Sporocarpic species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomeromycota): taxonomy, systematics and evolution
Mycorrhiza, diversity, phylogeny, tropical humid forests, glomerocarp.
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) play a symbiotic mutualistic association with most plant species in the most varied terrestrial ecosystems, however, AMF sporocarp species (the only members of the group with macroscopic structures) have been little investigated and taken into account in the taxonomic studies. This fact is mainly attributed to methodological restrictions. The use of the term sporocarp in the Phylum Glomeromycota is controversial, considering diversity of species that present this habit, a consequence of the complex morphology found in the group, which up to the present moment does not have a comprehensive analysis about the informative characters for the delimitation of species. In addition, 77% of the species recognized as sporocarpous were included exclusively on the basis of morphology data, a fact that makes a phylogenetic systematic of this group limited. Thus, the present study aimed at a morphological and molecular review of the sporocarpous species of AMF through the analysis of morphological data and sequences of SSU, LSU and ITS region of DNA. For this, species deposited in institutional collections and collected in areas belonging to strategic domains such as the Amazon, “Brejos de Altitude” and Atlantic Rainforest were analyzed. A total of 64 specimens from institutional collections were reviewed, of which 6 constituted emendations. In the sampled areas, 17 species were collected, of which 5 new species and a new genus for science. The results obtained allowed to elucidate aspects of the taxonomy, systematics and evolution of the group, including a delimitation of the term sporocarp for the film Glomeromycota, as well as the records of occurrence records for the country, descriptions of taxa and addition of data for use of keys identification.