mycological research 110 (2006) 511– 520 available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mycres Molecular data place Trypetheliaceae in Dothideomycetes Ruth DEL PRADOa, Imke SCHMITTa, Stefanie KAUTZb, Zdenek PALICEc, Robert LU¨ CKINGa, H. Thorsten LUMBSCHa,* aDepartment of Botany, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, U.S.A. bFachbereich Biologie und Geografie, Universita¨t Duisburg-Essen, Campus Essen, Universita¨tsstraße 5, D-45517 Essen, Germany cInstitute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ-25243 Pruhonice, Czech Republic article info abstract Article history: The phylogenetic position of Trypetheliaceae was studied using partial sequences of the Received 15 July 2005 mtSSU and nuLSU rDNA of 100 and 110 ascomycetes, respectively, including 48 newly ob- Accepted 31 August 2005 tained sequences. Our analysis confirms Trypetheliaceae as monophyletic and places the Published online 18 April 2006 family in Dothideomycetes. Pyrenulaceae, which were previously classified with Trypethelia- Corresponding Editor: Martin Grube ceae in Pyrenulales or Melanommatales, are supported as belonging to Chaetothyriomycetes. Monophyly of Pyrenulales, including Trypetheliaceae is rejected using three independent Keywords: test methods. Monophyly of Arthopyreniaceae plus Trypetheliaceae, the two families includ- Ascomycota ing lichen-forming fungi in Dothideomycetes, is also rejected, as well as a placement of Try- Lichens petheliaceae in Pleosporales (incl. Melanommatales). Molecular phylogeny ª 2006 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Pleosporales Pyrenulales Trypethelium Introduction The latter genus has previously been excluded from Trypethe- liaceae by Veˇzda (1968) based on the thin-walled, muriform as- Trypetheliaceae is a medium-sized family of tropical and sub- cospores, and classified in a separate family Laureraceae (Poelt tropical crustose pyrenocarpous mainly lichenized fungi with 1974), but Eriksson (1981) showed that Laureraceae fits well about 200 species (Trevisan 1861; Malme 1924; Letrouit-Galinou into Trypetheliaceae. Subsequently, three additional genera 1957, 1958; Harris 1984, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1998; Makhija & Pat- were described in the family by Aptroot (1991). wardhan 1988, 1993; Aptroot 1991; Aptroot et al. 1997). Most Based on morphological characters, such as bitunicate asci species grow endophloedically on bark and occur in lowland and graphidean ascospores, Trypetheliaceae have always been to submontane tropical rainforests, gallery forests, and man- regarded as closely related to Pyrenulaceae (Barr 1981; Eriksson groves. The family is characterized by bitunicate asci, asco- 1981; Henssen & Jahns 1973; Poelt 1974; Aptroot 1991; Harris spores with angular-wall thickenings and diamond-shaped 1995), and the family is currently placed in Pyrenulales (Eriksson lumina (syngraphidean sensu Sherwood 1981), rather thin et al. 2004). Thus far, molecular data to test this view are scarce. and richly branched and anastomosing pseudoparaphyses, The only molecular study including Trypetheliaceae was published and if present, a Trentepohlia photobiont. Most taxa have asco- by Lutzoni et al. (2004),whoincludedoneTrypethelium sp. se- mata that are concentrated in pseudostroma. Nine genera quence which fell into Dothideomycetes. However, the relation- were placed in this family by Harris (1984), including Laurera. ships lacked support and hence no conclusions were drawn. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: tlumbsch@fieldmuseum.org 0953-7562/$ – see front matter ª 2006 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.mycres.2005.08.013.