Open AccessPseudocospeciation of the mycoparasite Cosmospora with their fungal hosts
Author(s) -
Herrera Cesar S.,
Hirooka Yuuri,
Chaverri Priscila
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.1967
Subject(s) - host (biology) , biology , coevolution , evolutionary biology , parasite hosting , zoology , ecology , world wide web , computer science
Species of C osmospora are parasites of other fungi (mycoparasites), including species belonging to the X ylariales. Based on prior taxonomic work, these fungi were determined to be highly host specific. We suspected that the association of C osmospora and their hosts could not be a result of random chance, and tested the cospeciation of C osmospora and the their hosts with contemporary methods (e.g., ParaFit, PAC o, and Jane). The cophylogeny of Cosmospora and their hosts was found to be congruent, but only host‐parasite links in more recent evolutionary lineages of the host were determined as coevolutionary. Reconciliation reconstructions determined at least five host‐switch events early in the evolution of Cosmospora . Additionally, the rates of evolution between Cosmospora and their hosts were unequal. This pattern is more likely to be explained by pseudocospeciation (i.e., host switches followed by cospeciation), which also produces congruent cophylogenies.