Taxonomy and Phylogeny of Epiphytic Sooty Molds in Family Metacapnodiaceae

16 collections of the sooty mold genus Metacapnodium were analyzed using DNA barcoding and morphology to characterize species diversity. The dataset includes sequences for ribosomal ITS regions, partial LSU, ef1-α, and rpb2 genes, representing 9 named species and supporting the description of 6 new or recombined species. Mary Berbee authored this research, which was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Phylogenetic analysis of the Metacapnodiaceae family based on concatenated DNA sequence data.
• Taxonomic classification and species identification using morphological characters like hyphae shape and asexual state.
• Calibrating divergence time estimates for Ascomycota using fossilized Metacapnodium specimens as calibration points.

Strengths

• Includes DNA sequence data for multiple genetic markers (ITS, LSU, ef1-α, rpb2) from 16 fungal collections.
• Provides a key for the identification of 15 studied species of Metacapnodium.
• Supports the proposal of 6 new or recombined species based on combined molecular and morphological analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the dataverse, with specimens from limited locations like Vancouver and Hawaii.

Provenance

Source

Borealis Harvested Dataverse

Collection Method

Specimens were selected from the Mycology Collections Portal and newly collected; DNA was sequenced and analyzed phylogenetically.

Time Range

Specimens collected more recently than 1990 where possible.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-25 04:17:19; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Collections include locations such as Vancouver, BC, Canada and Kauai, Hawaii, USA.