastrophic flooding from the late-glacial-age Spokane Floods. Delphinium pavonaceum Ewan, D. leucophaeum Greene, and D. oreganum Howell, which are endemic to the Willamette Valley, may have evolved in the ca. 12,000 years since the floods occurred. These 3 groups are here given species rank, unlike their treatment in Flora of North America. This is in line with how the taxa are viewed by Oregon botanists concerned with the rare and endangered species of the state. Lectotypification is necessary for D. pavonaceum. A further taxonomic change is the reduction of D. basalticum M.J. Warnock to synonymy under D. glareosum Greene.

Computational molecular species delimitation and taxonomic revision of the gecko genus Ebenavia Boettger, 1878.

Cryptic species have been detected in many groups of organisms and must be assumed to make up a significant portion of global biodiversity. We study geckos of the Ebenavia inunguis complex from Madagascar and surrounding islands and use species delimitation algorithms (GMYC, BOLD, BPP), COI barcode divergence, diagnostic codon indels in the nuclear marker PRLR, diagnostic categorical morphological characters, and significant differences in continuous morphological characters for its taxonomic revision. BPP yielded ≥ 10 operational taxonomic units, whereas GMYC (≥ 27) and BOLD (26) suggested substantial oversplitting. In consequnce, we resurrect Ebenavia boettgeri Boulenger 1885 and describe Ebenavia tuelinae sp. nov., Ebenavia safari sp. nov., and Ebenavia robusta sp. nov., increasing the number of recognised species in Ebenavia from two to six. Further lineages of Ebenavia retrieved by BPP may warrant species or subspecies status, but further taxonomic conclusions arepostponed until more data become available. Finally, we present an identification key to the genus Ebenavia, provide an updated distribution map, and discuss the diagnostic values of computational species delimitation as well as morphological and molecular diagnostic characters.

A Psycholexical Classification of Ukrainian Descriptors of Individual Differences

Abstract The aim of the psycholexical study was to classify the terms describing individual differences in the Ukrainian language. Method. To accomplish this objective, we analysed 220,000 entries included in a universal dictionary of Ukrainian and identified 20,024 terms – adjectives, participles, type-nouns, and attribute-nouns – used to describe human characteristics. The identified person-descriptive terms were classified by a team of five trained judges into 13 categories and subcategories. The judges’ taxonomic decisions were tested for validity and interjudge agreement. Results. This procedure yielded lists of Ukrainian personality descriptors, consisting, respectively, of 2,426 adjectives, 2,255 participles, 1,653 attribute-nouns, and 1,474 type-nouns. The analysis of semantic redundancy of terms representing different parts of speech but having the same common morpheme among dispositional descriptors identified a total of 1,634 morphemes that differed in terms of meaning. The analysis identified 212 (22.0% of morphemes) type-nouns that could not be replaced by any different part of speech with the same morpheme to describe the same personality trait. Conclusions. Ukrainian personality lexicon has a comparable or higher diversity of personality-descriptive vocabulary, attested to by the presence of 96% Big Factors markers from international comparative analyses of psycholexical structures of natural languages. The results of the study contribute to the debate on universals in the description of individual differences and constitute the basis for future questionnaire-based studies aimed at identifying the psycholexical structure of the Ukrainian language.

Current knowledge on bioacoustics of the subfamily Lophyohylinae (Hylidae, Anura) and description of Ocellated treefrog Itapotihyla langsdorffii vocalizations.

BackgroundAnuran vocalizations, such as advertisement and release calls, are informative for taxonomy because species recognition can be based on those signals. Thus, a proper acoustic description of the calls may support taxonomic decisions and may contribute to knowledge about amphibian phylogeny.MethodsHere we present a perspective on advertisement call descriptions of the frog subfamily Lophyohylinae, through a literature review and a spatial analysis presenting bioacoustic coldspots (sites with high diversity of species lacking advertisement call descriptions) for this taxonomic group. Additionally, we describe the advertisement and release calls of the still poorly known treefrog, Itapotihyla langsdorffii. We analyzed recordings of six males using the software Raven Pro 1.4 and calculated the coefficient of variation for classifying static and dynamic acoustic properties.Results and DiscussionWe found that more than half of the species within the subfamily do not have their vocalizations described yet. Most of these species are distributed in the western and northern Amazon, where recording sampling effort should be strengthened in order to fill these gaps. The advertisement call of I. langsdorffii is composed of 3–18 short unpulsed notes (mean of 13 ms long), presents harmonic structure, and has a peak dominant frequency of about 1.4 kHz. This call usually presents amplitude modulation, with decreasing intensity along the sequence of notes. The release call is a simple unpulsed note with an average duration of 9 ms, and peak dominant frequency around 1.8 kHz. Temporal properties presented higher variations than spectral properties at both intra- and inter-individual levels. However, only peak dominant frequency was static at intra-individual level. High variability in temporal properties and lower variations related to spectral ones is usual for anurans; The first set of variables is determined by social environment or temperature, while the second is usually related to species-recognition process. Here we review and expand the acoustic knowledge of the subfamily Lophyohylinae, highlighting areas and species for future research.

