Hainan is the second largest island in China with the most extensive and well-preserved tropical forests and is also the largest island of the Indo Burma Biodiversity Hotspot. It provides
...conservation for the unique ecosystem of the island. Recent studies have shown that there are diverse fungal species in Hainan. In this study, about 40 collections of the genus
have been studied based on the morphology and molecular systematics, including 35 Chinese specimens (24 from Hainan, and eleven from other regions) and three specimens from other countries (Singapore and Malaysia). In total, five new species belonging to
section
are described:
,
,
,
, and
is recorded for the first time in Hainan. It is also the first report of this fungus occurring, outside Yunnan Province, China. Among the five new species, two are unique in this section because of the appendiculate pileus margin and the absence of an annulus. Based on these new findings, the diagnosis of the section
should be slightly modified to include a few species with appendiculate margin and the lack of annulus.
Some Amanita specimens collected from Malaysia are critically investigated by morphological examination and molecular analysis of two gene fragments, the nuc rDNA partial 28S (28S) gene and the ...internal transcriber spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS) regions. Six phylogenetic species of Amanita section Caesareae are recognized among the studied collections. One of them is described as new, A. malayensis. Four of the phylogenetic species correspond with existing morphology-based taxa: A. aporema, A. javanica, A. princeps, and A. similis. The remaining species is not described because of the paucity of material. Detailed descriptions and the distribution of these southeastern Asian species are provided, along with a key to the species of section Caesareae from Malaysia.
Trunk rot poses a substantial threat to Sanbu-sugi, one of the most economically important cultivars of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica). The etiology of this disease, including its main agents, ...is incompletely known. This trunk rot was attributed to Fomitiporia (Phellinus) hartigii or F. (Phellinus) punctata. Here we phylogenetically analyzed DNA sequences of four markers from a set of strains isolated from trunk-rot symptoms and recovered a single, monophyletic clade, indicating that a single taxon is involved. This clade was identified as Fomitiporia torreyae, a species described from eastern China. This analysis also proved that trunk rot and/or dieback of other conifers and broadleaf trees, including Sawara cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera), Japanese umbrella pine (Sciadopitys verticillata) and Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta), were caused by the same species. The phylogenetic approach to Fomitiporia revealed that the F. torreyae clade was closely related to F. bannaensis but clearly distinct from F. punctata, which originally was thought to be the cause of trunk rot in Sanbu-sugi. Fomitiporia torreyae is redescribed on the basis of more than 40 specimens from multiple hosts from Japan and China. Fomitiporia juniperina comb. nov. is proposed.
Unlike in temperate regions, few studies have examined the effect of sampling effort on the observed number of wood-decaying polypores in the tropics. We conducted field surveys at Pasoh Forest ...Reserve and Lambir Hills National Park, two primary lowland dipterocarp forests in Malaysia, to compare the numbers of observed and estimated species for each site. Field surveys included five occasions over 4 years on a 2-ha plot in Pasoh, and two occasions in 1 year in 12 0.1-ha transects in Lambir. From Pasoh, 140 polypore species were recorded and 188 species were estimated (using the Chao2 estimator). From Lambir, 90 species were recorded and 149 estimated. Thus, at both sites the number of species observed comprised <75 % of the estimated number of species. At Pasoh, more than 80 % of the total species were recorded by the end of the third sampling occasion. When sampling effort (area × number of sampling occasions) was constant, more species were recorded by field surveys conducted over larger areas with less frequent sampling than those conducted over smaller areas with more frequent sampling. The numbers of species recorded in the present work were greater than those identified in temperate and boreal regions in previous studies. The species richness of wood-decaying polypores in tropical regions may be largely underestimated without conducting field surveys on at least three occasions. If potential sampling effort is limited, surveying a larger area on fewer occasions is a reasonable compromise to ensure coverage of the majority of polypore species.
We present a taxonomic study of ‘group Favolus’ and related species in
Polyporus
. Phylogenetic analyses of nurLSU and ITS regions revealed that the infrageneric ‘group Favolus’ is divided into two ...main clades. Fungi within the group share laterally stipitate basidiocarps, with non-crustose stipe surfaces, and are distinguishable by the morphology of the pileus surface. One clade is characterized by species with hyaline to brown cutis, composed of hyaline to brown agglutinated generative hyphae. The other clade accommodates species with radially striate pileus, and lacks any distinct cutis of agglutinated hyphae. We propose
Neofavolus
gen. nov., typified by
N
.
alveolaris
, for the former clade, and revise the genus
Favolus
, typified by
F
.
brasiliensis
, for the latter clade.
Neofavolus
includes
N
.
mikawai
and
N
.
cremeoalbidus
sp. nov., known only from temperate eastern Asia, in addition to
N
.
alveolaris
.
Favolus
includes members of the
Polyporus grammocephalus
complex, the
P
.
tenuiculus
complex, and
P
.
pseudobetulinus
. We reveal that the polypore known as ‘
P
.
grammocephalus
’ in Asia includes
F
.
acervatus
and
F
.
emerici
(=
P
.
grammocephalus
), whereas ‘
P
.
tenuiculus
’ includes three distinct species;
F
.
brasiliensis
from tropical America, and
F
.
spathulatus
and
F
.
roseus
from tropical Asia. Detailed descriptions and illustrations are provided for the accepted species in
Favolus
and
Neofavolus
.
