Lecanora is an ultra-diverse genus with about 550 species, with high morphological, anatomical and chemical diversity. Thus far, few phylogenetic studies focusing on species delimitation exist for this genus, and taxonomic knowledge about Lecanora in tropical regions including Brazil is particularly scarce. The objective of this study was to phylogenetically analyze specimens that fit the concept of Lecanora caesiorubella collected in northeastern and southeastern Brazil (Pernambuco, Sergipe, Rio de Janeiro), using the fungal ITS barcoding marker. Lecanora caesiorubella is characterized by a corticolous habit and thickly white-pruinose apothecia, but varies in morphological and chemical details. Thus, we observed morphological characteristics of the thallus and apothecia with Olympus SZX7 and Olympus BX50 scopes with Nomarski interference contrast and analyzed secondary metabolites with thin layer chromatography (TLC). Genomic DNA was extracted and the ITS regions was amplified, purified and sent for sequencing. The obtained sequences were aligned with sequences retrieved from Genbank and a maximum likelihood tree was reconstructed. Lecanora caesiorubella s.str. is represented by two sequences in GenBank, one being from the type region (USA). The sequences from Brazilian material formed three separate clades not closely related to L. caesiorubella s.str., representing three previously unrecognized species. This was confirmed by morphological and chemical differences. The results of this study further support the notion that there is a large amount of cryptic speciation in tropical Lecanora, including the vast extension of Brazil which currently lists about 90 species of this genus. Funding: CNPq.
Complete tool for submission, evaluation and publication of proceedings for scientific events.