Better governance will lead to better taxonomy: response to Raposo et al. (2017).

We welcome the recent paper by Raposo et al. (2017) debating our Nature Comment on inadequacies in taxonomic governance and the impact this has on conservation and society (Garnett Christidis 2017), as well as the opportunity to clarify our views. We admit to surprise at meanings read into our paper by Raposo et al. (2017) that we never intended and that we had not thought were there. As we have also made clear in a separate discussion of our paper (Garnett Christidis 2018 in response to Thomson et al. 2018), we wish to make clear at the start: (i) that we have no wish to stifle taxonomic research, only to strengthen the legitimacy of its findings; and (ii) we believe that taxonomic research should not consider the consequences for conservation, or society, in its conclusions once transparent taxonomic criteria have been established (Garnett Christidis 2007), but that taxonomists have an obligation to improve their governance to ensure taxonomic conclusions are of the highest standard.

Systematic and morphogeometric analyses of Pachyrukhinae (Mammalia, Hegetotheriidae) from the HuayquerÍas, Mendoza (Argentina): biostratigraphic and evolutionary implications

ABSTRACT We present new remains of Pachyrukhinae (Hegetotheriidae) from the Huayquerías del Este (Mendoza, Argentina). We identify Tremacyllus impressus, proposing T. subdiminutus as a synonym and providing new data on postcranial bones for this taxon. Tremacyllus specimens from Mendoza reveal a wide and continuous morphological variation that encompasses the morphological differences of species previously considered valid, emphasizing the need for a systematic study focused on all representatives of the genus. We also recognize Paedotherium typicum, which shows a combination of features differing from other species of the genus. The large sample allows us to improve the diagnosis for both the genus Tremacyllus and the species T. impressus and P. typicum. Both species coexist in the Huayquerías Formation; T. impressus is also present in the Tunuyán Formation, whereas the specimens recognized as Paedotherium in this unit were not identifiable at species level. Applying geometric morphometric methods on the dentition, we partially support the taxonomic decisions. We present the first phylogenetic analysis including all the species of Tremacyllus and Paedotherium, using morphological characters of skull and postcranium. According to our results, Tremacyllus is a monophyletic group supported by two synapomorphies, whereas Paedotherium is paraphyletic, in agreement with the prior hypothesis. The record of Paedotherium typicum presented here extends the biochron of this taxon into the late Miocene, which is relevant for establishing biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic affinities with other Miocene localities. SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP Citation for this article: Vera, B., and M. D. Ercoli. 2018. Systematic and morphogeometric analyses of Pachyrukhinae (Mammalia, Hegetotheriidae) from the Huayquerías, Mendoza (Argentina): biostratigraphic and evolutionary implications. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2018.1473410.

New hominin postcranial remains from locality OMO 323, Shungura Formation, Lower Omo Valley, southwestern Ethiopia

Postcranial bones may provide valuable information about fossil taxa relating to their locomotor habits, manipulative abilities and body sizes. Distinctive features of the postcranial skeleton are sometimes noted in species diagnoses. Although numerous isolated postcranial fossils have become accepted by many workers as belonging to a particular species, it is worthwhile revisiting the evidence for each attribution before including them in comparative samples in relation to the descriptions of new fossils, functional analyses in relation to particular taxa, or in evolutionary contexts. Although some workers eschew the taxonomic attribution of postcranial fossils as being less important (or interesting) than interpreting their functional morphology, it is impossible to consider the evolution of functional anatomy in a taxonomic and phylogenetic vacuum. There are 21 widely recognized hominin taxa that have been described from sites in Africa dated from the Late Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene; postcranial elements have been attributed to 17 of these. The bones that have been thus assigned range from many parts of a skeleton to isolated elements. However, the extent to which postcranial material can be reliably attributed to a specific taxon varies considerably from site to site and species to species, and is often the subject of considerable debate. Here, we review the postcranial remains attributed to African hominin taxa from the Late Miocene to the Middle and Late Pleistocene and place these assignations into categories of reliability. The catalog of attributions presented here may serve as a guide for making taxonomic decisions in the future.

