10.5061/DRYAD.VX0K6DJQ5
Irwin, Nicholas
0000-0002-8992-0617
University of Oxford
Twynstra, Chantelle
University of British Columbia
Mathur, Varsha
University of British Columbia
Keeling, Patrick
University of British Columbia
Data from: The molecular phylogeny of Chionaster nivalis reveals a novel
order of psychrophilic and globally distributed Tremellomycetes (Fungi,
Basidiomycota)
Dryad
dataset
2020
FOS: Biological sciences
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
https://ror.org/006wxqw41
GBMF9201
2021-03-01T00:00:00Z
2021-03-01T00:00:00Z
en
237752 bytes
6
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Snow and ice present challenging substrates for cellular growth, yet
microbial snow communities not only exist, but are diverse and
ecologically impactful. These communities are dominated by green algae,
but additional organisms, such as fungi, are also abundant and may be
important for nutrient cycling, syntrophic interactions, and community
structure in general. However, little is known about these non-algal
community members, including their taxonomic affiliations. An example of
this is Chionaster nivalis, a unicellular fungus that is morphologically
enigmatic and frequently observed in snow communities globally. Despite
being described over one hundred years ago, the phylogeny and higher-level
taxonomic classifications of C. nivalis remain unknown. Here, we isolated
and sequenced the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the D1-D2 region
of the large subunit ribosomal RNA gene of C. nivalis, providing a
molecular barcode for future studies. Phylogenetic analyses using the ITS
and D1-D2 region revealed that C. nivalis is part of a novel lineage in
the class Tremelomycetes (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycotina) for which a new
order, Chionasterales ord. nov. (MB838717), and family, Chionasteraceae
fam. nov. (MB838718), are proposed. Comparisons between C. nivalis and
sequences generated from environmental surveys revealed that the
Chionasterales are globally distributed and probably psychrophilic, as
they appear to be limited to the high alpine and arctic regions. These
results highlight the unexplored diversity that exists within these
extreme habitats and emphasize the utility of single-cell approaches in
characterizing these complex algal-dominated communities.
Included are the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and D1-D2 (LSU)
sequences forĀ Chionaster nivalisĀ as well as the alignments and phylogenies
presented in the mansucript. Data files have been organized based on which
figures they were used in.