Is the bioluminescence in many species overlooked? - A case study from in Switzerland.

Fungal bioluminescence is mystifying humans since ancient times. Nevertheless, the biosynthetic pathway behind this phenomenon was only very recently resolved. Fungal bioluminescence occurs in five distantly related linages ( lineage, lineage, mycenoid lineage, Lucentipes lineage and lineage) of the basidiomycete order . Recent research suggests fungal bioluminescence has emerged 160 million years ago in the most common ancestor of the mycenoid and marasmioid clade and is maintained since then. Surprisingly, in the mycenoid linage, primarily represented by the genus , most species are considered non-luminescent, implying that many mycenoid species have lost their bioluminescent ability. Here, we report evidence for bioluminescence in and show that the genome of this species is fully equipped with the genes associated with fungal bioluminescence. is a long-known species frequently reported from Europe and Japan, which was considered non-luminescent until now. The low light emission intensity and the restriction of the luminescence to the vegetative mycelium and the base of the basidiome may be reasons why bioluminescence was not perceived earlier. We assume there might be other known species whose luminescent properties are not yet discovered, and that therefore the number of bioluminescent species is currently underestimated.