A revision of Verticillium sect. Prostrata. II. Phylogenetic analyses of SSU and LSU nuclear rDNA sequences from anamorphs and teleomorphs of the Clavicipitaceae

Parsimony analyses were conducted on partial nucleotide sequences from the small and large subunits of the nuclear ribosomal DNA from representatives of Verticillium sect. Prostrata and related ascomycetes. The majority of species from V. sect. Prostrata were supported as members of the Clavicipitaceae, but they did not form a monophyletic group within the family. Three to six groups of fungi in V. sect. Prostrata were inferred in these analyses and were designated groups B 1- D3 following the convention of Zare et al. (2000). These groups integrated with other anamorph and teleomorph genera including Cordyceps, which was also not supported as being monophyletic. Group B 1 included the anamorph of C. militaris, V.lecanii, V.psalliotae, V.fusisporum, V.aranearum, and V. antillanum. It was part of a larger clade designated Cordyceps s. stricto, which included entomopathogenic species of Cordyceps and anamorphic species of Beauveria, Engyodontium, Microhilum, and Paecilomyces. Group B2 included V. lamellicola, 'Cephalosporium' lanosoniveum, and 'Acremonium' obclavatum and was the most closely related clade to Cordyceps s. stricto. Group C represented a monophyletic clade of nematophagous species that included V. balanoides, V. campanulatum, and V. sinense. It was part of a weakly supported clade designated the C. ophio- glossoides clade, which included fungicolous and entomopathogenic species of Cordyceps and