Welcome to IMC 2018 International Mycological Congress
Conference Calendar

 

Poster Session

A Taxonomic Survey of Commercially Available Reishi Products: A Buyer Beware Market

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-40
Authors
  • A. Loyd
  • M. Jusino
  • C. Truong
  • R. Blanchette
  • B. Richter
  • M. Smith
  • J. Smith

Abstract

Abstract

The genus Ganoderma contains species that occur commonly around the world and function as primary wood decay fungi of a wide array of tree species. In addition to ecological functions, species of Ganoderma have been used in traditional medicine in Asia for thousands of years. They are often referenced with common names such as reishi or lingzhi. Ganoderma species contain suites of triterpenes and polysaccharides that have been reported to have medicinal value, and have gained interest from the pharmaceutical industries in recent years. Globally, the taxonomy of Ganoderma species is chaotic, and the taxon name G. lucidum (sensu lato) has been used for most laccate (shiny) Ganoderma species. However, it is now known that G. lucidum (sensu stricto) has a limited native distribution in temperate climates of Europe and some parts of China. Furthermore, reishi or lingzhi products, sold as medicine, are not strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. To determine what species are being sold in commercially-available products marketed as reishi or lingzhi, twenty products labeled as containing G. lucidum were purchased, DNA was extracted and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was sequenced using Sanger sequencing. Based on Sanger sequencing, the majority of the products (93%) were identified as G. lingzhi, which is native to Asia and the most widely cultivated taxon. Microscopic analysis of the products revealed different spore morphologies within individual products, and Illumina sequencing of the ITS1 region was performed on all products to determine if multiple Ganoderma species could be present. Of the twenty products tested, none contained the species G. lucidum. Similar to the Sanger sequencing results, the Illumina results confirmed that G. lingzhi was in most products, but other Ganoderma species were also present, including the taxa G. applanatum G. gibossum, G. sessile, and G. sinense. It is likely that there are differences in the quality and quantity of medicinally-relevant chemicals produced by different Ganoderma species. Furthermore, if fruiting bodies are cultivated and/or formulations are manufactured outside of the United States, regulations focusing on the content and quality of these products should be re-evaluated before they are ingested or marketed as medicine.

Collapse
Poster Session

Ectomycorrhizal fungal community with conifereous trees in Mt. Seorak

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-80
Authors
  • H. Son
  • A. Eom

Abstract

Abstract

Ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) mainly form a symbiotic relationship with conifererous trees and play a crucial role in nutrient cycling in the forest ecosystem. In this study, we investigated ECM communities of Abies nephrolepis, Abies holophylla, and Pinus koraiensis. Roots of host plants and rhizosphere soil were collected at two sites of different altitudes, higher and lower, of Mt. Seorak, in Korea. ECM were identified using morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer regions of rDNA from ECM root tips. In A. nephrolepis, 9 species from higher altitudes and 6 species from lower altitudes were identified. In A. holophylla, 15 species from higher altitudes and 14 species from lower altitudes were identified. In P. koraiensis, 10 species from higher altitudes and 17 species from lower altitudes were identified. Shannon’s index, species evenness, and number of species of ECM communties were significantly higher for samples collected at the higher altitutes than lower altitudes, and the ECM communities were also correlated with soil characteristics. The results showed that the ECM communities of conifer roots showed differences according to the altitudes and host plants.

Collapse
Poster Session

Herpomyces (Laboulbeniomycetes): a new order and a new species spread through pet trade

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-161
Authors
  • D. Haelewaters
  • D. Pfister

Abstract

Abstract

The class Laboulbeniomycetes comprises fungi that are obligately associated with arthropods for dispersal or as biotrophs. Two orders are currently recognized, Laboulbeniales and Pyxidiophorales. The class is severely understudied and the available class-wide phylogeny is still provisional, because it is based on a single gene (SSU) and excludes a majority of the currently recognized taxa. Herpomyces is a morphologically and phylogenetically isolated genus with 25 species that exclusively parasitize cockroaches (Blattodea). Presenting the highest level of taxon sampling across Laboulbeniomycetes to date, we evaluate a three-gene phylogeny (nrSSU, ITS, nrLSU) and propose a new order in the class Laboulbeniomycetes. We describe Herpomycetales to accommodate the single genus Herpomyces. In addition, building on the six-gene dataset from the Ascomycota Tree of Life monumental paper by Conrad Schoch and colleagues (2009), we confirm that Laboulbeniomycetes and Sordariomycetes are sister orders and we apply ‘Laboulbeniomyceta’ as a rankless taxon for the now well-resolved node that describes the most recent common ancestor of both classes. A molecular clock analysis of this six-gene dataset, using five fossil calibration points, revealed that Laboulbeniomycetes and Sordariomycetes diverged around the Triassic-Jurassic boundary (206 Mya). Within Laboulbeniomycetes, the earliest split (divergence of Pyxidiophorales) occurred around 160 Mya. Finally, Herpomycetales and Laboulbeniales diverged around 143 Mya. With this contribution, we add a robust molecular phylogenetic component to a group of fungi that has been almost exclusively defined by morphology. Our analysis of the ITS phylogeny of the genus Herpomyces brought to light an undescribed species on Shelfordella lateralis. Study of its morphology supports separation from other species in the genus. This new species has been discovered in colonies of S. lateralis in Hungary, Poland, and Massachusetts, USA. Interestingly, these colonies were all retrieved from pet stores, suggesting a role of international pet trade in the global distribution of these biotrophic fungi.

