Genome sequencing progenies of magic mushrooms (Psilocybe subaeruginosa) identifies tetrapolar mating and gene duplications in the psilocybin pathway.

Knowledge of breeding systems and genetic diversity is critical to select and combine desired traits that advance new cultivars in agriculture and horticulture. Mushrooms that produce psilocybin, magic mushrooms, may potentially be used in therapeutic and wellness industries, and stand to benefit from genetic improvement. We studied haploid siblings of Psilocybe subaeruginosa to resolve the genetics behind mating compatibility and advance knowledge of breeding. Our results show that mating in P. subaeruginosa is tetrapolar, with compatibility controlled at a homeodomain locus with one copy each of HD1 and HD2, and a pheromone/receptor locus with four homologs of the receptor gene STE3. An additional two pheromone/receptor loci homologous to STE3 do not appear to regulate mating compatibility. Alleles in the psilocybin gene cluster did not vary among the five siblings and were likely homozygous in the parent. Psilocybe subaeruginosa and its relatives have three copies of PsiH genes but their impact on production of psilocybin and its analogues is unknown. Genetic improvement in Psilocybe will require access to genetic diversity from the centre of origin of different species, identification of genes behind traits, and strategies to avoid inbreeding depression.

One Crop Disease, How Many Pathogens? Podosphaera xanthii and Erysiphe vignae sp. nov. Identified as the Two Species that Cause Powdery Mildew of Mungbean (Vigna radiata) and Black Gram (V. mungo) in Australia.

Powdery mildew is a significant threat to mungbean (Vigna radiata) and black gram (V. mungo) production across Australia and overseas. Although they have been present in Australia for at least six decades and are easily recognized in the field, the precise identification of the pathogens causing this disease has remained unclear. Our goal was to identify the powdery mildew species infecting mungbean, black gram, and wild mungbean (V. radiata ssp. sublobata) in Australia. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit sequences of the ribosomal DNA and/or morphology of 57 Australian specimens were examined. Mungbean and black gram were infected by two species: Podosphaera xanthii and a newly recognized taxon, Erysiphe vignae sp. nov. Wild mungbean was infected only with P. xanthii. Mungbean and black gram powdery mildew ITS sequences from China, India, and Taiwan revealed the presence of only P. xanthii on these crops despite controversial reports of an Erysiphe species on both crops in India. Sequence analyses indicated that the closest relative of E. vignae is E. diffusa, which infects soybean (Glycine max) and other plants. E. vignae did not infect soybean in cross-inoculation tests. In turn, E. diffusa from soybean infected black gram and provoked hypersensitive response in mungbean. The recognition of a second species, E. vignae, as another causal agent of mungbean and black gram powdery mildew in Australia may complicate plant breeding efforts and control of the disease with fungicide applications.

A global view of Gyroporus: molecular phylogenetics, diversity patterns, and new species.

Gyroporus (Gyroporaceae, Boletales) is a highly diverse genus of poroid ectomycorrhizal mushrooms with a nearly worldwide distribution. Previous attempts to unravel the diversity within this genus proved difficult due to the presence of semicryptic species and ambiguous results from analysis of ribosomal RNA markers. In this study, we employ a combined morphotaxonomic and phylogenetic approach to delimit species and elucidate geographic and evolutionary patterns in Gyroporus. For phylogenetic analyses, the protein-coding genes atp6 (mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate [ATP] synthase subunit 6) and rpb2 (nuclear second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II) were selected based on their utility in studies of Boletales. We infer several distinct clades, most notably one corresponding to G. castaneus as a speciose Northern Hemisphere group, another unifying G. cyanescens and like entities, and a third group unifying G. longicystidiatus and a New World sister species. Also notable is the recovery of a sister relationship between the cyanescens and longicystidiatus clades. We formally describe five new species of Gyroporus, outline a number of provisional species, and briefly discuss distributional patterns. This study provides an important scaffold for future work on this well-known but poorly understood genus of fungi.

