A multi-gene phylogeny of Lactifluus (Basidiomycota, Russulales) translated into a new infrageneric classification of the genus.

Infrageneric relations of the genetically diverse milkcap genus Lactifluus (Russulales, Basidiomycota) are poorly known. Currently used classification systems still largely reflect the traditional, mainly morphological, characters used for infrageneric delimitations of milkcaps. Increased sampling, combined with small-scale molecular studies, show that this genus is underexplored and in need of revision. For this study, we assembled an extensive dataset of the genus Lactifluus, comprising 80 % of all known species and 30 % of the type collections. To unravel the infrageneric relationships within this genus, we combined a multi-gene molecular phylogeny, based on nuclear ITS, LSU, RPB2 and RPB1, with a morphological study, focussing on five important characteristics (fruit body type, presence of a secondary velum, colour reaction of the latex/context, pileipellis type and presence of true cystidia). Lactifluus comprises four supported subgenera, each containing several supported clades. With extensive sampling, ten new clades and at least 17 new species were discovered, which highlight the high diversity in this genus. The traditional infrageneric classification is only partly maintained and nomenclatural changes are proposed. Our morphological study shows that the five featured characteristics are important at different evolutionary levels, but further characteristics need to be studied to find morphological support for each clade. This study paves the way for a more detailed investigation of biogeographical history and character evolution within Lactifluus.

Study in Agaricus subgenus Minores and allied clades reveals a new American subgenus and contrasting phylogenetic patterns in Europe and Greater Mekong Subregion.

Within Agaricus subg. Minores, A. sect. Minores remains a little-studied section due generally to its delicate sporocarps often lacking taxonomically relevant morphological characters. To reconstruct the section, using the recent taxonomic system based on divergence times, and to evaluate the species diversity of A. sect. Minores in the Greater Mekong Subregion, 165 specimens were incorporated in phylogenetic analyses. A dated tree based on nuclear ITS, LSU and tef1-α sequence data allowed us to better circumscribe A. subg. Minores and to propose a new subgenus, A. subg. Minoriopsis, which is only known from tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. A larger tree based on ITS sequences indicated that, with 81 phylogenetic species, the reconstructed section Minores is now one of the largest sections in the genus. Within A. subg. Minores, a new section, A. sect. Leucocarpi, and eleven new species are described from the Greater Mekong Subregion. Thirty-eight species of A. sect. Minores from this region of Asia were distributed in multiple clades that successively diverged over the past 24 million years. In contrast, species reported from Europe mostly grouped in a single non-tropical clade, suggesting a major species diversification following the middle Miocene climatic optimum.