Four new species of Russula subsection Roseinae from tropical montane forests in western Panama

Species of the genus Russula are key components of ectomycorrhizal ecosystems worldwide. Nevertheless, their diversity in the tropics is still poorly known. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the diversity of Russula species classified in subsection Roseinae based on specimens recently collected in tropical montane rainforests in western Panama. A five gene multilocus phylogeny based on the nuclear markers ITS nrDNA, MCM7, RPB1, RPB2 and TEF-1α was constructed to identify the systematic position of 22 collections from Panama. Four new species, Russula cornicolor, Russula cynorhodon, Russula oreomunneae and Russula zephyrovelutipes are formally described and illustrated. None of the four species are sister species and they are more closely related to North American or Asian species. Two of the newly described species were associated with the ectomycorrhizal tree species Oreomunnea mexicana, while the other two species were associated with Quercus species. All four species are so far only known from mountains in western Panama.

A new species of Lepiota (Agaricaceae) from Punjab, Pakistan

During our surveys of fungi of some areas adjacent to the Cholistan desert, Punjab, Pakistan, we collected a new species in Lepiota sect. Echinatae. It was found on loamy soil under Vachellia nilotica and is described and illustrated as new based on the distinct morphology and ITS nrDNA analysis. The new species, Lepiota haroonabadensis, is characterized macroscopically by a light yellowish orange pileus covered with brown squarrose scales, bright yellowish to yellowish red stipe with pale yellow spiny scales, and rudimentary annulus; and microscopically by ellipsoid basidiospores, narrowly clavate to clavate cheilocystidia, cylindrical to sub-cylindrical or ellipsoidal elements of the pileus covering and cylindrical to globose elements of the stipe covering. A full description, color photos, line illustrations and a phylogenetic tree to show the position of the new species are provided.

The many-rooted earthball—Scleroderma geaster and S. polyrhizum revisited, with the description of a new species

Scleroderma (Order Boletales, Basidiomycota) species have a worldwide distribution. In this study, we review the Scleroderma polyrhizum/S. geaster complex. Eighty-two specimens from different geographic origins were analysed using morphological, mainly basidiospore size and ornamentation, and molecular characters (ITS nrDNA). Our results showed a clear separation of the specimens into four clades and each clade could be distinguished with morphological characters. Thus, European specimens grouped into two clades with those considered to be S. geaster distinct from those considered S. polyrhizum. Many specimens from the USA under the name S. polyrhizum correspond to S. texense or to a new species, here described as S. guzmanii. This study demonstrated the importance of the molecular DNA barcode ITS in genetic analyses to reveal and identify cryptic species in fungal morphospecies.

Study of the Antimicrobial Potential of Bacteria found in Natural Resources

Bacteriocins are of great interest as potential antimicrobial agents against various types of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Isolates of microorganisms derived from natural sources were used in the current study, including lactic acid bacteria and other antagonistic microorganisms. The species of the microorganisms were determined using 16S rDNA and ITS nrDNA analyses. E. coli, S. enterica, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, B. mycoides, A. faecalis, P. vulgaris, S. flexneri , L. monocytogenes, C. albicans, A. flavus, and P. citrinum were used as pathogenic and opportunistic strains. It was found that 11 strains of antagonistic microorganisms have significant antimicrobial activity against all pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms. The antimicrobial properties of these microorganisms are currently under study.

Two new Bacidina species (Lecanorales, Ascomycota) from Pakistan

Bacidina margallensis and B. iqbalii from Pakistan are described and illustrated. Phylogeny of ITS nrDNA region confirms their position within the genus Bacidina, and morphological data make them distinct from other known species of the genus. Based on molecular data, corticolous Bacidina margallensis appears to be a sister species to B. chloroticula, but morphologically, when dry, is the most similar to known from Europe B. mendax because of the granular and warted greenish grey thallus, whitish-cream to dark brown and often piebald apothecia. It differs from that species by shorter, wider and less septate ascospores; 1–3-septate in B. margallensis vs 3–5(6)-septate in B. mendax, and by unusual parrot-green colour of wet thallus. Saxicolous Bacidina iqbalii is closely related to B. neosquamulosa but differs in having crustaceous thallus, transculent when wet entirely pale apothecia, larger asci and less septate large ascospores.

