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Fungi are among the most diverse and ecologically important kingdoms in life. However, the distributional ranges of fungi remain largely unknown as do the ecological mechanisms that shape their distributions1,2. To provide an integrated view of the spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi, we implemented a globally distributed standardized aerial sampling of fungal spores3. The vast majority of operational taxonomic units were detected within only one climatic zone, and the spatiotemporal patterns of species richness and community composition were mostly explained by annual mean air temperature. Tropical regions hosted the highest fungal diversity except for lichenized, ericoid mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi, which reached their peak diversity in temperate regions. The sensitivity in climatic responses was associated with phylogenetic relatedness, suggesting that large-scale distributions of some fungal groups are partially constrained by their ancestral niche. There was a strong phylogenetic signal in seasonal sensitivity, suggesting that some groups of fungi have retained their ancestral trait of sporulating for only a short period. Overall, our results show that the hyperdiverse kingdom of fungi follows globally highly predictable spatial and temporal dynamics, with seasonality in both species richness and community composition increasing with latitude. Our study reports patterns resembling those described for other major groups of organisms, thus making a major contribution to the long-standing debate on whether organisms with a microbial lifestyle follow the global biodiversity paradigms known for macroorganisms4,5.

ABSTRACTLagarobasidium cymosumis a rare corticioid species with characteristic morphology different from other Lagarobasidiumspecies. We used nuc 5.8S rDNA, nuc 28S rDNA, and mt 12S rDNA loci to infer the phylogenetic position of L. cymosum. Our analyses suggest that it belongs to Xylodonbut is not closely related to any of the other taxa referred to Lagarobasidium. Molecular and morphological information shows that the traditional concept of L. cymosumcovers at least three species: Xylodon acuminatusfrom the Neotropics, X. cymosusfrom North America, and X. subtilissimusdistributed in both Europe and North America. Lagarobasidium calongeiis transferred to Xylodon, and DNA barcodes for Lyomyces incrustatusand Xylodon hjortstamiiare published for the first time.

ABSTRACTModern taxonomic studies of Agaricomycetes rely on the integrative analyses of morphology, environmental data, geographic distribution, and usually several DNA loci. However, sampling and selection of DNA loci for the analyses are commonly shallow. In this study, we suggest minimal numbers of necessary specimens to sample and DNA loci to analyze in order to prevent inadequate taxonomic decisions in species groups with minor morphological and genealogical differences. We sampled four unlinked nuclear DNA gene regions (nuc rDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, gh63, rpb2, and tef1) to revise the systematics of a common wood-decaying species Basidioradulum radula(Hymenochaetales) on an intercontinental set of specimens collected in the Northern Hemisphere. The DNA loci analyzed violate the genealogical concordance phylogenetic species recognition principles, thus confirming a single-species interpretation. We conclude that Hyphodontia syringaeis a younger synonym of B. radula.

Sporocarps (fruit bodies) are the sexual reproductive stage in the life cycle of many fungi. They are highly nutritious and consequently vulnerable to grazing by birds and small mammals, and invertebrates, and can be infected by microbial and fungal parasites and pathogens. The complexity of communities thriving inside sporocarps is largely unknown. In this study, we revealed the diversity, taxonomic composition and host preference of fungicolous fungi (i.e., fungi that feed on other fungi) in sporocarps. We carried out DNA metabarcoding of the ITS2 region from 176 sporocarps of 11 wood-decay fungal host species, all collected within a forest in northeast Finland. We assessed the influence of sporocarp traits, such as lifespan, morphology and size, on the fungicolous fungal community. The level of colonisation by fungicolous fungi, measured as the proportion of non-host ITS2 reads, varied between 2.8–39.8% across the 11 host species and was largely dominated by Ascomycota. Host species was the major determinant of the community composition and diversity of fungicolous fungi, suggesting that host adaptation is important for many fungicolous fungi. Furthermore, the alpha diversity was consistently higher in short-lived and resupinate sporocarps compared to long-lived and pileate ones, perhaps due to a more hostile environment for fungal growth in the latter too. The fungicolous fungi represented numerous lineages in the fungal tree of life, among which a significant portion was poorly represented with reference sequences in databases.

