Xylaria Primers for Phylogenetic Reconstruction
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Date
2015
Authors
Ly, Alicia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Xylaria is a genus of Ascomycete fungi that is comprised of an estimated 400 species.
These species are important to the ecosystems in which they inhabit because they
contribute to the decomposition of wood, which recycles lignin and cellulose. Though
the morphological traits of this genus have been widely studied over the years, their
molecular phylogenetics have not been extensively explored due to the historical
unavailability of species genomes. Now that complete genomes have become available,
there have been an increasing number of ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS)
sequence studies in recent years. However, ITS is too variable to consistently construct
accurate phylogenetic trees, so Xylaria phylogeny is still being researched. This study
explores the use of single-copy genes as an alternative to ITS methods. Here we
present three primer pairs for different single-copy genes for use during future
phylogenetic evaluation of Xylaria. These primers, Splicing Factor PRP43 F1054/R1691,
MCM5 F409/R1059 and 40S Ripro S3Ae F47/R605, are more reliable than ITS sequences
for deeper levels of analysis due to less variability in their sequences. This study
focuses on Xylaria, while utilizing related species within in the Xylariaceae and
Sordariaceae families, providing a promising start to the complete reconstruction of
the Xylaria phylogenetic tree.
Description
26 pages
Keywords
Xylaria, Fungi
Citation
Ly, A. (2015). Xylaria Primers for Phylogenetic Reconstruction. Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal, 9(1). doi:10.5399/uo/ourj.9.1.3