Tropic origins, a dispersal model for saprotrophic mushrooms in Agaricus section Minores with descriptions of sixteen new species

Multigene phylogeny and morphological descriptions of five species of Agaricus sect. Minores from subtropical climate zones of Pakistan

The genus Agaricus includes more than 500 species mostly containing the edible and cultivated species worldwide. As part of the ongoing studies on the biodiversity of genus Agaricus in Pakistan, our objective was to focus on A. sect. Minores which is the largest section of the genus. In the first phylogenetic analyses based on the ITS region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA, our sample included specimens of 97 named species, 27 unnamed species, and 31 specimens (29 newly generated sequences in this study) from subtropical climate zones of Pakistan that likely belong to this section based on their morphology. The 31 specimens grouped into five distinct, well-supported clades corresponding to five species: A. glabriusculus already known from Pakistan and India, A. robustulus first recorded from Pakistan and briefly described here but already known from Bénin, Malaysia, China, and Thailand, and three possibly endemic new species described in detail A. badiosquamulosus sp. nov., A. dunensis sp. nov., and A. violaceopunctatus sp. nov. The sixth species currently known in Pakistan, including A. latiumbonatus also found in Thailand, were included in a multigene tree based on ITS, LSU, and Tef-1α sequence data. They all belong to a large pantropical paraphyletic group while most temperate species belong to a distinct clade, which includes about half of the species of the section. The current study aims to propose three novel species of genus Agaricus based on comprehensive morphological as well as molecular phylogenetic evidences from Pakistan.

What are the 100 most cited fungal genera?

The global diversity of fungi has been estimated between 2 to 11 million species, of which only about 155 000 have been named. Most fungi are invisible to the unaided eye, but they represent a major component of biodiversity on our planet, and play essential ecological roles, supporting life as we know it. Although approximately 20 000 fungal genera are presently recognised, the ecology of most remains undetermined. Despite all this diversity, the mycological community actively researches some fungal genera more commonly than others. This poses an interesting question: why have some fungal genera impacted mycology and related fields more than others? To address this issue, we conducted a bibliometric analysis to identify the top 100 most cited fungal genera. A thorough database search of the Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed was performed to establish which genera are most cited. The most cited 10 genera are Saccharomyces, Candida, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Trichoderma, Botrytis, Pichia, Cryptococcus and Alternaria. Case studies are presented for the 100 most cited genera with general background, notes on their ecology and economic significance and important research advances. This paper provides a historic overview of scientific research of these genera and the prospect for further research. Citation: Bhunjun CS, Chen YJ, Phukhamsakda C, Boekhout T, Groenewald JZ, McKenzie EHC, Francisco EC, Frisvad JC, Groenewald M, Hurdeal VG, Luangsa-ard J, Perrone G, Visagie CM, Bai FY, Błaszkowski J, Braun U, de Souza FA, de Queiroz MB, Dutta AK, Gonkhom D, Goto BT, Guarnaccia V, Hagen F, Houbraken J, Lachance MA, Li JJ, Luo KY, Magurno F, Mongkolsamrit S, Robert V, Roy N, Tibpromma S, Wanasinghe DN, Wang DQ, Wei DP, Zhao CL, Aiphuk W, Ajayi-Oyetunde O, Arantes TD, Araujo JC, Begerow D, Bakhshi M, Barbosa RN, Behrens FH, Bensch K, Bezerra JDP, Bilański P, Bradley CA, Bubner B, Burgess TI, Buyck B, Čadež N, Cai L, Calaça FJS, Campbell LJ, Chaverri P, Chen YY, Chethana KWT, Coetzee B, Costa MM, Chen Q, Custódio FA, Dai YC, Damm U, de Azevedo Santiago ALCM, De Miccolis Angelini RM, Dijksterhuis J, Dissanayake AJ, Doilom M, Dong W, Alvarez-Duarte E, Fischer M, Gajanayake AJ, Gené J, Gomdola D, Gomes AAM, Hausner G, He MQ, Hou L, Iturrieta-González I, Jami F, Jankowiak R, Jayawardena RS, Kandemir H, Kiss L, Kobmoo N, Kowalski T, Landi L, Lin CG, Liu JK, Liu XB, Loizides M, Luangharn T, Maharachchikumbura SSN, Makhathini Mkhwanazi GJ, Manawasinghe IS, Marin-Felix Y, McTaggart AR, Moreau PA, Morozova OV, Mostert L, Osiewacz HD, Pem D, Phookamsak R, Pollastro S, Pordel A, Poyntner C, Phillips AJL, Phonemany M, Promputtha I, Rathnayaka AR, Rodrigues AM, Romanazzi G, Rothmann L, Salgado-Salazar C, Sandoval-Denis M, Saupe SJ, Scholler M, Scott P, Shivas RG, Silar P, Souza-Motta CM, Silva-Filho AGS, Spies CFJ, Stchigel AM, Sterflinger K, Summerbell RC, Svetasheva TY, Takamatsu S, Theelen B, Theodoro RC, Thines M, Thongklang N, Torres R, Turchetti B, van den Brule T, Wang XW, Wartchow F, Welti S, Wijesinghe SN, Wu F, Xu R, Yang ZL, Yilmaz N, Yurkov A, Zhao L, Zhao RL, Zhou N, Hyde KD, Crous PW (2024). What are the 100 most cited fungal genera? Studies in Mycology 108: 1-411. doi: 10.3114/sim.2024.108.01.

