Revisiting the phylogeny and taxonomy of the genus Sidera (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) with particular emphasis on S.vulgaris.

The genus Sidera (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) comprises white-rot, mono- or dimitic fungi with poroid or hydnoid hymenophore. It has a worldwide distribution albeit with fewer species present in the Southern Hemisphere. Although recent studies revealed the existence of several new Sidera species, there are still taxonomic inconsistencies and obscure phylogenetic relationships amongst certain taxa of the genus. In this work, a large number of Sidera collections were used to obtain an updated phylogeny, based on ITS and 28S rDNA sequences by including new material from Mediterranean Europe. The monophyly of the genus was strongly supported and all species with poroid hymenophore formed a highly-supported lineage with two major subclades. In total, 23 putative species were recognised. Amongst those, five are considered to possibly represent entities new to science, but further work is required since they are represented by single specimens or environmental sequences. Examined collections originally named S.lenis from southern Europe were grouped within S.vulgaris. Similarly, several collections under various names were hereby identified as S.vulgaris, including those of the recently described species S.tibetica. Furthermore, a critical discussion (based on morphoanatomical findings) is made on the key features that could be used to distinguish S.lenis from S.vulgaris.

Mallocybe heimii ectomycorrhizae with Cistus creticus and Pinus halepensis in Mediterranean littoral sand dunes - assessment of phylogenetic relationships to M. arenaria and M. agardhii.

Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis appears extensively in the Northern Hemisphere, where Mediterranean ecosystems constitute an important ecological area of considerable biodiversity value. Littoral sand dunes are among high-risk habitats, and ectomycorrhizal lifestyle contributes significantly to supporting life in such regions. Mallocybe heimii (Bon) Matheny & Esteve-Rav. (Inocybaceae, Basidiomycota) and the very similar M. arenaria (Bon) Matheny & Esteve-Rav. grow in poor, usually sandy soils, in association with angiosperms or gymnosperms. Basidiomata originally identified under these names were collected from littoral sand dunes of Greece, and their morpho-anatomical characteristics were examined in conjunction with material derived from other European regions. Sequences from basidiomata and root tips corresponding to the nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) were obtained and analyzed. Phylogenetic results demonstrated that material identified as M. heimii or M. arenaria form a single well-supported group, while M. agardhii (N. Lund) Matheny & Esteve-Rav. is confirmed to be distinct from M. arenaria (the latter was initially described as a variety of the former, i.e., I. agardhii var. arenaria Bon). A detailed tree of the genus Mallocybe was generated on the basis of concatenated ITS and LSU sequences, and relationships of selected taxa are discussed in the light of morphological and sequence data. In addition, the first morphotype descriptions of M. heimii ectomycorrhizae with Cistus creticus L. and Pinus halepensis Miller are hereby provided. Both morphotypes exhibited the typical characteristics of Inocybe/Mallocybe ectomycorrhizae; however, differences were noted, the most significant being the presence of clamps on mantle hyphae and the type of anastomoses.

A global meta-analysis of ITS rDNA sequences from material belonging to the genus Ganoderma (Basidiomycota, Polyporales) including new data from selected taxa.

Ganoderma P. Karst. is a cosmopolitan genus of white-rot fungi which comprises species with highly-prized pharmaceutical properties, valuable biotechnological applications and of significant phytopathological interest. However, the status of the taxonomy within the genus is still highly controversial and ambiguous despite the progress made through molecular approaches. A metadata analysis of 3908 nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequences obtained from GenBank/ENA/DDBJ and UNITE was performed by targeting sequences annotated as Ganoderma, but also sequences from environmental samples and from material examined for the first time. Ganoderma taxa segregated into five main lineages (Clades A to E). Clade A corresponds to the core of laccate species and includes G. shanxiense and three major well-supported clusters: Cluster A.1 ('G. lucidum sensu lato') consists of taxa from Eurasia and North America, Cluster A.2 of material with worldwide occurrence including G. resinaceum and Cluster A.3 is composed of species originating from all continents except Europe and comprises G. lingzhi. Clade B includes G. applanatum and allied species with a Holarctic distribution. Clade C comprises taxa from Asia and Africa only. Clade D consists of laccate taxa with tropical/subtropical occurrence, while clade E harbours the highest number of non-laccate species with a cosmopolitan distribution. The 92 Ganoderma-associated names, initially used for sequences labelling, correspond to at least 80 taxa. Amongst them, 21 constitute putatively new phylospecies after our application of criteria relevant to the robustness/support of the terminal clades, intra- and interspecific genetic divergence and available biogeographic data. Moreover, several other groups or individual sequences seem to represent distinct taxonomic entities and merit further investigation. A particularly large number of the public sequences was revealed to be insufficiently and/or incorrectly identified, for example, 87% and 78% of entries labelled as G. australe and G. lucidum, respectively. In general, ITS demonstrated high efficacy in resolving relationships amongst most of the Ganoderma taxa; however, it was not equally useful at elucidating species barriers across the entire genus and such cases are outlined. Furthermore, we draw conclusions on biogeography by evaluating species occurrence on a global scale in conjunction with phylogenetic structure/patterns. The sequence variability assessed in ITS spacers could be further exploited for diagnostic purposes.

Tuberpulchrosporum sp. nov., a black truffle of the Aestivum clade (Tuberaceae, Pezizales) from the Balkan peninsula.

Knowledge on the diversity of hypogeous sequestrate ascomycetes is still limited in the Balkan Peninsula. A new species of truffle, Tuberpulchrosporum, is described from Greece and Bulgaria. Specimens were collected from habitats dominated by various oak species (i.e. Quercusilex, Q.coccifera, Q.robur) and other angiosperms. They are morphologically characterised by subglobose, ovoid to irregularly lobed, yellowish-brown to dark brown ascomata, usually with a shallow basal cavity and surface with fissures and small, dense, almost flat, trihedral to polyhedral warts. Ascospores are ellipsoid to subfusiform, uniquely ornamented, crested to incompletely reticulate and are produced in (1-)2-8-spored asci. Hair-like, hyaline to light yellow hyphae protrude from the peridium surface. According to the outcome of ITS rDNA sequence analysis, this species forms a distinct well-supported group in the Aestivum clade, with T.panniferum being the closest phylogenetic taxon.

Pleurotus opuntiae revisited - An insight to the phylogeny of dimitic Pleurotus species with emphasis on the P. djamor complex.

The name Pleurotus opuntiae is indiscriminately used for describing mushrooms with white to off-white to white-grey pilei with short or absent stipe and dimitic hyphal system, which grow on plants of the genera Opuntia, Yucca, Agave, Phytolacca etc. However, the outcome of the present study evidences that this name should be reserved for specimens deriving from the Mediterranean area only; an epitype originating from Italy on Opuntia ficus-indica is designated. Pertinent material was sequenced by using the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and found to be phylogenetically related to P. djamor from Kenya and Nigeria, while members of the P. djamor complex from other continents were clearly more distant. Results were further corroborated by examining the large subunit of nuclear ribosomal DNA (LSU) and the second subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2). The P. djamor complex shows high intraspecific polymorphism evidenced by sequence divergence and genetic distance values, presents a cosmopolitan distribution and also comprises material initially identified as P. flabellatus, P. opuntiae, P. ostreatoroseus, P. parsonsiae and P. salmoneostramineus. An ITS tree including representative specimens from all major Pleurotus species is provided for the first time and ambiguous taxa are discussed in the context of new findings.