The ectomycorrhizal genus (, ) is studied using morphological and molecular methods. Seven new species are identified and described, , and , bringing the total number of accepted species to 13. All new species are supported by ITS sequences from basidiomata and from environmental soil and root-tip sequences available in public databases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJournal impact factors were devised to qualify and compare university library holdings but are frequently repurposed for use in ranking applications, research papers, and even individual applicants in mycology and beyond. The widely held assumption that mycological studies published in journals with high impact factors add more to systematic mycology than studies published in journals without high impact factors nevertheless lacks evidential underpinning. The present study uses the species hypothesis system of the UNITE database for molecular identification of fungi and other eukaryotes to trace the publication history and impact factor of sequences uncovering new fungal species hypotheses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFungal metabarcoding of substrates such as soil, wood, and water is uncovering an unprecedented number of fungal species that do not seem to produce tangible morphological structures and that defy our best attempts at cultivation, thus falling outside the scope of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. The present study uses the new, ninth release of the species hypotheses of the UNITE database to show that species discovery through environmental sequencing vastly outpaces traditional, Sanger sequencing-based efforts in a strongly increasing trend over the last five years. Our findings challenge the present stance of some in the mycological community - that the current situation is satisfactory and that no change is needed to "the code" - and suggest that we should be discussing not whether to allow DNA-based descriptions (typifications) of species and by extension higher ranks of fungi, but what the precise requirements for such DNA-based typifications should be.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFand are two genera of closely related, ectomycorrhizal fungi in the order ; the former stipitate and the latter corticioid. Both are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere and many species from both genera seem to be restricted to old growth forest. This study aimed to: a) identify genetic regions useful in inferring the phylogenetic relationship between and , b) infer this relationship with the regions identified and c) make any taxonomic changes warranted by the result.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour new species are described. . grows in dry pine heaths on acidic, sandy soil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDNA sequences from the nuclear LSU and ITS regions were used for phylogenetic analyses of Thelephorales with a focus on the stipitate hydnoid genera and . Analyses showed that and are distinct genera but that the current division, based on basidioma texture, makes paraphyletic with respect to . In order to make genera monophyletic several species are moved from to and the following new combinations are made: , , , , , , , , , , , and .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis an ectomycorrhizal, corticioid fungus whose name is frequently assigned to collections of basidiomata as well as root tip and soil samples from a wide range of habitats and hosts across the northern hemisphere. Despite this, its identity is unclear; eight heterotypic taxa have in major reviews of the species been considered synonymous with or morphologically similar to , but no sequence data from type specimens have been available. With the aim to clarify the taxonomy, systematics, morphology, ecology and geographical distribution of and its morphologically similar species, we studied their type specimens as well as 147 basidiomata collections of mostly North European material.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSequence comparison and analysis of the various ribosomal genetic markers are the dominant molecular methods for identification and description of fungi. However, new environmental fungal lineages known only from DNA data reveal significant gaps in our sampling of the fungal kingdom in terms of both taxonomy and marker coverage in the reference sequence databases. To facilitate the integration of reference data from all of the ribosomal markers, we present three sets of general primers that allow for amplification of the complete ribosomal operon from the ribosomal tandem repeats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent DNA-based studies have shown that the built environment is surprisingly rich in fungi. These indoor fungi - whether transient visitors or more persistent residents - may hold clues to the rising levels of human allergies and other medical and building-related health problems observed globally. The taxonomic identity of these fungi is crucial in such pursuits.
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