ABSTRACTMost known brown rot–producing species of Polyporales belong to the so-called “Antrodia clade” that largely consists of poroid species. In this study, we use three genetic markers to revise Antrodias. str., the core group of this clade. We show that a corticioid species with a smooth hymenophore, Phlebia griseoflavescens, belongs to Antrodias. str. Accordingly, we revise the generic concept of Antrodias. str. to accommodate this species and two recently described poroid taxa, A. tenerifensisand A. multiformis. In addition, we describe two new poroid species within Antrodias. str., A. latebrosafrom Africa and A. peregrinafrom East Asia, and provide new documentation for the Southeast Asian species A. parvulabased on recent collections from the type location.

Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological diversity) with nomenclature (an artificial agreement to name biological diversity). Two proposals to amend the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), allowing DNA sequences alone (of any region and extent) to serve as types of taxon names for voucherless fungi (mainly putative taxa from environmental DNA sequences), have been submitted to be voted on at the 11thInternational Mycological Congress (Puerto Rico, July 2018). We consider various genetic processes affecting the distribution of alleles among taxa and find that alleles may not consistently and uniquely represent the species within which they are contained. Should the proposals be accepted, the meaning of nomenclatural types would change in a fundamental way from physical objects as sources of data to the data themselves. Such changes are conducive to irreproducible science, the potential typification on artefactual data, and massive creation of names with low information content, ultimately causing nomenclatural instability and unnecessary work for future researchers that would stall future explorations of fungal diversity. We conclude that the acceptance of DNA sequences alone as types of names of taxa, under the terms used in the current proposals, is unnecessary and would not solve the problem of naming putative taxa known only from DNA sequences in a scientifically defensible way. As an alternative, we highlight the use of formulas for naming putative taxa (candidate taxa) that do not require any modification of the ICN.

ABSTRACTTaxonomy and phylogeny of the Antrodia serialisgroup are revised with morphological, ecological, and geographic data, partial translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1) gene sequences, and nuc rDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-28S sequences. The group contains 13 species found in boreal and temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. The species are limited to certain geographic areas within Eurasia and North America. The traditional morphology-based concept of A. serialiscovers at least four closely related species: A. serialiss. str. in Eurasia, A. angusta, sp. nov., in East Asia, A. serrata, sp. nov., in the American Northeast, and A. calcitrosa, sp. nov., in the American Northwest. They all are associated mostly with Piceaspp. and show small, but stable morphological differences from each other. In addition, A. morganii, comb. nov., inhabiting wood of Populusspp., occurs in North America, and Antrodia alaskana, comb. nov., a large-pored species, macroscopically similar to A. variiformis, is distributed along the Pacific coast of North America. The pine-dwelling A. flavimontis, sp. nov., similar to A. primaevafrom Eurasia, is so far known only from the eastern part of the Rocky Mountains (Utah and Wyoming).

A proposal was recently made (Redhead & al. in Taxon 55. 2006) to conserve the name Boletus applanatusPers., and a neotype was selected for it. However, two externally almost indistinguishable species occur in Europe: Ganoderma applanatum(Pers.) Pat. as commonly understood, and G. adspersum(Schulzer) Donk. In this paper we examine the selected neotype of Boletus applanatusand determine that it conforms to the current European concept of G. applanatumrather than to the superficially similar G. adspersum.

The impacts of Ho and Li (0, 10, 50, 200 mg/L) were tested towards the growth of four basidiomycetous fungal species, their ability to decolorise synthetic dyes (Reactive Green 19, Reactive Orange 16, Reactive Black 5), and produce oxidative enzymes. All species; Agrocybe dura, Skeletocutis biguttulata, Exidia saccharinaand Galerina paludosa;grew with and without supplemented Ho or Li. The growth of S. biguttulatawas the most tolerant species towards Ho or Li (200 mg/L), whereas the growth of G. paludosawas the most sensitive of the studied species to both 200 mg Ho or Li/L. All fungi oxidized ABTS [2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] forming colour zone on plate tests indicating production of lignin modifying laccase enzyme. A. duraand G. paludosa,formed black MnO2zone in Mn2+plates, which indicates the production of manganese peroxidase (MnP). A. duraand G. paludosadecolorised Reactive Black 5 indicating the production of versatile peroxide (VP) enzyme. Our study presents two new candidate species able to produce VP. A. durawas capable of decolorising all tested synthetic dyes in the presence of Ho or Li (0–200 mg/L) suggesting that this fungus is a promising species for bioremediation of multi dye-containing wastes.