Phylogeny of Pezicula, Dermea and Neofabraea Inferred from Partial Sequences of the Nuclear Ribosomal RNA Gene Cluster

Abstract

The phylogenetic relationship between Pe- zicula, Dermea and Neofabraea species (Dermatea- ceae, Leotiales) was investigated using sequence anal- ysis of part of the 18S ribosomal DNA, the internal transcribed spacer 1, the 5.8S ribosomal DNA and the internal transcribed spacer 2. DNA was isolated from 44 CBS-strains (7 Dermea, 3 Neofabraea and 34 Pezicula species). Parsimony analysis confirmed the morphology-based hypothesis that Ocellaria ocellata should be considered as a true Pezicula species. Fur- thermore, the position of two taxa (Pezicula malicor- ticis and Pe. alnicola) was found to be outside the Pezicula main cluster.