Taxonomy and phylogeny of Panus (Polyporales, Panaceae) in China and its relationship with allies.

Panus is a typical wood-rotting fungi, which plays considerable roles in ecosystems and has significant economic value. The genus Panus currently consists of more than 100 species; however, only eight species have been reported from China. This study aims to distinguish and describe two novel species from the Panussimilis complex, namely Panusminisporus and Panusbaishanzuensis, one new record species from Zhejiang Province, Panussimilis and three common species, Panusconchatus, Panusneostrigosus and Panusrudis, based on detailed morphological and phylogenetic studies, relying on Chinese specimens. Panusminisporus is characterised by its reddish-brown pileus, decurrent lamellae with cross-veins, slender stipe, smaller basidiospores, wider generative hyphae and absence of sclerocystidia. Panusbaishanzuensis is featured by its pileus with concentric and darker ring zone, decurrent lamellae with cross-veins, shorter stipe, longer basidiospores, diverse and shorter cheilocystidia and smaller sclerocystidia. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, large subunit nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nLSU) and translation elongation factor 1-α gene (tef-1α) were employed to perform a thorough phylogenetic analysis for genus Panus and related genera, using Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analysis. The results indicate that Panusminisporus and Panusbaishanzuensis form two independent clades within the Panussimilis complex themselves. Detailed descriptions, taxonomic notes, illustrations etc. were provided. In addition, a key to the reported species of Panus from China is also provided.

New species, new records and common species of Pluteussect.Celluloderma from northern China.

Wood-rotting fungi are organisms that can decompose wood substrates and extract nutrients from them to support their growth. They play a crucial role in the material cycle of forest ecosystems. The genus Pluteus plays a significant role in wood decomposition. In this study, the morphology and molecular systematics of the sect. Celluloderma of the genus Pluteus were carried out. Pluteusbrunneodiscus was identified as a new species, along with the discovery of two new records, P.cystidiosus and P.chrysophlebius, and a common species, P.romellii. Pluteusbrunneodiscus is characterized by the brown center of the pileus that transitions to white towards the margins, with the surface cracking to form irregular granules. It is typically found in Populus forests growing on decomposing twigs or wood chips. Line drawings, color photographs, and phylogenetic analyses of related species within the genus Pluteus accompany the descriptions of these four species. The analyses are based on ITS + TEF1-α sequence data. Finally, a key for the twenty species within the sect. Celluloderma of the genus Pluteus, which has been documented in China, is provided.

Morphology and molecular phylogeny of Neolentinus in northern China.

Neolentinus is a significant genus, belonging to Gloeophyllaceae, with important economic and ecological values, which are parasites on decaying wood of broad-leaf or coniferous trees, and will cause brown rot. However, the taxonomic study is lagging behind to other groups of macrofungi, especially in China. In view of this, we conducted morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies on this genus. We have discovered new types of cheilocystidia and with extremely long lamellae in Neolentinus, and, thus proposed it as a new species-Neolentinus longifolius. At the same time, we clarified the distribution of Neolentinus cyathiformis in China and provided a detailed description. Moreover, we also described two common species, viz. Neolentinus lepideus and Neolentinus adhaerens. All the species are described based on the Chinese collections. The key to the reported species of Neolentinus from China is provided. And the phylogeny of Neolentinus from China is reconstructed based on DNA sequences of multiple loci including the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, the large subunit nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nLSU), and the translation elongation factor 1-α gene (tef-1α). In addition, full morphological descriptions, illustrations, color photographs, taxonomic notes, and all the available sequences of Neolentinus species are provided.

A new species and new records of Hymenopellis and Xerula (Agaricales, Physalacriaceae) from China.

Hymenopellis is the genus that exhibits the highest number of species within the Xerula/Oudemansiella complex. Numerous species of Hymenopellis demonstrate edibility, and some of these species have been domesticated and cultivated. During an extensive survey carried out in Henan and Jilin Provinces, China, a substantial quantity of Hymenopellis specimens was gathered as a component of the macrofungal resource inventory. Based on the findings of morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies, a new species, Hymenopellis biyangensis, has been identified. A new record species, Hymenopellis altissima, has been discovered in China. Additionally, two new record species, Hymenopellis raphanipes and Xerula strigosa, have been found in Henan Province. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit ribosomal (nrLSU) were used to establish a phylogeny for species identification. Detailed descriptions, field habitat maps and line drawings of these species are presented. The discussion focuses on the relationships between newly discovered species and other related taxa. Additionally, this study provides and a key to the documented species of Hymenopellis and Xerula found in China.