Revision of Aploparaksis Clerc, 1903 (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea, Aploparaksidae), with keys to the species of the genus

This article reviews the primary results of a taxonomic revision of species of the genus Aploparaksis Clerc, 1903 (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea: Aploparaksidae), which are widespread parasites of birds. We consolidate a deep, primarily Russian, literature that has not been easily accessible, including insights from the recent monograph of Bondarenko & Kontrimavichus (2006a). A revision of Aploparaksis has been based on an extensive review of the literature and on the study of diverse specimens from the Palearctic (Lithuania, European and Asian parts of Russia) and the Nearctic (Alaska) regions assembled from our field collections. We also conducted the re-examination of type and voucher specimens from various museums and institutions in Russia, Europe, and the USA, and material from the personal collections of several scientists. Taxonomic conclusions in the revision combine observations of morphological characters for adults and data regarding metacestode ontogeny and life cycles of 36 species of Aploparaksis. The validity of 58 species of Aploparaksis among the 102 described is confirmed. Summaries for each valid species include: taxonomic synonyms, a range of both definitive and intermediate hosts (if known), site within the hosts, geographical distributions, morphological modifications of the cysticercoid, and a short specific diagnosis with illustrations of the principal characteristics. Collection numbers of specimens deposited in museums are provided for each species. Within the genus, two phylogenetic lineages differing in the topography of female gonads have been recognized: the nominotypical subgenus Aploparaksis (Aploparaksis) Clerc, 1903, with the female gonads arranged along the longitudinal axis of the proglottid, and Aploparaksis (Tanureria) Spassky et Yurpalova, 1968, with the female gonads disposed in a transverse row in the median field of the proglottid. Diagnoses of subgenera and identification keys to their species are presented. A list of invalid species with brief comments regarding each of them is also given. The taxonomic value of ontogenetic features and complex issues concerning the definition of Aploparaksis are discussed.

Taxonomy and biogeography ofHemphillia(Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Arionidae) in North American rainforests, with description of a new species (Skade’s jumping-slug,Hemphillia skadeisp. nov.)

Species diversity of the genus Hemphillia Bland and W.G. Binney, 1872 (jumping-slugs) was studied across its range in western North America’s inland temperate rainforests. The taxonomic relationships among jumping-slug populations were clarified by integrating morphological, molecular, and biogeographic approaches. A new species, Skade’s jumping-slug (Hemphillia skadei sp. nov.), was discovered in this process and is described herein. We base this taxonomic decision on molecular comparison of representatives from other Hemphillia species and four morphological characters that distinguish H. skadei from its sister species, the pale jumping-slug (Hemphillia camelus Pilsbry and Vanatta, 1897). The distribution of H. skadei and H. camelus is described along with the notable lack of detection of the marbled jumping-slug (Hemphillia danielsi Vanatta, 1914) within the primary survey area.

Phylogenetic position of Iranian pitvipers (Viperidae, Crotalinae, Gloydius) inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences

A data-set representing 10 of the 14 species of pitvipers in the genus Gloydius was assembled based on the NCBI database to explore the phylogenetic relationships within the genus, with an emphasis on Iranian populations. A fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was sequenced for 16 specimens of Iranian pitvipers from five locations, and the sequences were added to a final data-set comprising 65 specimens. The Iranian populations belong to a clade containing G. intermedius, G. halys, G. saxatilis, and G. shedaoensis with unresolved within-clade relationships. The Iranian pitvipers clustered with G. halys from Kazakhstan, but more definite taxonomic conclusions on the Iranian populations will require the resolution of species limits among G. intermedius, G. halys, G. shedaoensis, and G. saxatilis.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BA396891-654E-47C4-B9F0-5DD77985BFB7

The Hot Spot in a Cold Environment: Puzzling Parvodinium (Peridiniopsidaceae, Peridiniales) from the Polish Tatra Mountains