Species of Odontia and Tomentella (Thelephorales, Basidiomycota) new to Dagestan, Russia

Aim. To obtain new data on the species diversity, phylogenetic structure, and ecological characteristics of thelephoroid fungi (Thelephorales, Basidiomycota) in the Republic of Dagestan.Material and Methods. Both micromorphological and molecular analyses were used for studying of the fungal specimens collected by the authors in 2018-2019 in the Gunibsky and Magaramkentsky Districts of Dagestan. Additional specimens from the Mycological Herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LE) were studied. The ITS region of nrDNA was amplified with two pairs of primers, ITS1F/ITS4 and ITS5/ITS4.Results. Sixteen ITS sequences belonging to eight species were obtained from the studied material. Of them, 14 sequences clustered in the Tomentella clade and two sequences nested within the Odontia clade. Four species – Odontia duemmeri, Tomentella lapida, T. radiosa, T. terrestris – were registered for the first time for Dagestan. Detailed information on the specimens studied is presented. Species identification of Odontia fibrosa, Tomentella badia, T. ferruginea, and T. stuposa was confirmed by ITS nrDNA analysis.Conclusion. Data on the species richness of the genera Odontia and Tomentella in Dagestan is updated, and the species T. lilacinogrisea is excluded from the regional funga. To date the genera Odontia and Tomentella in the Republic of Dagestan are represented by three and fifteen species, respectively.

Lepiota condylospora, a new species with nodulose spores in section Lilaceae from northern Thailand

During our studies of the genus Lepiota in northern Thailand we collected a putatively new species with a distinct morphology and ITS nrDNA profile from Chiang Mai Province. The new species, Lepiota condylospora, is characterized by the presence of reddish brown to brownish orange or brown squamules on the pileus surface, triangular basidiospores with two lateral knobs, and a hymenidermal pileipellis composed of broadly to narrowly clavate elements. Two genetically distinct species of Lepiota section Lilaceae having triangular spores with two lateral knobs are compared with L. condylospora: Lepiota fraterna, from Papua New Guinea, differs in having larger basidiospores and cheilocystidia; while L. cristata var. macrospora, from China, has bigger basidiomata. A full description, color photographs, line drawings and a phylogenetic tree to show the position of the new species are provided.

Molecular characterization of hybrids in Carex (Cyperaceae) by cloning: Carex paniculata × remota (= C. × boenninghausiana)

One of the most common processes shaping evolution in plants could be the introgression or hybridization between species. We sampled a putative hybrid population of Carex × boenninghausiana recently discovered from Sicily (Italy), and one specimen of each of the parent species of this hybrid (C. paniculata and C. remota) from the same area. We performed phylogenetic analyses of nuclear and plastid DNA markers after sequencing and cloning in the case of the nuclear region, as an easy and effective way of hybrid detection. Previous morphological and cytogenetic studies demonstrated the hybrid character of C. × boenninghausiana. Our results show how C. paniculata and C. remota are the parent species of this hybrid, also from a molecular DNA point of view. The use of cloning of the ITS nrDNA region to separate chains from both parents, combined with the analysis of cpDNA regions seems to be a powerful tool to detect hybridization and clarify the evolution and species’s relationships in natural populations in Carex.

Genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships of Thelymitra javanica (Orchidaceae: Orchidoideae) in East and Central Java, Indonesia

Wijaya IMS, Daryono BS, Purnomo. 2020. Genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships of Thelymitra javanica Blume (Orchidaceae: Orchidoideae) in East and Central Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 1174-1181. Thelymitra J.R. Forst & G. Forst is a terrestrial orchid genera and mainly distributed in Australia as a center of its diversification. Moreover, Thelymitra javanica Blume is the only species of Thelymitra found in Asia, especially in Indonesia. In Australia and New Zealand, most of Thelymitra species easily found in lowland, whereas, T. javanica in Indonesia preferred to grows near the peaks of mountains around 2,000-3,000 m asl. The high altitude correlated with high light intensity and lower soil nutrients which require specific adaptation of plant to survive. The wide range of adaptation could be due to the presence of genetic variability among populations of Thelymitra. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships of T. javanica in East and Central Java. The genetic variability of Thelymitra was evaluated by molecular approaches, which is preferably utilized to determine the plant taxonomy to establish the taxonomic uncertainties. ITS-nrDNA is a popular DNA marker that widely used in phylogenetic study among various taxa. Sequences were analyses using Maximum Likelihood method with 11 in-group, 6 interspecies out-group of Thelymitra, and 2 intergeneric out-group of Thelymitrinae subtribe. The result showed that ITS-nrDNA sequences of T. javanica have no variation in nucleotide compositions and showing polytomy branch in cladogram. Thelymitra javanica also has a close relationship with Thelymitra longifolia J.R. Forst & G. Forst that are endemic to New Zealand.