Data from: Multigene phylogenetic analyses of the Thelonectria coronata and T. veuillotiana species complexes

Thelonectria is a recently established genus of common and ubiquitous
fungi on woody hosts, previously placed in the genus Neonectria.
Thelonectria coronata and T. veuillotiana occur sympatrically in several
geographical areas in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions.
Previous taxonomic studies including T. coronata and T. veuillotiana
suggested these fungi could represent species complexes; however, the
morphological features used to define species exhibited few differences
useful for testing this hypothesis. In order to assess the status of T.
coronata and T. veuillotiana, phylogenetic analyses of six genomic regions
were combined with a morphological examination of specimens. A multigene
phylogeny reconstructed using Maximum Parsimony, Maximum Likelihood, and
Bayesian approaches identified five phylogenetic groups in T. coronata and
six in T. veuillotiana. As is common for cryptic species, unequivocal
diagnostic morphological characters could not be identified; however,
average values of morphological traits correspond to the phylogenetic
groups. An increased level of non-synonymous/synonymous substitutions in
the β-tubulin gene and a decreased or absent production of conidia was
detected within the T. coronata complex, possibly indicating the
homothallic nature of these isolates. Here, T. coronata and T.
veuillotiana and related species are described and illustrated; a
dichotomous key to all species is provided.