Because of a great variety of remote localities and cold habitats, the Tatra Mountains are home to many freshwater protist lineages. Dinophytes have been subjected to a number of studies from this area dating mostly to the first half of the 20th century, but their true diversity remains elusive until today. We collected water tow samples at five lakes in the Tatra Mountains in order to establish monoclonal strains. We found four lineages that were distinctive in terms of morphology and DNA sequence data and that could be assigned to peridinialean Parvodinium. These four species can be readily distinguished based on a general shape, size, thecal plate tabulation pattern and presence or absence of an antapical protuberance. The plate overlap pattern is considered conserved at higher taxonomic levels, and the divergent keystone Plate 3' in Parvodinium marciniakii, sp. nov., thus appears as a striking diagnostic character. For taxonomic conclusion, we describe two species new to science and validate three old scientific names (i.e., one species and two varieties). Our study underlines that the biodiversity assessment, particularly of species adapted to cold environments, is anything but completed as shown from remote and unexplored European landscapes such as the Tatra Mountains.

Cytogenetics studies in Hymenaea Clade (Leguminosae, Detarioideae)

The genera Hymenaea L., Guibourtia Benn. and Peltogyne Vog. belong to the Detarioideae subfamily (Leguminosae) and they are supported by phylogenetic studies as a clade which we call here the Hymenaea clade. Representatives of this clade are mainly recognized by their resin production capability and the bifoliolate leaves. Hymenaea and Guibourtia currently comprise about 23 and 14 species, distributed mainly in the Neotropical region and the African continent respectively. Peltogyne comprises ca. 24 species, all of them restricted to the New World. Even with this biogeographical pattern and an evident difficulty in the delimitation of taxa, especially at an infrageneric level, the knowledge on cytological characteristics for the group is scarce and restricted only to chromosome number. Thus, this work aims to provide karyotype data for taxa from the Hymenaea clade, helping further taxonomic and evolutionary studies that are being developed. After the cataloging of the data available in the literature we observed that apparently, the predominant chromosome number in the Detarioideae subfamily is 2n=24 but, within the Hymenaea clade this information is available only for 11 species of Hymenaea and two species of Guibourtia. Other cytogenetic approaches as CMA/DAPI and FISH analyses have never been applied for the clade. The seeds of 11 taxa (three Guibourtia, seven Hymenaea and one Peltogyne) were collected in several regions of Brazil. We observed some variations in numbers of chromosome, CMA+ bands and rDNA sites. Representatives of the Hymenaea clade presented predominantly 2n=24 (except G. coleosperma - 2n=48), two pairs of CMA+ bands (except G. coleosperma and G. conjugata with one pair, and H. altissima Ducke with three pairs), one pair of rDNA 5S (except P. pauciflora, with two pairs), and one pair of rDNA 45S. Despite the apparent karyotype stability among taxa from the three genera, some finds support important ideas as the possible non-monophyly of Guibourtia, since species as G. coleosperma and G. conjugata belong to different lineages as pointed by ongoing phylogentic studies. More taxa are being investigated to improve the support for clades and for taxonomic decisions.

Incipient speciation in a neotropical Gesneriaceae: Columnea kucyniakii is nested within C. strigosa

Speciation is an ongoing process. Many recognized species are fully divergent from each other and their ancestors, whereas others are in earlier stages in the diversification process. Such incipient speciation may create patterns when one or a few populations are phenotypically distinct, but lack genomic level coalescence from each other or from their ancestral species. As a result, such progenitor-derivative species pairs are likely to lack reciprocal monophyly or generate paraphyletic ancestral species. Here we examine phylogenetic patterns in the Columnea strigosa (Gesneriaceae) complex to evaluate whether populations that have been named C. kucyniakii are reciprocally monophyletic with C. strigosa, its presumed ancestral species. Molecular phylogenetic results do not support reciprocal monophyly of the two species, implying that incipient speciation is occurring within the C. strigosa complex. We hereby recommend that C. kucyniakii be recognized at the specific rank despite the fact that it creates a paraphyletic C. strigosa. These findings bear importance in taxonomic decisions about paraphyletic taxa and recognizing evolutionary and morphologically distinct lineages.

