Greetings from belowground: two new species of truffles in the genus (Pezizaceae, Pezizales) from México.

is a lineage of ectomycorrhizal, hypogeous, sequestrate ascomycete fungi native to temperate and subtropical forests in the Northern Hemisphere. species form ectomycorrhizae mainly with Fagales hosts. Here we describe two new species of , , and , based on morphological and phylogenetic analysis.

The new truffle genus and a new species of from semiarid grasslands of Hungary.

Truffles with distinct morphological and anatomical features were collected during a study of hypogeous fungi of semiarid sandy grasslands of the Great Hungarian Plain in Hungary, representing the westernmost localities of the Eurasian steppe belt. None of the ascomata were collected near ectomycorrhizal plant species, and none were identified as ectomycorrhizal during previous surveys in the collection area. We studied morphoanatomical characteristics of these truffles with light and scanning electron microscopy and investigated their phylogenetic positions based on analyses of different nuclear loci.

Description and distribution of sp. nov. and in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt.

The genus is a lineage of diverse ectomycorrhizal, hypogeous, sequestrate ascomycete fungi that are native to temperate forests in the Northern Hemisphere. Recently, many new species of have been described in North America and Asia, based on morphological characteristics and molecular data. Here we describe and illustrate a new species, , based upon phylogenetic analysis and morphological description.

A molecular and morphological re-examination of the generic limits of truffles in the tarzetta-geopyxis lineage - Densocarpa, Hydnocystis, and Paurocotylis.

Truffle species within the /tarzetta-geopyxis lineage share smooth, globose, hyaline spores, but differ in the amount of convolution of hymenia in ascomata. The relationships among truffle species in this lineage have historically been confused. Phylogenetic analyses of the ITS and 28S nuclear ribosomal DNA from recently collected members of the /tarzetta-geopyxis lineage from Asia, Austral Asia, North America, and South America prompted a reinvestigation of species and generic limits in the truffle genera Hydnocystis, Paurocotylis, and Stephensia.

Phylogenetic overview of the genus Genea (Pezizales, Ascomycota) with an emphasis on European taxa.

We constructed a comprehensive phylogeny of the genus Genea, with new molecular data from samples collected in several countries in temperate and Mediterranean Europe, as well as North America. Type specimens and authentic material of most species were examined to support identifications. The molecular identity of the most common species in Genea was compared with nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS), D1-D2 domains of 28S nuc rDNA (28S rDNA) and translation elongation factor 1-α ene (TEF1) profiles of 10 recently proposed taxa, G.

Australasian Sequestrate Fungi 19: Hysterangium colossum sp. nov.

Hysterangium colossum sp. nov., with extraordinarily large basidiomata for the genus, is described from dry Eucalyptus woodlands in the Australian Capital Territory and southeastern New South Wales.

Analyses of Sporocarps, Morphotyped Ectomycorrhizae, Environmental ITS and LSU Sequences Identify Common Genera that Occur at a Periglacial Site.

Periglacial substrates exposed by retreating glaciers represent extreme and sensitive environments defined by a variety of abiotic stressors that challenge organismal establishment and survival. The simple communities often residing at these sites enable their analyses in depth. We utilized existing data and mined published sporocarp, morphotyped ectomycorrhizae (ECM), as well as environmental sequence data of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) regions of the ribosomal RNA gene to identify taxa that occur at a glacier forefront in the North Cascades Mountains in Washington State in the USA.

Sequestrate fungi from Patagonian Nothofagus forests: Cystangium (Russulaceae, Basidiomycota).

Six species of Cystangium, a genus of sequestrate taxa related to Russula, were collected in Patagonia (Argentina and Chile) during autumn 2001. Two species, C. depauperatum Singer & A.

Morchella australiana sp. nov., an apparent Australian endemic from New South Wales and Victoria.

An abundant fruiting of a black morel was encountered in temperate northwestern New South Wales (NSW), Australia, during a mycological survey in Sep 2010. The site was west of the Great Dividing Range in a young, dry sclerophyll forest dominated by Eucalyptus and Callitris north of Coonabarabran in an area known as the Pilliga Scrub. Although the Pilliga Scrub is characterized by frequent and often large, intense wildfires, the site showed no sign of recent fire, which suggests this species is not a postfire morel.

Australasian sequestrate fungi 18: Solioccasus polychromus gen. & sp. nov., a richly colored, tropical to subtropical, hypogeous fungus.

Solioccasus polychromus gen. & sp. nov.

The enigmatic truffle Fevansia aurantiaca is an ectomycorrhizal member of the Albatrellus lineage.

