Diversity of Marine-Derived Fungal Cultures Exposed by DNA Barcodes: The Algorithm Matters

PLoS One. 2015 Aug 26;10(8):e0136130. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136130. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Marine fungi are an understudied group of eukaryotic microorganisms characterized by unresolved genealogies and unstable classification. Whereas DNA barcoding via the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) provides a robust and rapid tool for fungal species delineation, accurate classification of fungi is often arduous given the large number of partial or unknown barcodes and misidentified isolates deposited in public databases. This situation is perpetuated by a paucity of cultivable fungal strains available for phylogenetic research linked to these data sets. We analyze ITS barcodes produced from a subsample (290) of 1781 cultured isolates of marine-derived fungi in the Bioresources Library located at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). Our analysis revealed high levels of under-explored fungal diversity. The majority of isolates were ascomycetes including representatives of the subclasses Eurotiomycetidae, Hypocreomycetidae, Sordariomycetidae, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetidae, Xylariomycetidae and Saccharomycetidae. The phylum Basidiomycota was represented by isolates affiliated with the genera Tritirachium and Tilletiopsis. BLAST searches revealed 26 unknown OTUs and 50 isolates corresponding to previously uncultured, unidentified fungal clones. This study makes a significant addition to the availability of barcoded, culturable marine-derived fungi for detailed future genomic and physiological studies. We also demonstrate the influence of commonly used alignment algorithms and genetic distance measures on the accuracy and comparability of estimating Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) by the automatic barcode gap finder (ABGD) method. Large scale biodiversity screening programs that combine datasets using algorithmic OTU delineation pipelines need to ensure compatible algorithms have been used because the algorithm matters.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Animals
  • Biodiversity*
  • DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic*
  • DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / genetics
  • Fungi / classification
  • Fungi / genetics
  • Fungi / isolation & purification*
  • Genetic Variation / genetics*
  • Phylogeny
  • Porifera / microbiology*
  • Seawater / microbiology*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA / methods
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • DNA, Ribosomal Spacer

Grants and funding

NA is supported by the Commonwealth Research and Environment Facilities (CERF) Marine Biodiversity Hub. The CERF program is an Australian Government initiative supporting world class, public good research and is a collaborative partnership between the University of Tasmania, CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Geoscience Australia, Australian Institute of Marine Science and Museum Victoria.