Collapse
Poster Session

Biodiversity and enzymes bioprospection of Antarctic filamentous fungi

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-29
Authors
  • M. Martorell
  • L. Ruberto
  • W. Mac Cormack
  • L. Castellanos De Figueroa

Abstract

Abstract

Antarctica is one of the most suitable places for the bioprospecting of psychrotrophic fungi. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of filamentous fungi from 25 De Mayo Island, Antarctica and their ability to produce extracellular hydrolytic enzymes at low temperature. A total of 51 fungi isolates were obtained from 31 different samples. We identified twelve different genera, seven taxa belonged to the Ascomycota phylum (Cadophora, Helotiales, Monographella, Oidodendron, Penicillium, Phialocephala, Phialophora, Phoma and Pseudogymnoascus), one taxa to the Basidiomycota phylum (Irpex) and two taxa to the Mucoromycota phylum (Mortierella and Mucor). Some taxa not previously reported in Antarctica, as Monographella lycopodina, Mucor zonatus and Penicillium kojigenum, were identify. Nine isolates could not be identified to genus level, and could be representing novel species. Most of the fungi were psychrotrophic (76.5%) rather than psychrophilc. Nevertheless, only five isolates were able to grow at 35ºC, and the optimal temperature for growth was 15ºC for 65% of the fungal isolates. Results from enzymes production (amylase, cellulase, xylanase, lipase, esterase, laccase, protease) at low temperatures revealed that the Antarctic environment contains metabolically diverse cultivable fungi, which represent potential tools for biotechnological applications in cold regions.

Collapse
Poster Session

Host specificity of endophytic fungi isolated from roots of Calanthe discolor and Cephalanthera longibracteata in Korea

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-62
Authors
  • L. Bong-Hyung
  • A. Eom

Abstract

Abstract

Orchidaceae is the most diverse and widespread family of flowering plants, with 25,000 species currently recognized. In Korea, more than 100 species have been reported in the wild. However, currently, many orchids are in danger of extinction due to over-collection and habitat destruction. Orchidaceous plants have symbiotic relationships with endophytic fungi, including mycorrhizal fungi, which play important roles in seed germination and growth of the host plants. In this study, the endophytic fungal communities were isolated from the roots of Calanthe discolor Lindl. and Cephalanthera longibracteata Blume that were collected from two different sites in Korea. The fungal isolates were identified by sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer regions of rDNA. In total, 35 species of endophytic fungi, including two species of mycorrhizal fungi belonging to the genus Tulasnella and were identified in C. discolor. Furthermore, 29 species of endophytic fungi were identified in C. longibracteata. The species diversity and richness were not significantly different among the two sites. However, the endophytic fungal community was highly specific to the host, suggesting that the host characteristics affected the community composition of the endophytic fungi that colonized the roots of the orchids. Our findings will help in developing methods that use symbiotic fungi for orchid conservation and restoration of native habitats.

Collapse
Poster Session

What do we know about the associated mycobiota of the built environment?

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-181
Authors
  • U. Thrane
  • B. Andersen

Abstract

Abstract

The list of fungal species reported to be associated with the built environment is long, even when broken down to comparable building characteristics. The reason is that surveys are very diverse in terms of sampling methods, identification protocols and environmental conditions. Moreover, the rapid development in taxonomic schemes is a major challenge. The phylogenetic species concept splits ‘old’ indoor related species of e.g. Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Cladosporium into numerous new species, often delimitated by differences in gene sequences only. The methods used for detection and identification are frequently updated and fine-tuned, but there will always be a lag-time before implementation is completed. Consequently, many reports and scientific papers on the mycobiota are using yesterday’s species concept, which may be beneficial as there is a substantial body of knowledge describing the functionality and ecology of yesterday’s species. However, an updated sequenced based identification will generate results based on today’s species concept where no or limited information on physiology, toxicology, ecology etc. is present. The modern molecular tools are getting faster and faster, but the functional characterization of taxonomic novelties cannot match the pace of the taxonomic development. The result is a crucial loss of knowledge of important indoor related species of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Cladosporium and several examples will demonstrate this unfortunate situation. The outcome is that many descriptive scientific papers contain long lists of fungal species detected; but what do these results tell us about the mycobiota of built environment or health impact? In most cases, nothing or only speculations that reflect the limited body of knowledge of today’s species. The knowledge gaps represent an overwhelming amount of different types of very important data, far too much for a single research unit to cope with. It is proposed to develop and launch an international infrastructure that supports compilation of data on functionality of the fungal species. Ideally, in an open and easy accessible set-up e.g. like GenBank, and with the possibility to link between databanks to support a much better and deeper understanding of the mycobiota of the built environment and its impact on human health.