Fevansia aurantiaca is an orange-colored truffle that has been collected infrequently in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. This sequestrate, hypogeous fungus was originally thought to be related to the genera Rhizopogon or Alpova in the Boletales, but the large, inflated cells in the trama and the very pale spore mass easily segregated it from these genera. To date, no molecular phylogenetic studies have determined its closest relatives.

Historical biogeography and diversification of truffles in the Tuberaceae and their newly identified southern hemisphere sister lineage.

Truffles have evolved from epigeous (aboveground) ancestors in nearly every major lineage of fleshy fungi. Because accelerated rates of morphological evolution accompany the transition to the truffle form, closely related epigeous ancestors remain unknown for most truffle lineages. This is the case for the quintessential truffle genus Tuber, which includes species with socio-economic importance and esteemed culinary attributes.

New North American truffles (Tuber spp.) and their ectomycorrhizal associations.

Recent surveys of belowground fungal biodiversity in México and USA have revealed many undescribed truffle species, including many in the genus Tuber. Here we describe seven new species: Tuber beyerlei, T. castilloi, T.

Nitrogen content, amino acid composition and digestibility of fungi from a nutritional perspective in animal mycophagy.

Fungi comprise a major part of the diet of many animals. Even so, the nutritional value of fungi has been much debated, with some arguing that fungi are nutritionally poor. However, the chemical composition of fungi and of the biology of the animals that eat them are not well understood, particularly in reference to amino acid (AA) composition of fungi and digestibility of fungal protein.

Cryptolepiota, a new sequestrate genus in the Agaricaceae with evidence for adaptive radiation in western North America.

Phylogenetic analyses based on nLSU and ITS sequence data indicate that the sequestrate genus Gigasperma is polyphyletic. Gigasperma cryptica, which is known only from New Zealand, has affinities with the Cortinariaceae whereas G. americanum and two additional undescribed taxa from western North America are derived from Lepiota within the Agaricaceae.

The dawn of symbiosis between plants and fungi.

The colonization of land by plants relied on fundamental biological innovations, among which was symbiosis with fungi to enhance nutrient uptake. Here we present evidence that several species representing the earliest groups of land plants are symbiotic with fungi of the Mucoromycotina. This finding brings up the possibility that terrestrialization was facilitated by these fungi rather than, as conventionally proposed, by members of the Glomeromycota.

Terfezia disappears from the American truffle mycota as two new genera and Mattirolomyces species emerge.

Reexamination and molecular phylogenetic analyses of American Terfezia species and Mattirolomyces tiffanyae revealed that their generic assignments were wrong. Therefore we here propose these combinations: Mattirolomyces spinosus comb. nov.

A global meta-analysis of Tuber ITS rDNA sequences: species diversity, host associations and long-distance dispersal.

Truffles (Tuber) are ectomycorrhizal fungi characterized by hypogeous fruitbodies. Their biodiversity, host associations and geographical distributions are not well documented. ITS rDNA sequences of Tuber are commonly recovered from molecular surveys of fungal communities, but most remain insufficiently identified making it difficult to determine whether these sequences represent conspecific or novel taxa.

Kalapuya brunnea gen. & sp. nov. and its relationship to the other sequestrate genera in Morchellaceae.

Kalapuya is described as a new, monotypic truffle genus in the Morchellaceae known only from the Pacific northwestern United States. Its relationship to other hypogeous genera within Morchellaceae is explored by phylogenetic analysis of the ribosomal LSU and EF1alpha protein coding region. The type species, K.

Improved resolution of major clades within Tuber and taxonomy of species within the Tuber gibbosum complex.

Tuber gibbosum Harkn., described from northern California, originally was thought to be a single, variable species that fruited from autumn through winter to spring. It has become popular as a culinary truffle in northwestern USA, where it is commercially harvested.

Phylogenetic relationships of the Gomphales based on nuc-25S-rDNA, mit-12S-rDNA, and mit-atp6-DNA combined sequences.

Phylogenetic relationships among Geastrales, Gomphales, Hysterangiales, and Phallales were estimated via combined sequences: nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (nuc-25S-rDNA), mitochondrial small subunit ribosomal DNA (mit-12S-rDNA), and mitochondrial atp6 DNA (mit-atp6-DNA). Eighty-one taxa comprising 19 genera and 58 species were investigated, including members of the Clathraceae, Gautieriaceae, Geastraceae, Gomphaceae, Hysterangiaceae, Phallaceae, Protophallaceae, and Sphaerobolaceae. Although some nodes deep in the tree could not be fully resolved, some well-supported lineages were recovered, and the interrelationships among Gloeocantharellus, Gomphus, Phaeoclavulina, and Turbinellus, and the placement of Ramaria are better understood.