Glomeromycota PHYLOGENY

Phylogeny and taxonomy of Glomeromycota ('arbuscular mycorrhizal [AM] and related fungi')

Dear scientists and curious non-scientists,

because of keeping this site on a free, private base, during the last years, and because of recent very large changes in the systematics / taxonomy of AM fungi (some are hard to understand), we cannot keep this page up to date anymore and we will shut down this page soon (until end of 2024).

Note that the following data may be outdated - from the formal point of view. 

There is still inflation of taxa, more end more genera that contain one or some species only, etc. I do not understand why people in this field work like that, a development that started with announcements at the times around the ICOM in Brazil. We have so many of unnecessary taxa, now, making it hardly possible to use a reasonable hierarchy in communication about this important fungal group. Future will show, which sense this makes.  

In the AMF taxonomy section you find the recent taxonomy and systematics of AM fungi.

In the AMF species list you find a list with all valid (and some invalid) species names, with links to pdf-files of formal descriptions and emendations, providing copyright clearance.

For taxonomy / systematics, see the Botanical Code and to Index Fungorum.

Some 'historical' phylogenetic trees:

4) The classification of the Glomeromycota in 2013
3) The classification of the Glomeromycota in 2010
2) Families in the order Diversisporales 2004
1) Non-monoyphyletic 'genus' Glomus & 'Glomus Group' (GlGrA, B, C) terminology 2001

4) Classification of Glomeromycota as reviewed and formalized by Redecker et al. (2013) (modified from Redecker et al. 2013). Genera marked by asterisks are questionable with respect to data used for description and/or with respect to phylogenetic position.

3) Phylogenetic tree (SSU rRNA gene, near full length sequences) implementing changes in the taxonomy and classification of the Glomeromycota (Schüßler and Walker 2010). Some frequently studied 'model species' are shown with their new names, in a 'natural' (phylogeny based) classification. For example, the model AM fungus 'Glomus versiforme BEG47' is Diversispora epigaea BEG47 and 'Glomus intraradices DAOM197198' is Rhizophagus irregularis DAOM197198.
We want to mention, that these changes are the result of a relatively conservative attempt. We tried to keep the number of new taxa as low as possible. However, mis-identifications and mis-synonymisations that had never been investigated in detail before needed to be corrected, and our long proposed (Schwarzott et al. 2001) split of the Glomerales was now necessary, to base research on AM fungi on an evolutionary framework. The anchoring of the genus Glomus could only very recently be fixed by culturing and characterising its generic type species, Glomus macrocarpum.

2) New classification of the Diversisporales (2004). The new families Pacisporaceae and Diversisporaceae contain species formerly described as 'Glomus'. The numbers above the branch show the support (NJ,MP,ML,ML-QP analysis, respectively) of the sister-group relationship of Pacisporaceae (= Gerdemanniaceae) and Gigasporaceae, see: Walker C, Blaszkowski L, Schwarzott D, Schüßler A (2004) Gerdemannia gen. nov., a genus separated from Glomus, and Gerdemanniaceae fam. nov., a new family in the Glomeromycota. Mycological Research 108(6): 707-718 [full text paper is linked from the 'species list']; Walker C, Schüßler A (2004) Nomenclatural clarifications and new taxa in the Glomeromycota. Mycological Research 108: 981-982 [full text paper is linked from the 'species list']. Note the 'old' names for some Glomus species, in the tree (see more recent data for correct names, e.g., BEG47 is Diversispora epigaea).

A remark: A paper describing the genus Gerdemannia and the family Gerdemanniaceae was submitted while the same genus was described as Pacispora (erroneously in the Glomeraceae). This happened despite the authors of Pacispora knew that we were in process of publishing Gerdemannia (by a public talk and email) before both publications were submitted, but not the other way around. We did not know anything about their intention to describe the same group of fungi and, despite the evidence of the need for a different higher taxon placing, we were not informed by any plans to publish the same genus under a different name, until the Pacispora paper was in press and announced as such, by email. At that point our Gerdemannia paper was also in press, and could not be withdrawn any more (we tried to do so!). We are sorry for any inconvenience, but from our side everything that could have avoided this parallel description was communicated, so this was just not in our hands. We could not even modify our paper by changing the taxon names by a note added in proof (to adopt to the Pacispora paper nomenclature), because the Pacispora authors did not even agree to show us their manuscript when it was in press. Therefore, the Pacispora paper was published shortly before Gerdemannia, and therefore the genus name Gerdemannia is a later synonym of Pacispora and the latter takes precedence.
Consequently, Pacispora is the correct generic name to be used for the former Glomus scintillans, G. dominikii, G. chimonobambusae, and similar organisms, see: Walker C, Schüßler A (2004) Nomenclatural clarifications and new taxa in the Glomeromycota. Mycological Research 108: 981-982 [full text paper linked from the 'species list'].

1) Phylogenetic tree of AM fungi with focus on the non-monoyphyletic 'genus' Glomus (2001), already indicating the structure (different Glomus Groups in different families) recently formalised in Schüßler and Walker (2010). Schwarzott D, Walker C, Schüßler A (2001) Glomus, the largest genus of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomales), is non-monophyletic. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 21: 190-197 Abstract, 'downloads'. Note the 'old' names for some Glomus species (see more recent data for correct names, e.g., BEG47 is Diversispora epigaea).