Significant diversity and potential problems associated with inferring population structure within the Cenococcum geophilum species complex

Cenococcum geophilum is perhaps the most widely distributed and most recognized ectomycorrhizal fungus with a host range of more than 200 tree species from 40 genera of both angiosperms and gymnosperms. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis on a large collection of isolates (n = 74) from North America and Europe based on glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd). A subset of isolates (n = 22) also was analyzed with the more conservative LSU-rDNA locus. Significant nucleotide diversity was detected (similar to 20%) in the gpd region and the LSU-rDNA analysis supported that the C. geophilum isolates studied were monophyletic but distinct from two isolates, Amy-1 and N2-10, which previously were used in population genetic studies of this species. These results suggest that Am5-1 and N2-10 are likely two undescribed species or even genera. Our results suggest that C. geophilum sensu lato is a species complex and support previous molecular, physiological and morphological studies that have shown significant diversity in C. geophilum. This study also revealed that caution is advised when conducting population genetic studies in C. geophilum due to the possibility of pooling unrelated isolates. This potential problem also has implications for other fungal taxa because cryptic species routinely have been found in recent years based on molecular data.