An ITS Phylogenetic Evaluation of the Penicilli Branching Type of Penicillium as Taxonomic Character

Abstract

In this study, 47 isolates of Penicillium were characterized via phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequences of ITS rDNA. The phylogenetic analyses clearly separated Penicillium species into two clades, with the terverticillate type of penicilli being a robust morphological character. The monoverticillate and biverticillate types of penicilli are evolutionary more primitive than the terverticillate penicilli. This indicates that the current classification system based on conidiophore branching is not congruent with the phylogeny and a new subgeneric classification system is needed.