Public Thesis defense - ELI

Integrative taxonomy of Macrofungi from the Albertine Rift by Claude RIZINDE HAKIZIMANA

Pour l’obtention du grade académique de Doctorat en sciences agronomiques et ingénierie biologique

The Albertine Rift, a biodiversity hotspot, has become a focus of interest for many researchers in biology, environment and conservation. Many studies have been carried out on the mammals, fish, birds and plants of the region. However, as far as the Fungi are concerned, even the basic question of "how many species are there in this region" remains unanswered, at a time when the world is becoming increasingly aware of their importance in ecosystem resilience, the development of bioactive compounds, and many other fields of research.

To this end, a study was designed to determine the current knowledge of its fungal diversity. The study compiled a list of species from the region using data from collections available at www.botanicalcollections.be and from mycoflora available at www.FFTA-online.org. One hundred and ninety-nine genera and 634 species are listed for the region. The taxa have been named mainly on the basis of morphological characters and species concepts, mostly developed in the colonial era in northern temperate areas. Comparison with the mycoflora of temperate regions reveals more than a hundred species with names already recognised for European or American taxa, thus justifying the need to intensify taxonomic revisions. Novel, integrative taxonomic concepts, combining ecological and DNA-based phylogenetic criteria, together with fine morphological criteria, were tested on three little known genera of the region, Ripartitella, Armillaria and Laetiporus. This approach led to the discovery of three new endemic species (Ripartitella degreefii, Laetiporus oboensis, Laetiporus tenuiculus) and clarified the concepts of six taxa whose status or geographic distribution was uncertain and debated (Ripartitella brasiliensis, Laetiporus discolor, Armillaria camerunensis, Armillaria heimii, Armillaria fuscipes, Armillaria mellea subsp. africana).

This study opens up new perspectives for mycological research in the Albertine Rift. The estimates made in this study show that more than 500 species remain to be discovered in the region.

Jury members : 

• Prof. Stephan Declerck (UCLouvain), supervisor
• Dr. Cony Decock (UCLouvain), supervisor
• Prof. François Muhashy (UNIGOM), supervisor
• Prof. Thierry Hance (UCLouvain), chairperson
• Prof. Anne Legrève (UCLouvain), secretary
• Prof. Gabriel Castillo (ULg)
• Dr. Jérôme Degreef (Jardin Botanique de Meise)
• Dr. Mario Amalfi (Jardin Botanique de Meise)

Pay attention :

The public defense of Claude Rizinde Hakizimana scheduled for Friday 24 November at 04:00 p.m will also take place in the form of a video conference

ID de la réunion : 339 901 845 815
Code secret : EdrKGb

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