Parascedosporium and its relatives: phylogeny and ecological trends

The genus Seedosporiurn and its relatives comprising microascalean anamorphs with slimy conidia were studied. Graphiurn and Paraseedosporiurn also belong to this complex, while teleomorphs are found in Pseudalleseheria, Petriella, Petriellopsis, and Lophotriehus. Species complexes were clearly resolved by rDNA ITS sequencing. Significantly different ecological trends were observed between resolved species aggregates. The Pseudalleseheria and Seedosporiurn pro/ifieans clades were the only lineages with a marked opportunistic potential to mammals, while Petriella species were associated primarily with soil enriched by, e.g.dung. A consistent association with bark beetles was observed in the Graphiurn clade. The ex-type strain of Rhinoe/adiurn /esnei, CBS 108.10 was incorrectly implicated by Vuillemin (1910) in a case of human mycetoma; its sequence was identical to that of the ex-type strain of Paraseedosporiurn teetonae, CBS 127.84.