Phylogeny of the Glomerales and Diversisporales (fungi: Glomeromycota) from actin and elongation factor 1-alpha sequences.

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have been elevated to the phylum Glomeromycota based on a ribosomal gene phylogeny. In order to test this phylogeny, we amplified and sequenced small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSUrRNA), actin and elongation factor 1 (EF1)-alpha gene fragments from single spores of Acaulospora laevis, Glomus caledonium, Gigaspora margarita, and Scutellospora dipurpurescens. Sequence variation within and among spores of an isolate was low except for SSUrRNA in S. dipurpurescens, and the actin amino acid sequence was more conserved than that of EF1-alpha. The AM fungal sequences were more similar to one another than to any other fungal group. Joint phylogenetic analysis of the actin and EF1-alpha sequences suggested that the sister group to the AM fungi was a Zygomycete order, the Mortierellales.