Phylogenetic investigations in the genus Coprinus based on morphological and molecular characters

Phylogenetic relationships among species of Coprinus and closely related taxa were studied using molecular and morphological data. Four studies were carried out. In the first study 7 taxa in Coprinus, 5 potential sister group taxa from the Bolbitiaceae and Strophariaceae, and 2 secotioid taxa were investigated. Restriction analysis was carried out on the nuclear gene encoding the large ribosomal subunit RNA and the internally transcribed spacer region II. A total of 153 sites were mapped of which 54 were phylogenetically informative. Six equally-most parsimonious networks were resolved using cladistic methods. In the second study relationships among 24 isolates from section Lanatuli were investigated. Isolates were separated into 6 intersterility groups. Sequence data was generated for the 24 isolates and for 2 outgroup taxa, Agrocybe praecox and Psathyrella gracilis, from the nuclear gene encoding the large ribosomal subunit RNA. Using a strict consensus tree of 20 equally-most parsimonious trees, isolates could be grouped into 6 terminal clades each supported by bootstrap proportions greater than 90%. These clades could be ranked as species on the basis of their delimitation through intersterility studies. In the third study phylogenetic relationships were investigated in 47 species of Coprinus, 17 additional species from the families Coprinaceae, Strophariaceae, Bolbitiaceae, and Agaricaceae, and two secotioid taxa believed to be closely related to Coprinus. Sequence analysis was carried out on portions of the nuclear gene coding for the large ribosomal subunit RNA. A total of 1,360 sites were sequenced across 7 divergent domains. A total of 302 phylogenetically informative characters were found. Ninety-eight percent of the average divergence between taxa was located within the divergent domains. Domains D2 and D8 were the most divergent while domains D7 and D10 were the least divergent. A strict consensus integration of the 2 equally-most parsimonious trees demonstrates that the genus Coprinus is made up of 3 clades. In the fourth study phylogenetic relationships in the genus Coprinus were investigated using morphological and molecular characters. Parsimony-based phylogenetic analysis of 47 morphological characters, using a subset of the taxa from the third study, produced 11895 equally-most parsimonious trees 284 steps long. A consensus tree had little resolution but did show a relationship between Leucocoprinus, section Comati, and the 2 secotioid taxa as in the 1st and 3rd studies. The 47 morphological and the 1360 sequence characters from the 3rd study were combined and analyzed. Three equally-most parsimonious trees each 1800 steps long were produced. Relationships were very similar to those from a molecular analysis alone. Marked changes were seen, however, in bootstrap proportions. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...