Fungal diversity on fallen leaves of Ficus in northern Thailand

Fallen leaves of Ficus altissima, F. virens, F. benjamina, F. fistulosa and F. semicordata, were collected in Chiang Mai Province in northern Thailand and examined for fungi. Eighty taxa were identified, comprising 56 anamorphic taxa, 23 ascomycetes and l basidiomycete. Common fungal species occurring on five host species with high frequency of occurrence were Beltraniella nilgirica, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Ophioceras leptosporum, Periconia byssoides and Septonema harknessi. Colletotrichum and Stachybotrys were also common genera. The leaves of different Ficus species supported diverse fungal taxa, and the fungal assemblages on the different hosts showed varying overlap. The fungal diversity of saprobes at the host species level is discussed.

Advances in the phylogenesis of Agaricales and its higher ranks and strategies for establishing phylogenetic hypotheses

We present an overview of previous research results on the molecular phylogenetic analyses in Agaricales and its higher ranks (Agaricomycetes/Agaricomycotina/Basidiomycota) along with the most recent treatments of taxonomic systems in these taxa. Establishing phylogenetic hypotheses using DNA sequences, from which an understanding of the natural evolutionary relationships amongst clades may be derived, requires a robust dataset. It has been recognized that single-gene phylogenies may not truly represent organismal phylogenies, but the concordant phylogenetic genealogies from multiple-gene datasets can resolve this problem. The genes commonly used in mushroom phylogenetic research are summarized.

The phylogeny of selected Phylloporus species,inferred from NUC-LSU and ITS sequences,and descriptions of new species from the Old World

The phylogeny of Phylloporus(Boletaceae)has not been well studied,and the taxonomic relationships of this genus have varied considerably among authors.The following study presents phylogenetic relationships of Phylloporus based on two nuclear ribosomal DNA regions,ITS and LSU.The ITS dataset includes 39 collections and the LSU dataset contains 50 collections of Phylloporus.A combined analysis of both genes did not resolve the deeper nodes in the phylogeny,but the results suggest that Phylloporus is monophyletic and a sister group of the Xerocomus subtomentosus group.The lamellate hymenophore configuration is a synapomorphy that distinguishes Phylloporus from the other genera in the family.The placement of a lamellate genus within Boletaceae suggests that hymenophore evolution is not well understood in the family.This is the first phylogeny of Phylloporus and includes 20 species from different geographic regions.Six taxa of Phylloporus from the Old World are here presented.Phylloporus cyanescens is a new combination for an Australasian taxon formerly named as a variety of P.bellus(Massee)Corner.Phylloporus pumilus is described from Indonesia,and 4 species are described from Thailand:P.castanopsidis,P.dimorphus,P.infuscatus,and P.rubiginosus.