Filogenia e biogeografia de espécies neotropicais de geastrum (basidiomycota): seção myceliostroma, subseção epigaea

Abstract

Knowledge about Neotropical gasteroid fungi has been increased nowadays, although new species are frequently described from this region. However, there is no biogeographic or evolutionary studies about these fungi. Neotropical mophoclimatic domains have been contiguous in the past. Geastrum was chosen as a model for testing the influence of the Neotropical biogeographical evolution over fungal diversification, because it is the better sampled gasteroid fungi in this region. Diversity within subsect. Epigaea was assessed through morphological and molecular analysis (ITS and LSU nrDNA). Six new species are proposed, G. baculicrystallum, G. brunneocapillatum, G. courtecuissei G. neoamericanum, G. rubellum e G. rubropusillum. Divergence times between clades where estimated through fossil calibration of molecular clock in a concatenated (ITS/LSU nrDNA) dataset. Ancestral biogeographic reconstruction, haplotypic distribution through S-DIVA algorithm from one of the new species, along with the divergence times, corroborate the hypothesis that environmental changes shaped current Neotropical morphoclimatic domains meanwhile influenced irradiation of Neotropical Geastrum species in subsect. Epigaea.