Untangling phylogenetic patterns and taxonomic confusion in tribe Caryophylleae (Caryophyllaceae) with special focus on generic boundaries

AbstractAssigning correct names to taxa is a challenging goal in the taxonomy of many groups within the Caryophyllaceae. This challenge is most serious in tribe Caryophylleae since the supposed genera seem to be highly artificial, and the available morphological evidence cannot effectively be used for delimitation and exact determination of taxa. The main goal of the present study was to re–assess the monophyly of the genera currently recognized in this tribe using molecular phylogenetic data. We used the sequences of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the chloroplast gene rps16 for 135 and 94 accessions, respectively, representing all 16 genera currently recognized in the tribe Caryophylleae, with a rich sampling of Gypsophila as one of the most heterogeneous groups in the tribe. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference methods. The results show that most of the large genera of Caryophylleae are not monophyletic. As a result, we propose a new classification system matching both molecular phylogenetic and morphological evidence. The main taxonomic conclusions include: (1) the description of three new genera, (2) treating five small genera as synonyms, (3) resurrecting the genus Heterochroa with six species, and (4) proposing 23 new combinations plus 2 replacement names at the specific level. As a result, we recognize 14 genera in Caryophylleae. A diagnostic key to all genera of Caryophylleae is provided.

Taxonomic annotation of public fungal ITS sequences from the built environment - a report from an April 10-11, 2017 workshop (Aberdeen, UK).

Recent DNA-based studies have shown that the built environment is surprisingly rich in fungi. These indoor fungi – whether transient visitors or more persistent residents – may hold clues to the rising levels of human allergies and other medical and building-related health problems observed globally. The taxonomic identity of these fungi is crucial in such pursuits. Molecular identification of the built mycobiome is no trivial undertaking, however, given the large number of unidentified, misidentified, and technically compromised fungal sequences in public sequence databases. In addition, the sequence metadata required to make informed taxonomic decisions – such as country and host/substrate of collection – are often lacking even from reference and ex-type sequences. Here we report on a taxonomic annotation workshop (April 10–11, 2017) organized at the James Hutton Institute/University of Aberdeen (UK) to facilitate reproducible studies of the built mycobiome. The 32 participants went through public fungal ITS barcode sequences related to the built mycobiome for taxonomic and nomenclatural correctness, technical quality, and metadata availability. A total of 19,508 changes – including 4,783 name changes, 14,121 metadata annotations, and the removal of 99 technically compromised sequences – were implemented in the UNITE database for molecular identification of fungi (https://unite.ut.ee/) and shared with a range of other databases and downstream resources. Among the genera that saw the largest number of changes were Penicillium, Talaromyces, Cladosporium, Acremonium, and Alternaria, all of them of significant importance in both culture-based and culture-independent surveys of the built environment.

Species limits and taxonomic revision of the bracteate-prostrate group of southern hemisphere forget-me-nots (Myosotis, Boraginaceae), including description of three new species endemic to New Zealand

A taxonomic revision of southern hemisphere bracteate-prostrate forget-me-nots (Myosotis L., Boraginaceae) is presented here. The group comprises mostly species endemic to New Zealand plus the South American Myosotis antarctica Hook.f. (also Campbell Island) and M. albiflora Hook.f. The statistical analyses of morphological data from herbarium specimens reported here support recognition of five main subgroups on the basis of habit. Excluding the M. pygmaea Colenso species group (M. antarctica, M. brevis de Lange & Barkla, M. drucei (L.B.Moore) de Lange & Barkla, M. glauca (G.Simpson & J.S.Thomson) de Lange & Barkla, and M. pygmaea), which is being treated elsewhere, 14 species are recognised in the following four remaining subgroups: (1) creeping-species group: M. matthewsii L.B.Moore, M. chaffeyorum Lehnebach, M. spatulata G.Forst., M. tenericaulis Petrie, and M. albiflora; (2) cushion-species group: M. uniflora Hook.f., M. pulvinaris Hook.f., and M. glabrescens L.B.Moore; (3) M. cheesemanii + M. colensoi species group: M. cheesemanii Petrie and M. colensoi J.F.Macbr.; and (4) M. lyallii species group: M. lyallii Hook.f. and new species M. retrorsa Meudt, Prebble & Hindmarsh-Walls. New species Myosotis umbrosa Meudt, Prebble & Thorsen and M. bryonoma Meudt, Prebble & Thorsen do not fit comfortably within these subgroups. Myosotis elderi L.B.Moore is treated as M. lyallii subsp. elderi (L.B.Moore) Meudt & Prebble. For each of the 14 species revised here, a key to species, descriptions, phenology, distributions, maps, illustrations, specimens examined and notes are provided. Some specimens examined do not fit within these species and require additional comparative studies, including with certain ebracteate-erect species, before taxonomic decisions can be made. Future research on these and other southern hemisphere Myosotis should incorporate the morphological data presented here, with additional genetic, cytological, pollen, and other data in an integrative systematic framework.