The Hidden Wood-Decaying Fungal Diversity: Rhizochaete from East Asia

Wood-decaying fungi play crucial roles as decomposers in forest ecosystems. In this study, two new corticioid fungi, Rhizochaete fissurata and R. grandinosa spp. nov., are proposed based on a combination of morphological features and molecular evidence. Rhizochaete fissurata is characterized by resupinate basidiomata with a cracking hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system with simple-septa generative hyphae, presence of subfusiform to conical cystidia encrusted at the apex or coarse on the upper half, and ellipsoid basidiospores. Rhizochaete grandinosa differs in its resupinate basidiomata with a smooth hymenial surface, presence of two types of cystidia, and ellipsoid basidiospores. Sequences of ITS and nLSU rRNA markers of the studied samples were employed, and phylogenetic analyses were performed with maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian inference methods on two datasets (ITS+nLSU and ITS). Both dataset analyses showed that two new species clustered into the genus Rhizochaete, in which, based on the ITS+nLSU dataset, R. fissurata was sister to R. belizensis, and R. grandinosa grouped with R. radicata; the phylogram inferred from ITS sequences inside Rhizochaete indicated that R. fissurata formed a monophyletic lineage with a lower support; R. grandinosa grouped closely with R. radicata. In addition, an identification key to all Rhizochaete species worldwide is provided.

FOUR NEW REPORTS OF WOOD-ROTTING CORTICIOID FUNGI FROM INDIA

Four corticioid species, Botryohypochnus verrucisporus Burds. & Gilb., Corticium meridioroseum Boidin & Lanq., Odonticium flabelliradiatum (J. Erikss. & Hjortstam) Zmitr., and Rhizoctonia amygdalispora (Hauerslev, P. Roberts & Å. Strid) Oberw., R. Bauer, Garnica & R. Kirschner, new to India are described and illustrated. These species are recorded based on the material collected from the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh (India)

Morphological and phylogenetic evidence for recognition of two new species of Hyphoderma (Basidiomycota) from southern China, with a key to all Chinese Hyphoderma

Wood-inhabiting fungi play crucial roles as decomposers in forest ecosystems and, in this study, two new wood-inhabiting corticioid fungi, Hyphoderma puerense and H. tenuissimumspp. nov., are proposed, based on a combination of morphological features and molecular evidence. Hyphoderma puerense is characterised by effused basidiomata with smooth to floccose hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system with clamped generative hyphae and ellipsoid basidiospores. Hyphoderma tenuissimum is characterised by resupinate basidiomata with tuberculate to minutely-grandinioid hymenial surface, septate cystidia and cylindrical to allantoid basidiospores. Sequences of ITS and nLSU rRNA markers of the studied samples were generated and phylogenetic analyses were performed with Maximum Likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian Inference methods. These analyses showed that the two new species clustered into Hyphoderma, in which H. puerense grouped with H. moniliforme and H. tenuissimum formed a singleton lineage. In addition, an identification key to Chinese Hyphoderma is provided.

Digging Up the Roots: Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Disentanglements in Corticiaceae s.s. (Corticiales, Basidiomycota) and Evolution of Nutritional Modes

Corticiaceae is one of the traditional families of the Agaricomycetes and served for a long time as a convenient placement for basidiomycetes with a resupinate, corticioid form of fruiting body. Molecular studies have helped to assign many corticioid fungi to diverse families and orders; however, Corticiaceae still lacks a phylogenetic characterization and modern circumscription. Here, we provide the first comprehensive phylogenetic and taxonomic revision of the family Corticiaceae based on extensive type studies and sequences of nLSU, ITS, IGS, nSSU, and mtSSU regions. Our analyses support the recognition of ten monophyletic genera in the Corticiaceae, and show that nutritional mode is not a robust basis for generic delimitations in the family. The genus Mycobernardia and the species Corticium thailandicum, Erythricium vernum, and Marchandiomyces allantosporus are described as new to science, and five new combinations are proposed. Moreover, ancestral character state reconstruction revealed that saprotrophy is the plesiomorphic nutritional mode in the Corticiaceae, while several transitions have occurred to diverse nutritional modes in this family. Identification keys are provided to the genera in Corticiaceae s.s. as well as to the species in Corticium, Erythricium, Laetisaria, and Marchandiomyces.

Little-known in Ukraine species of corticioid fungi from Prypiat-Stokhid National Nature Park

The article outlines the details on several noteworthy records of corticoid fungi discovered in the course of mycological observations in Prypiat-Stokhid National Nature Park (Liubeshiv District, Volyn Region) in October, 2019. In Ukraine, Byssocorticium atrovirens is apparently known only from a single record of A. Pilat, 1933, from the present-day territory of Carpathian Biosphere Reserve. Piloderma bicolor has been earlier recorded only once from Skole Beskids National Nature Park, while Tomentella lilacinogrisea has been previously found in a single locality in Carpathian Biosphere Reserve. The data on detailed morphological descriptions, ecological peculiarities, substrate specialization, general distribution, photographs of basidiomata and original drawings of microstructures are provided.

Species Diversity With Comprehensive Annotations of Wood-Inhabiting Poroid and Corticioid Fungi in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, located in Central Asia, harbors high diversity of woody plants. Diversity of wood-inhabiting fungi in the country, however, remained poorly known. This study summarizes the wood-inhabiting basidiomycte fungi (poroid and corticoid fungi plus similar taxa such as Merismodes, Phellodon, and Sarcodon) (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) that have been found in Uzbekistan from 1950 to 2020. This work is based on 790 fungal occurrence records: 185 from recently collected specimens, 101 from herbarium specimens made by earlier collectors, and 504 from literature-based records. All data were deposited as a species occurrence record dataset in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and also summarized in the form of an annotated checklist in this paper. All 286 available specimens were morphologically examined. For 138 specimens, the 114 ITS and 85 LSU nrDNA sequences were newly sequenced and used for phylogenetic analysis. In total, we confirm the presence of 153 species of wood-inhabiting poroid and corticioid fungi in Uzbekistan, of which 31 species are reported for the first time in Uzbekistan, including 19 that are also new to Central Asia. These 153 fungal species inhabit 100 host species from 42 genera of 23 families. Polyporales and Hymenochaetales are the most recorded fungal orders and are most widely distributed around the study area. This study provides the first comprehensively updated and annotated the checklist of wood-inhabiting poroid and corticioid fungi in Uzbekistan. Such study should be expanded to other countries to further clarify species diversity of wood-inhabiting fungi around Central Asia.

A checklist of corticioid fungi (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) from Brazil

Mycotaxon announces the posting of its 139th free access funga to its mycobiota site in June. The 42-page checklist of Brazilian corticioid fungi by Chikowski, Lira, Larsson, and Gibertoni may be downloaded from our website via http://www.mycotaxon.com/mycobiota/index.html