Publications by authors named "Irja Saar"

Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on the taxonomy of specific species using both morphological and molecular data, leading to the identification of 19 confirmed species across Europe, Asia, and North America.
  • Six new species and one new variety were described, and a variety was elevated to a species level.
  • The research also involved the reassessment of previous classifications, leading to the resurrection of certain names and the synonymization of others, while enhancing the understanding of morphology and distribution of the species.
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We studied the taxonomy of and similar species using morphological and molecular (nrITS, ) data, including a detailed study of the type collection of . Based on our results, we recognize five species in this group: sensu stricto and four other taxa: ; ; and described here as new. All these taxa are distinct from each other based on molecular data, but some of them are semi-cryptic based on morphology and co-occur in the Palaearctic region.

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Nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer region ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (ITS barcode) sequence data from eight type specimens of previously described species were obtained. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS and partial nuc 28S rDNA data revealed as paraphyletic splitting into two monophyletic groups, which we recognize as the genera and .

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Molecular methods are increasingly used to identify species that lack conspicuous macro- or micromorphological characters. Taxonomic and ecological research teams barcode large numbers of collected voucher specimens annually. In this study we assessed the efficiency of long-read high throughput sequencing (HTS) as opposed to the traditionally used Sanger method for taxonomic identification of multiple vouchered fungal specimens.

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Mushroom-forming fungi are important sources of food and medicine in many regions of the world, and their development and health are known to depend on various microbes. Recent studies have examined the structure of mushroom-inhabiting bacterial (MIB) communities and their association with local environmental variables, but global-scale diversity and determinants of these communities remain poorly understood. Here we examined the MIB global diversity and community composition in relation to climate, soil and host factors.

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Here, we describe the taxon hypothesis (TH) paradigm, which covers the construction, identification, and communication of taxa as datasets. Defining taxa as datasets of individuals and their traits will make taxon identification and most importantly communication of taxa precise and reproducible. This will allow datasets with standardized and atomized traits to be used digitally in identification pipelines and communicated through persistent identifiers.

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This study describes four gray or brown species of (Hygrophoraceae, Agaricales), two of them new species, restricted to arctic-alpine and northern boreal zones of North America, and relates them morphologically and phylogenetically using multigene and nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer ITS1-5.8S-ITS (ITS barcode) analyses to their similar, known counterparts. , epitypified here, is shown to be a pan-palearctic species with sequence-confirmed collections from Fennoscandia and easternmost Asia.

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UNITE (https://unite.ut.ee/) is a web-based database and sequence management environment for the molecular identification of fungi.

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Article Synopsis
  • Two proposals have been put forward to allow DNA sequences to be used as types for naming certain fungi, which could fundamentally alter the definition of nomenclatural types and lead to various issues in scientific reproducibility and nomenclatural instability.
  • The authors argue against these proposals, suggesting that they would not effectively address the challenges of naming taxa based solely on DNA and propose instead that formulas for naming candidate taxa could be a better solution without changing existing nomenclature rules.
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Geographic, morphological, and internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-based molecular review of collections identified as Polyozellus multiplex revealed that it is a complex of five phylogenetic species. Average spore size-either less or more than 7 × 6 µm-splits the complex into a small-spored group of two (P. multiplex and P.

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Tricholoma matsutake, known widely as "matsutake," has great commercial and cultural significance in Japan. Because Japanese production is insufficient to meet the high domestic demand, morphologically similar mushrooms, thought by many to belong to T. magnivelare, are imported from western North America.

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The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region is the formal fungal barcode and in most cases the marker of choice for the exploration of fungal diversity in environmental samples. Two problems are particularly acute in the pursuit of satisfactory taxonomic assignment of newly generated ITS sequences: (i) the lack of an inclusive, reliable public reference data set and (ii) the lack of means to refer to fungal species, for which no Latin name is available in a standardized stable way. Here, we report on progress in these regards through further development of the UNITE database (http://unite.

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• Compared with Sanger sequencing-based methods, pyrosequencing provides orders of magnitude more data on the diversity of organisms in their natural habitat, but its technological biases and relative accuracy remain poorly understood. • This study compares the performance of pyrosequencing and traditional sequencing for species' recovery of ectomycorrhizal fungi on root tips in a Cameroonian rain forest and addresses biases related to multi-template PCR and pyrosequencing analyses. • Pyrosequencing and the traditional method yielded qualitatively similar results, but there were slight, but significant, differences that affected the taxonomic view of the fungal community.

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Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis is a widespread plant nutrition strategy in Australia, especially in semiarid regions. This study aims to determine the diversity, community structure and host preference of ECM fungi in a Tasmanian wet sclerophyll forest. Ectomycorrhizal fungi were identified based on anatomotyping and rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-large subunit (LSU) sequence analysis using taxon-specific primers.

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