Entonalactams A-C: Isoindolinone derivatives from an Australian rainforest fungus belonging to the genus Entonaema.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of an antimalarial DCM/MeOH extract derived from the Australian rainforest fungus Entonaema sp. resulted in the isolation of three new isoindolinone derivatives, entonalactams A-C (1-3), along with the known natural products 3-methoxy-5-methylbenzene-1,2-diol (4), daldinal B (5), and ergosta-4,6,8(14),22-tetraen-3-one (6). The chemical structures of the new secondary metabolites were determined following extensive 1D/2D NMR and MS data analysis. A single crystal X-ray structure for entonalactam A (1) confirmed the NMR-based structure assignment. Entonalactams A-C (1-3) were all determined to be racemic based on chiro-optical data. All secondary metabolites were tested in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites, and ergosta-4,6,8(14),22-tetraen-3-one (6) was identified as the most active compound with 66% inhibition at 50 µM.

New Porcini (Boletus sect. Boletus) from Australia and Thailand.

Boletus albobrunnescens and B. austroedulis are described as new species in section Boletus from Thailand and Australia respectively. The former is easily characterized by the pure white basidiomata that stain brown. Boletus austroedulis has a gray-brown, slightly rugulose pileus with hymeniform pileipellis producing pileocystidia, and the stipe is only apically reticulate if at all. These new species represent ancient lineages inferred from prior molecular phylogenetic analyses.

Australasian sequestrate fungi 18: Solioccasus polychromus gen. & sp. nov., a richly colored, tropical to subtropical, hypogeous fungus.

Solioccasus polychromus gen. & sp. nov., the most brightly colored hypogeous fungus known, is described from Papua New Guinea and tropical northern Australia south into subtropical forests along the Queensland coast and coastal mountains to near Brisbane. Phylogenetic analysis of molecular data places it as a sister genus to Bothia in the Boletineae, a clade of predominantly ectomycorrhizal boletes. Ectomycorrhizal trees, such as members of the Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Lophostemon, Melaleuca spp.) and Allocasuarina littoralis, were present usually in mixture or in some cases dominant, so we infer some or all of them to be among the ectomycorrhizal hosts of S. polychromus.

Sutorius: a new genus for Boletus eximius.

Sutorius is described as a new genus of Boletaceae to accommodate Boletus robustus originally named illegitimately by C.C. Frost from eastern North America. The legitimate name, Boletus eximius, provided by C.H. Peck, has been used since for a dark purple to chocolate brown bolete with finely scaly stipe and reddish brown spore deposit. This iconic taxon has been documented on five continents. Despite the straightforward species identification from morphology, the interpretation of stipe macro-morphology and spore color has led to equivocal generic placement. Phylogenetic analyses of genes encoding large subunit rRNA and translation elongation factor 1α confirm Sutorius as a unique generic lineage in the Boletaceae. Two species are recognized based on multiple accessions: S. eximius, represented by collections from North America, Costa Rica, Guyana, Indonesia and Japan (molecular data are lacking for only the Guyanan and Japanese material); and S. australiensis, represented by material from Queensland, Australia. Additional collections from Zambia and Thailand represent independent lineages, but sampling is insufficient to describe new species for these entities.

Evaluation of antibacterial activity of Australian basidiomycetous macrofungi using a high-throughput 96-well plate assay.

CONTEXT: The production of antimicrobial compounds by macrofungi is not unexpected because they have to compete with other organisms for survival in their natural hostile environment. Previous studies have indicated that macrofungi contain secondary metabolites with a range of pharmacological activities including antimicrobial agents. OBJECTIVE: To investigate macrofungi for antimicrobial activity due to the increasing need for new antimicrobials as a result of resistance in the bacterial community to existing treatments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-seven different specimens of macrofungi were collected across Queensland, Australia. Freeze-dried fruiting bodies were sequentially extracted with three solvents: water, ethanol, and hexane. These extracts were tested against representative Gram+ve, Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-ve, Escherichia coli bacteria. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Overall water and ethanol extracts were more effective against S. aureus than E. coli, whereas a small number of hexane extracts showed better results for their antimicrobial potential against E. coli at higher concentrations only. Encouraging results were found for a number of macrofungi in the genera Agaricus (Agaricaceae), Amanita (Amanitaceae), Boletus (Boletaceae), Cantharellus (Cantharellaceae), Fomitopsis (Fomitopsidaceae), Hohenbuehelia (Pleurotaceae), Lentinus (Polyporaceae), Ramaria (Gomphaceae), and Strobilomyces (Boletaceae) showing good growth inhibition of the pathogens tested. CONCLUSION: The present study establishes the antimicrobial potential of a sample of Australian macrofungi that can serve as potential candidates for the development of new antibiotics.