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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Due to cryptic diversification, phenotypic plasticity and host associations, multilocus phylogenetic analyses have become the most important tool in accurately identifying and circumscribing species in the Diaporthe genus. However, the application of the genealogical concordance criterion has often been overlooked, ultimately leading to an exponential increase in novel Diaporthe spp. Due to the large number of species, many lineages remain poorly understood under the so-called species complexes. For this reason, a robust delimitation of the species boundaries in Diaporthe is still an ongoing challenge. Therefore, the present study aimed to resolve the species boundaries of the Diaporthe arecae species complex (DASC) by implementing an integrative taxonomic approach. The Genealogical Phylogenetic Species Recognition (GCPSR) principle revealed incongruences between the individual gene genealogies. Moreover, the Poisson Tree Processes’ (PTPs) coalescent-based species delimitation models identified three well-delimited subclades represented by the species D. arecae, D. chiangmaiensis and D. smilacicola. These results evidence that all species previously described in the D. arecae subclade are conspecific, which is coherent with the morphological indistinctiveness observed and the absence of reproductive isolation and barriers to gene flow. Thus, 52 Diaporthe spp. are reduced to synonymy under D. arecae. Recent population expansion and the possibility of incomplete lineage sorting suggested that the D. arecae subclade may be considered as ongoing evolving lineages under active divergence and speciation. Hence, the genetic diversity and intraspecific variability of D. arecae in the context of current global climate change and the role of D. arecae as a pathogen on palm trees and other hosts are also discussed. This study illustrates that species in Diaporthe are highly overestimated, and highlights the relevance of applying an integrative taxonomic approach to accurately circumscribe the species boundaries in the genus Diaporthe.

Details

Title
Diaporthe Species on Palms: Molecular Re-Assessment and Species Boundaries Delimitation in the D. arecae Species Complex
Author
Pereira, Diana S 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Hilário, Sandra 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Gonçalves, Micael F M 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Phillips, Alan J L 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Faculdade de Ciências, Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; [email protected] 
 Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos s/n, 4450-208 Porto, Portugal; [email protected]; Faculty of Sciences, Biology Department, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, Edifício FC4, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal 
 Faculty of Sciences, Biology Department, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, Edifício FC4, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, Campus Universitário de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal 
First page
2717
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20762607
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2893291588
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.