Interspecies hybridization between Auricularia cornea cv. Yu Muer and Auricularia heimuer cv. Bai Muer through protoplast fusion.

Color variations in cultivated edible mushrooms present novel and potentially valuable alternatives to the research and cultivation industries. We collected, identified, and domesticated a white strain of Auricularia cornea and a white strain of Auricularia heimuer from China. However, due to an unstable phenotype and stricter requirements on environment and management technology, the production and utilization of Auricularia heimuer cv. Bai Muer make slow progress. Outcrossing is an essential means to broaden the intraspecific genetic resources to expand the gene pool and compensate for the limitations of related species hybridization. In this study, interspecies hybridization between Auricularia cornea cv. Yu Muer and Auricularia heimuer cv. Bai Muer was conducted using polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced double-inactivated protoplast fusion. Apart from the functional complementation of double-inactivated protoplasts, the hybrids were characterized by colony morphology, antagonistic test, primordial morphology, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fingerprinting. The results suggested that the hybrids and their parents showed significant differences in their colony morphology. Moreover, positive barrage reactions were observed between each parent and hybrid. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and start codon targeted (SCoT) profile analysis of fusants and parents depicted that fusants contained polymorphic bands, which indicated the rearrangement and deletion of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the fusants. Yellowish-white primordia were obtained from two hybrids. Protoplast fusion may reinforce the genetic potential and provide an ideal alternative for breeding albino Auricularia.

A new species and new records species of Pluteus from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China embraces a unique geographical and ecological environment, and the macrofungi represent a rich resource. However, few studies on the genus Pluteus have been reported from Xinjiang. In 2021, the macrofungal resources in Xinjiang were surveyed, and 10 specimens belonging to the genus Pluteus were collected. Based on the morphological study and molecular analysis, three species were recognized, P. aletaiensis, P. brunneidiscus, and P. hongoi. Pluteus aletaiensis is proposed as a new species. It is characterized by its bright yellow lamellae and stipe, brittle texture, subfusiform to vesicular pleurocystidia, with short pedicels to broadly lageniform to obtuse at apices, a hymeniderm pileipellis, containing dark brown intracellular pigment, and it grows on the ground. Pluteus brunneidiscus, a new record to China, is characterized by uneven, smooth, grayish brown to brown pileus, with an entire margin, and pointed or flatter apices intermediate cystidia, without apical hooks. Pluteus hongoi, a new record to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, is characterized by the apical hook's structure (commonly bifid) of pleurocystidia. The nuclear internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-a) region were used for the molecular analysis. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using both the maximum likelihood analysis (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI). Detailed descriptions of the three species are presented herein. Finally, a key to the list of eight species of the genus Pluteus knew from Xinjiang is provided.

Ecological Factors Influencing the Occurrence of Macrofungi from Eastern Mountainous Areas to the Central Plains of Jilin Province, China.

Macrofungi are essential in forest ecological functioning. Their distribution and diversity are primarily impacted by vegetation, topography, and environmental factors, such as precipitation and temperature. However, the composition and topographical changes of the macrofungi between the eastern mountainous area and central plains of Jilin Province are currently unknown. For this study, we selected six investigational sites representing three different topographical research sites in Jilin Province to assess macrofungal diversity, and applied a quadrat sampling method. Macro- and micro-morphological characteristics combined with the molecular method were used to identify the collected macrofungi. Meanwhile, selected meteorological data were obtained for statistical analysis. As a result, 691 species were identified, of which Agarics were the most common, accounting for 60.23%, while the Cantharelloid fungi were the least common (0.91%). Furthermore, most of the shared genera (species) were saprophytic. The α diversity showed that the species diversity and richness in Longwan National Forest Park (B2) were the highest at the genus level. The mycorrhizal macrofungi proportion revealed that Quanshuidong Forest Farm (A1) was the healthiest. Finally, species composition similarity decreased with the transition from mountainous to hilly plains. We concluded that the occurrence of macrofungi was most influenced by vegetation. The air humidity, precipitation, and wind velocity were also found to significantly impact the occurrence of macrofungi. Finally, the mycorrhizal:saprophytic ratios and species similarity decreased with the transition from the mountainous area to the plains. The results presented here help elucidate the macrofungi composition and their relationship with environmental factors and topography in Jilin Province, which is crucial for sustainable utilization and future conservation.