Three new species of Agaricus from Baiyun Mountain, Guangzhou, China

Agaricus is a species-rich genus with more than 600 species around the world. In this work, three new species, Agaricus cacainus, A. baiyunensis, and A. praeclarefibrillosus are described from the specimens collected at Baiyun Mountain, Guangzhou, China, a subtropical area with a monsoon maritime climate, based on phylogenetic analyses and morphological examinations of internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS), D1/D2 domains of the large subunit of ribosomal DNA (28S), and a part of translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1). Agaricus cacainus in A. sect. Amoeni is characterized by a parabolic to applanate, slightly depressed pileus covered with chocolate brown, appressed, triangular squamules against white background, a white, furfuraceous stipe, an unchanging context when cut, a fragile and evanescent annulus, usually 4- or 2-spored basidia, and mostly pyriform cheilocystidia. Agaricus baiyunensis in A. sect. Minores has a pileus with a slightly truncate top covered with light brown, downy-wooly fibrillose scales and a light yellowish stipe with membranous annulus. Agaricus praeclarefibrillosus in A. sect. Brunneopicti is characterized by a pileus surface with brownish, triangular, recurved scales and longitudinally splitting lines toward margin, a cottony stipe with white, tiny, recurved fibrils, a single annulus, and variously shaped cheilocystidia, with sparsely ornamented basidiospores. The detailed comparison of their morphological characteristics with closely related species is provided.

Six New Species of Agaricus (Agaricaceae, Agaricales) from Northeast China

Agaricus belongs to Agaricaceae and is one of the most well-known macrofungi, with many edible species. More than 300 Agaricus specimens were collected during a three-year macrofungal resource field investigation in Northeast China. Based on morphological observations and multi-gene (ITS + nrLSU + tef1-a) phylogenetic analyses, six new Agaricus species, i.e., Agaricus aurantipileatus, A. daqinggouensis, A. floccularis, A. griseopileatus, A. sinoagrocyboides, and A. velutinosus, were discovered. These new species belong to four sections within different subgenera: A. (subg. Agaricus) sect. Agaricus, A. (subg. Flavoagaricus) sect. Arvenses, A. (subg. Minores) sect. Minores, and A. (subg. Pseudochitonia) sect. Xanthodermatei. Morphological descriptions, line illustrations, and basidiomata photographs of these new species are provided, and their differences from similar species are discussed.

Medicinal Mushrooms: Past, Present and Future

The survival of Homo sapiens is continually under threat from agencies capable of inflicting calamitous damage to the overall health and well-being of humankind. One strategy aimed at combatting this threat is focused on medicinal mushrooms and derivatives thereof. Mushrooms themselves have been consumed as part of the human diet for centuries, whereas 'mushroom nutriceuticals' is a more recently adopted term describing mushroom-derived products taken as dietary supplements to enhance general health and fitness. Among the most extensively studied pharmacologically active components of mushrooms are polysaccharides and polysaccharide-protein complexes, triterpenes, lectins, and fungal immunomodulatory proteins. Medicinal mushrooms have been credited with a wide range of therapeutic properties including antitumour/anti-cancer, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial, cholesterol-lowering and genoprotective activities as well as protection against atherosclerosis, cardiovascular, chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative conditions. This review examines the past, present and future of medicinal mushroom development including the two legs concept for the mushroom industry and the pyramid model summarizing the various human applications of mushrooms. It considers numerous issues the industry needs to address to exploit fully the opportunities presented by the continued increasing demand for medicinal mushrooms, and by the future overall expansion of the medicinal mushroom movement.

Fourteen Unrecorded Species of Agaricales Underw. (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) from the Republic of Korea

Agaricales species form pileate-stipitate fruiting bodies and play important roles in maintaining the terrestrial ecosystem as decomposers, symbionts, and pathogens. Approximately 23,000 Agaricales species have been known worldwide, and 937 species have been recorded in the Republic of Korea. However, most of them were identified solely based on morphological characteristics that often led to misidentifications. The specimens collected from 2018 to 2020 in the Republic of Korea were identified based on phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Their identities were confirmed by microscopic characteristics. As a result, 14 Agaricales species were discovered for the first time in the Republic of Korea. They belonged to nine genera: Agaricus, Calocybe, Cortinarius, Hygrocybe, Inocybe, Lepista, Leucoagaricus, Marasmius, and Psathyrella. Detailed macroscopic and microscopic descriptions were provided to help distinguish these species. The morphological and molecular data provided in this study will serve as reliable references for the identification of Agaricales species.