In 1994 Corner published five new species within the genus
, all having been collected on the Malay Peninsula between 1929 and 1930. Three of these species belong to the genus
and with their ...vinaceous colored lamellae and spore print, when fresh, they belong to H. sect. Porphyrospora. Of these three species, only one,
, was validly published and thus we herewith recombine it as
. The other two species,
and
, are synonyms of
and
, respectively. We also describe a new Malayan species,
, which also belongs to H. sect. Porphyrospora. These findings confirm the western Pacific Rim as a diversity hotspot for H. sect. Porphyrospora. The records described within this paper, represent the first recognition that the genus
, and indeed that members of the ectomycorrhizal Hymenogastraceae, are present on the Malay Peninsula.
A taxonomic study of poroid Asian species in the Auriculariales was conducted using phylogenetic and morphological methods. Phylogenetic analyses based on the LSU and ITS regions reveal that Elmerina ...was a polyphyletic genus. Moreover, E. hexagonoides collected from Malaysia and “E. hexagonoides” from Japan formed two distinct clades within a well-supported larger clade with Protomerulius caryae. These taxa comprise a different lineage from the type species of both Protomerulius and Protodaedalea, and we conclude that they are members of the genus Aporpium. The phylogenetic position of E. cladophora (type species of Elmerina) is still unclear, and we retain Aporpium and Protodaedalea as genera distinct from Elmerina. Aporpium strigosum sp. nov. is described to represent Japanese specimens misidentified as E. hexagonoides. Aporpium is characterized by resupinate to sessile basidiocarps, tough-fleshy to leathery context, poroid hymenophore, dimitic hyphal systems with unbranched skeletal hyphae, clavate to pyriform probasidia, and ellipsoid to cylindrical or allantoid basidiospores. Aporpium strigosum is similar to A. hexagonoides, but can be differentiated by the ochraceous to straw-colored basidiocarps, strigose pileus surface with long and stiff hairs, and the larger pores, basidia, and basidiospores.
We describe and illustrate two Strobilomyces species, S. seminudus and S. hongoi sp. nov. These two species have been confused and treated as a single species (i.e. S. seminudus). However recent ...studies based on population genetics have implied that they are reproductively isolated. In the present study we found that they are phylogenetically and morphologically distinct. The molecular phylogenetic trees inferred from the partial sequences of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB1) and the second-largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2) support the differentiation of these two species as well as their differentiation from other related species. Strobilomyces seminudus is characterized by a stipe with an annular zone, becoming distinctly thickened near the apex and mottled with appressed-tomentose scales near the base. In contrast S. hongoi is characterized by a stipe with a remarkable reticulum at the upper and middle part and with minutely warty scales downward. Stipe characteristics also are useful for distinguishing these two species from other related species. In addition the incompletely reticulated basidiospores of these two species are also distinct from those of related species (i.e. S. foveatus).
Fungi play major roles in ecosystem processes, but the determinants of fungal diversity and biogeographic patterns remain poorly understood. Using DNA metabarcoding data from hundreds of globally ...distributed soil samples, we demonstrate that fungal richness is decoupled from plant diversity. The plant-to-fungus richness ratio declines exponentially toward the poles. Climatic factors, followed by edaphic and spatial variables, constitute the best predictors of fungal richness and community composition at the global scale. Fungi show similar latitudinal diversity gradients to other organisms, with several notable exceptions. These findings advance our understanding of global fungal diversity patterns and permit integration of fungi into a general macroecological framework. Assessing fungal diversity worldwideFungi are hyperdiverse but poorly known, despite their ecological and economic impacts. Tedersoo et al. collected nearly 15,000 topsoil samples from 365 sites worldwide and sequenced their genomes (see the Perspective by Wardle and Lindahl). Overall, they found a striking decline in fungal species richness with distance from the equator. For some specialist groups though, diversity depended more on the abundance of host plants than host diversity or geography. The findings reveal a huge gap between known and described species and the actual numbers of distinct fungi in the world's soils.Science, this issue 10.1126/science.1256688; see also p. 1052
Batai (Falcataria moluccana) is a valuable tree species for forest plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia. Since 1993, a gall rust disease has caused severe damage to all growth stages, from seedlings ...in the nursery to mature trees in the field. To identify the fungus causing gall rust disease on F. moluccana in Malaysia and Indonesia, study of the mode of infection and changes in the anatomy of infected cells were carried out in the anatomy laboratory. The disease in Malaysia and Indonesia is caused by Uromycladium tepperianum. The fungus produces three longitudinally ridged teliospores on each head, with spores measuring 13-20μm wide and 17-28μm long. The fungus is microcyclic, completing its entire life cycle on F. moluccana. This study confirmed that the teliospores themselves cannot infect the host. Under favorable conditions, about 10 h after inoculation, teliospores germinate to produce basidiospores that form penetration pegs about 6 h later, and it is this peg which penetrates the host cells directly through the epidermis. Pycnia, recognized as small brown pustules, break through the epidermis about 7 days after inoculation.
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