Dataset Information

Species recognition and cryptic species in the Tuber indicum complex.

ABSTRACT: Morphological delimitation of Asian black truffles, including Tuber himalayense, T. indicum, T. sinense, T. pseudohimalayense, T. formosanum and T. pseudoexcavatum, has remained problematic and even phylogenetic analyses have been controversial. In this study, we combined five years of field investigation in China with morphological study and DNA sequences analyses (ITS, LSU and ?-tubulin) of 131 Tuber specimens to show that T. pseudohimalayense and T. pseudoexcavatum are the same species. T. formosanum is a separate species based on its host plants and geographic distribution, combined with minor morphological difference from T. indicum. T. sinense should be treated as a synonym of T. indicum. Our results demonstrate that the present T. indicum, a single described morphological species, should include at least two separate phylogenetic species. These findings are of high importance for truffle taxonomy and reveal and preserve the richness of truffle diversity.

SUBMITTER: Chen J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3030557 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Species recognition and cryptic species in the Tuber indicum complex.

Chen Juan J Guo Shun-Xing SX Liu Pei-Gui PG

PloS one 20110128 1

Morphological delimitation of Asian black truffles, including Tuber himalayense, T. indicum, T. sinense, T. pseudohimalayense, T. formosanum and T. pseudoexcavatum, has remained problematic and even phylogenetic analyses have been controversial. In this study, we combined five years of field investigation in China with morphological study and DNA sequences analyses (ITS, LSU and β-tubulin) of 131 Tuber specimens to show that T. pseudohimalayense and T. pseudoexcavatum are the same species. T. fo ...[more]

PMID: 21297969

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Project description:Tuber spp. are filamentous ascomycetes which establish symbiosis with the roots of trees and shrub species. By virtue of this symbiosis they produce hypogeous ascocarps, known as truffles. Filamentous ascomycetes can reproduce by homothallism or heterothallism depending on the structure and organization of their mating type locus. The first mating type locus in a truffle species has been recently characterized in Tuber melanosporum and it has been shown that this fungus, endemic in Europe, is heterothallic. The availability of sequence information for T. melanosporum mating type genes is seminal to cloning their orthologs from other Tuber species and assessing their reproductive mode. Here we report on the organization of the mating type region in T. indicum, the black truffle species present in Asia, which is the closest relative to T. melanosporum and is characterized by an high level of morphological and genetic variability. The present study shows that T. indicum is also heterothallic. Examination of Asiatic black truffles belonging to different genetic classes, sorted according to the sequence polymorphism of the internal transcribed spacer rDNA region, has revealed sequence variations and rearrangements in both coding and non-coding regions of the mating type locus, to suggest the existence of cryptic species within the T. indicum complex. The presence of transposable elements within or linked to the mating type region suggests a role of these elements in generating the genotypic diversity present among T. indicum strains. Overall, comparative analyses of the mating type locus have thus allowed us to tackle taxonomical and phylogenetic issues within black truffles and make inferences about the evolution of T. melanosporum-T. indicum lineage. Our results are not only of fundamental but also of applied relevance as T. indicum produces edible fruit bodies that are imported also into Europe and thus may represent a biological threat for T. melanosporum.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Chemically mediated prezygotic barriers to reproduction likely play an important role in speciation. In facultatively sexual monogonont rotifers from the Brachionus plicatilis cryptic species complex, mate recognition of females by males is mediated by the Mate Recognition Protein (MRP), a globular glycoprotein on the surface of females, encoded by the mmr-b gene family. In this study, we sequenced mmr-b copies from 27 isolates representing 11 phylotypes of the B. plicatilis species complex, examined the mode of evolution and selection of mmr-b, and determined the relationship between mmr-b genetic distance and mate recognition among isolates. RESULTS:Isolates of the B. plicatilis species complex have 1-4 copies of mmr-b, each composed of 2-9 nearly identical tandem repeats. The repeats within a gene copy are generally more similar than are gene copies among phylotypes, suggesting concerted evolution. Compared to housekeeping genes from the same isolates, mmr-b has accumulated only half as many synonymous differences but twice as many non-synonymous differences. Most of the amino acid differences between repeats appear to occur on the outer face of the protein, and these often result in changes in predicted patterns of phosphorylation. However, we found no evidence of positive selection driving these differences. Isolates with the most divergent copies were unable to mate with other isolates and rarely self-crossed. Overall the degree of mate recognition was significantly correlated with the genetic distance of mmr-b. CONCLUSIONS:Discrimination of compatible mates in the B. plicatilis species complex is determined by proteins encoded by closely related copies of a single gene, mmr-b. While concerted evolution of the tandem repeats in mmr-b may function to maintain identity, it can also lead to the rapid spread of a mutation through all copies in the genome and thus to reproductive isolation. The mmr-b gene is evolving rapidly, and novel alleles may be maintained and increase in frequency via asexual reproduction. Our analyses indicate that mate recognition, controlled by MMR-B, may drive reproductive isolation and allow saltational sympatric speciation within the B. plicatilis cryptic species complex, and that this process may be largely neutral.

Project description:Competition theory states that multiple species should not be able to occupy the same niche indefinitely. Morphologically, similar species are expected to be ecologically alike and exhibit little niche differentiation, which makes it difficult to explain the co-occurrence of cryptic species. Here, we investigated interspecific niche differentiation within a complex of cryptic bumblebee species that co-occur extensively in the United Kingdom. We compared the interspecific variation along different niche dimensions, to determine how they partition a niche to avoid competitive exclusion. We studied the species B. cryptarum, B. lucorum, and B. magnus at a single location in the northwest of Scotland throughout the flight season. Using mitochondrial DNA for species identification, we investigated differences in phenology, response to weather variables and forage use. We also estimated niche region and niche overlap between different castes of the three species. Our results show varying levels of niche partitioning between the bumblebee species along three niche dimensions. The species had contrasting phenologies: The phenology of B. magnus was delayed relative to the other two species, while B. cryptarum had a relatively extended phenology, with workers and males more common than B. lucorum early and late in the season. We found divergent thermal specialisation: In contrast to B. cryptarum and B. magnus, B. lucorum worker activity was skewed toward warmer, sunnier conditions, leading to interspecific temporal variation. Furthermore, the three species differentially exploited the available forage plants: In particular, unlike the other two species, B. magnus fed predominantly on species of heather. The results suggest that ecological divergence in different niche dimensions and spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the environment may contribute to the persistence of cryptic species in sympatry. Furthermore, our study suggests that cryptic species provide distinct and unique ecosystem services, demonstrating that morphological similarity does not necessarily equate to ecological equivalence.

Dataset Information

Species recognition and cryptic species in the Tuber indicum complex.

Publications

Species recognition and cryptic species in the Tuber indicum complex.

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