A field-based investigation of simple phenol variation in Australian Agaricus xanthodermus

Agaricus xanthodermus and other species of the yellow-staining section Xanthodermatei are responsible for mushroom-related poisoning cases that require treatment. However, longstanding anecdotal evidence indicates that this species appears to exhibit considerable variation in toxicity, resulting in gastrointestinal irritation of varying severity in most cases. We quantified the amount of phenol, hydroquinone, and catechol in mushrooms using a novel protocol for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and investigated their levels in different basidiomatal structures, different developmental stages, and on different nutritional substrates. Phenol concentration was greater in the pileus than the stipe, in mature compared with immature basidiomata, and in basidiomata occurring in woody mulch versus lawns. Variation in toxicity is suggested to be due in part to variation in phenol concentration, developmental stage and tissue type consumed, and substrate. Variation in human sensitivity to simple phenols may also play a role but was not formally investigated in this study.

Multigene Phylogeny and Morphology Reveal Three Novel Species and a Novel Record of Agaricus From Northern Thailand

Agaricus is a saprophytic mushroom genus widely distributed throughout the world. In this study, a survey of the Agaricus species carried out around Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand from 2018 to 2019 yielded 12 collections. Morphological characteristics and phylogenic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and a fragment of the large subunit (LSU) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA), and a fragment of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1) genes were investigated. The results revealed that these collections belong to six species including Agaricus erectosquamosus, Agaricus pallidobrunneus, Agaricus subrufescens, and three new species. Agaricus thailandensis sp. nov. was found to belong to Agaricus sect. Minores, which is placed in Agaricus subg. Minores. Aagricus pseudoerectosquamosus sp. nov. was placed in Agaricus sect. Brunneopicti within Agaricus subg. Pseudochitonia. Furthermore, Agaricus lannaensis remains an incertae sedis in Agaricus subg. Pseudochitonia. Additionally, this study was proposed that A. pallidobrunneus was discovered in Thailand for the first time. Full descriptions, color photographs, illustrations, and phylogenetic trees are provided.

Notes, outline and divergence times of Basidiomycota

The Basidiomycota constitutes a major phylum of the kingdom Fungi and is second in species numbers to the Ascomycota. The present work provides an overview of all validly published, currently used basidiomycete genera to date in a single document. An outline of all genera of Basidiomycota is provided, which includes 1928 currently used genera names, with 1263 synonyms, which are distributed in 241 families, 68 orders, 18 classes and four subphyla. We provide brief notes for each accepted genus including information on classification, number of accepted species, type species, life mode, habitat, distribution, and sequence information. Furthermore, three phylogenetic analyses with combined LSU, SSU, 5.8s, rpb1, rpb2, and ef1 datasets for the subphyla Agaricomycotina, Pucciniomycotina and Ustilaginomycotina are conducted, respectively. Divergence time estimates are provided to the family level with 632 species from 62 orders, 168 families and 605 genera. Our study indicates that the divergence times of the subphyla in Basidiomycota are 406–430 Mya, classes are 211–383 Mya, and orders are 99–323 Mya, which are largely consistent with previous studies. In this study, all phylogenetically supported families were dated, with the families of Agaricomycotina diverging from 27–178 Mya, Pucciniomycotina from 85–222 Mya, and Ustilaginomycotina from 79–177 Mya. Divergence times as additional criterion in ranking provide additional evidence to resolve taxonomic problems in the Basidiomycota taxonomic system, and also provide a better understanding of their phylogeny and evolution.

A preliminary DNA barcode selection for the genus Russula (Russulales, Basidiomycota)

Russula is a worldwid genus which has a high species diversity . Aiming accurate and rapid species identification, candidate genes nLSU (28S), ITS, tef-1α, mtSSU, rpb1, and rpb2, were analysed as potential DNA barcodes. This analysis included 433 sequences from 38 well-circumscribed Russula species of eight subgenera. Two vital standards were analysed for success species identification using DNA barcodes, specifically inter- and intra-specific variations together with the success rates of PCR amplification and sequencing. Although the gap between inter- and intra-specific variations was narrow, ITS met the qualification standards for a target DNA barcode. Overlapping inter- and intra-specific pairwise distances were observed in nLSU, tef-1α, mtSSU, and rpb2. The success rates of PCR amplification and sequencing in mtSSU and rpb1 were lower than those of others. Gene combinations were also investigated for resolution of species recognition. ITS-rpb2 was suggested as the likely target DNA barcode for Russula, owing to the two viatal standards above. Since nLSU has the lowest minimum of inter-specific variation, and tef-1α has the highest overlap between intra- and inter-species variations among the candidate genes, they are disqualified from the selection for DNA barcode of Russula.

A new section and species of AgaricussubgenusPseudochitonia from Thailand

A large species diversity has recently been discovered in the genus Agaricus. Six subgenera and 23 sections are now recognised. In this study, three specimens collected from Thailand, formed a monophyletic clade in subgenus Pseudochitonia, based on analyses of ITS sequence data. Further analyses, based on multi-gene sequence data (ITS, LSU, tef1-α), using BEAST, revealed that this clade originated 26.7 Ma. According to their distinct morphological characteristics, phylogenetic position and relatively old divergence time, a new section Cymbiformes is proposed and this section is represented by a new species A.angusticystidiatus. This new section is characterised by the strong iodoform odour of basidiomes and cymbiform basidiospores. Descriptions, colour photographs and illustrations are presented.