Fournier J., Lechat C., Van Vooren N., Chaduli D., Favel A.
Vol. 16 (2) – 15 mai 2024
doi: 10.25664/art-0388
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Abstract: During just over three weeks of fieldwork spanning over three years, carried out in Saül, French Guiana, as part of a multi-disciplinary fungal inventory, we revealed a very high level of diversity in the Hypoxylon genus. This diversity resulted mainly from the large number of previously unpublished species we encountered, and has significantly enriched our knowledge of this genus in French Guiana, complementing a previous study published in 2015.
The 141 Hypoxylon collections made during this fieldwork enabled us to highlight the presence of 41 distinct species, based on morphological characters, characteristics of the cultures and the analysis of ITS sequences obtained from the cultures. Of these, 22 are known species represented by 75 collections, and nine are new to French Guiana. The remaining 66 collections correspond to 19 previously unknown species, listed in Table 27. The study of known species, supported in some cases by the examination of types, has enabled us to redefine the taxonomic concepts of H. dieckmannii, H. gilbertsonii and H. hypomiltum. The latter is epitypified. All known species are likewise documented insofar as our collections provide new data on intraspecific variations. The study of new species has shown the existence and importance of new morphological differential characters concerning perispore ornamentation in seven species and the presence of black corpuscles (“nuclei”) at the base of perithecia of H. investiens and three closely related species. Hypoxylon hepaticolor, collected in Saül during this study but published in 2020, is documented again in view of additional collections since its publication. Hypoxylon garyi is described on the basis of a collection made in Saül in 1986 by Gary Samuels, which has not been found since. ITS sequences were obtained from 14 known species and 13 new species and deposited at GenBank. The phylogenetic relationships of the new species are presented in a global ITS-based phylogram and commented separately for each species.
The following presents the results of an inventorial survey aimed at evaluating fungal biodiversity in the vicinity of the village of Saül, located in the central part of French Guiana. Saül was founded at the very beginning of the 20th century during the gold rush in this region. It enjoys a humid equatorial climate with an annual rainfall between 2000 and 2500 mm and an altitude ranging from 200 to 300 m except for some higher hills up to 640 m. The village is isolated, sparsely populated, not accessible by road […]