Morphological and Molecular Evidence Reveal Eight New Species of Gymnopus from Northeast China.

Gymnopus is a widely distributed genus consisting of about 300 species thus far, including Gymnopus fusipes as a generic type. A total of nine species from China belong to the sect. Levipedes, including eight new species­Gymnopus longisterigmaticus, Gymnopus longus, Gymnopus macrosporus, Gymnopus striatus, Gymnopus changbaiensis, Gymnopus tomentosus, Gymnopus tiliicola, and Gymnopus globulosus­which were delimited and proposed based on morphological and molecular evidence; and one new record from Jilin Province, China­Gymnopus erythropus. Detailed descriptions and illustrations are presented, as well as comparisons to similar species. Overall, our results broaden the morphological characterization of the genus. The pileipellis of sect. Levipedes typically takes on the "Dryophila structure", while, in our findings, pileipellis terminal hyphae inflated to spherical to prolate were observed, in addition to extremely long basidia sterigma. The phylogenies inferred from the ITS and nLSU dataset supported the Gymnopus, which was defined by Oliveira et al. as a monophyletic genus, and the novel species as separate lineages within. A key to all species described in this study is also provided.

Boletaceae in China: Taxonomy and phylogeny reveal a new genus, two new species, and a new record.

Boletaceae, the largest family in Boletales, has been attracted by mycologists in the world due to its diverse morphology and complex history of evolution. Although considerable work has been done in the past decades, novel taxa are continually described. The current study aimed to introduce three new taxa and one new record of Boletaceae from China. The morphological descriptions, color photographs, phylogenetic trees to show the positions of the taxa, and comparisons with allied taxa are provided. The new genus Hemilanmaoa is unique in the Pulveroboletus group, and Hemilanmaoa retistipitatus was introduced as the type species. It can be distinguished by its bluing basidioma when injured, a decurrent hymenophore, a stipe covered with distinct reticulations, and a fertile stipitipellis. Porphyrellus pseudocyaneotinctus is characterized by its pileipellis consisting of broadly concatenated cells and thin-walled caulocystidia in Porphyrellus. In Phylloporus, Phylloporus biyangensis can be distinguished by its hymenophores that change to blue when injured and yellow basal mycelium. Lanmaoa angustispora, as a new record, is first reported in Northern China. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS), 28S rDNA (28S), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1-α), RNA polymerase II subunit 1 (rpb1), and RNA polymerase II subunit 2 (rpb2) were employed to execute phylogenetic analyses.

Morphology and molecular study of three new Cordycipitoid fungi and its related species collected from Jilin Province, northeast China.

Cordyceps species are notable medicinal fungi in China, which are pathogenic on insects and exhibit high biodiversity in tropical and subtropical regions. Recently, three new Cordyceps species, Cordycepschangchunensis and Cordycepsjingyuetanensis growing on pupae of Lepidoptera and Cordycepschangbaiensis growing on larvae of Lepidoptera, were found in Jilin Province, China and are described, based on morphological and ecological characteristics. These three new species are similar to the Cordycepsmilitaris group, but are distinctly distinguishable from the known species. Cordycepschangchunensis, characterised by its small and light yellow to orange stromata which is occasionally forked, covered with white mycelium at the base of stipe, globose to ovoid perithecia, is macroscopically similar to Cordycepsmilitaris. Cordycepschangbaiensis is clearly discriminated from other Cordyceps species by its white to orange and branched stromata, clavate to cylindrical fertile apical portion, immersed and globose to ovoid perithecia. Moreover, unbranched, clavate and orange to light red stromata, almond-shaped to ovoid and immersed perithecia separate Cordycepsjingyuetanensis from other Cordyceps species. nrITS, nrLSU and EF-1α sequences were undertaken and phylogenetic trees, based on Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference analysis showed that the three new species clustered with Cordycepsmilitaris, but formed individual clades, as well as confirmed the results of our morphological study.