Collapse
Poster Session

DNA-based identification of consumer-relevant mushrooms: A partial solution for product certification?

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-12
Authors
  • H. Raja
  • T. Baker
  • J. Little
  • N. Oberlies

Abstract

Abstract

Attributing the correct scientific name to dietary ingredients made from fungal materials remains a challenge, in part due to difficulties in species authentication by chemical means and the nature of fungal taxonomic names, which are undergoing numerous taxonomic revisions with the application of molecular methods. This can be particularly difficult for samples that contain fungal mycelia, where morphological characteristics do not present sufficient variation to differentiate species. This challenge is compounded by the fact that many of those materials maybe heavily processed, including drying, milling, and even extraction, prior to analysis. However, monitoring the safety and quality of such products is a requirement for the protection of consumer health. The main goal of the study, which was performed as a collaboration of academic researchers (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) and industry scientists (Procter & Gamble), was to demonstrate that Sanger sequencing of the ITS region is an appropriate means for verification of species identities. We generated ITS barcodes for 33 representative fungi, which are being used by consumers for food and dietary supplement purposes. After generating ITS barcodes utilizing standard procedures accepted by the Consortium for the Barcode of Life, we tested the utility of the ITS by performing a BLAST search against NCBI GenBank. In some cases, we also downloaded published, homologous sequences of the ITS region of fungi inspected in this study and examined the phylogenetic relationships of barcoded fungal species in light of modern taxonomic and phylogenetic studies. In the majority of cases, we were able to sequence the ITS region from powdered mycelium samples, grocery store mushrooms, and capsules from commercial dietary supplements. Results demonstrated that the ITS region was able to identify the mushrooms used in the present study to species-level. We anticipate that these data will motivate a discussion on DNA based species identification, particularly as it applies to the verification/certification of fungal containing products.

Collapse
Poster Session

Host specificity differs along the life cycle of Tremella hypogymniae

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-53
Authors
  • A. Millanes
  • V. Tuovinen
  • P. Diederich
  • M. Westberg
  • H. Johannesson
  • M. Wedin

Abstract

Abstract

Although traditionally considered the symbiosis between a fungus and green algae or cyanobacteria, lichens are complex systems that harbour a diversity of additional organisms. How these organisms are distributed within the thallus is often poorly known. A variety of bacterial and fungal taxa inhabit the lichen thalli, including Alphaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria or Betaproteobacteria, and both ascomycetes and basidiomycetes in fungi. Among the basidiomycetes, the “heterobasidiomycetes” show a high specificity towards their lichenized hosts. These fungi are dimorphic: they have both a dikaryotic filamentous phase and a haploid yeast phase in their life cycle. The filamentous phase is usually host specific in the lichen-inhabiting species but little is known on the requirements of the yeast phase. Recently, it has been shown that both Cyphobasidium and at least one Tremella species are able to complete their life cycle within the lichen thallus, where the yeast phase grows in the lichen cortex. In this work we further investigated the frequency and host-specificity of the yeast phase of tremellalean fungi growing on lichens. For this we chose Tremella hypogymniae, a species that is restricted to one of the most common lichens in boreal and temperate forests of the northern hemisphere (Hypogymnia physodes). We used highly specific PCR primers to selectively amplify T. hypogymniae, avoiding other organisms including other tremellalean taxa. We searched for T. hypogymniae in H. physodes and in other common Parmeliaceae species more or less closely related to H. physodes in different coniferous forests in Sweden and Spain. In addition, we performed fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to identify the location of the different phases of the life cycle of Tremella within the host lichen thalli. Our results suggest that the yeast phase of T. hypogymniae is very frequent – although not always detected – in the cortex of several closely related lichens, whereas meiosis and subsequent formation of basidia seem to occur only when Tremella hypogymniae grows in Hypogymnia physodes. This implies that host specificity is related to sexual reproduction, whereas the asexual yeast-phase can develop asymptomatically in a wider range of hosts. Our study represents an important step in the understanding of the life cycle and biology of lichen-inhabiting basidiomycete fungi.

Collapse
Poster Session

New taxa of Agaricomycotina from Brazil

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-110
Authors
  • T. Gibertoni
  • C. Sousa De Lira
  • R. Chikowski
  • R. Alvarenga
  • A. Soares
  • A. Ottoni
  • P. Alves

Abstract

Abstract

Agaricomycotina is a large group of mostly macroscopic Basidiomycota, usually known as mushrooms, jelly fungi, boletes, earth-stars, corticioid fungi, polypores, clavarioid fungi among others. During the last 20 years, efforts of collecting and identifying them in Brazil have been undertaken and were reinforced in the past 5-10 years. The field trips were mostly conducted in the Atlantic Rain Forest, Amazonia and Cerrado in North and Northeast Brazil and several new taxa are being described using morphological and molecular characteristics. In the corticioid fungi, we present one new species of Amyloathelia, three of Botryodontia, two of Byssomerulius, two of Gloeocystidiellum, 13 of Hyphodontia, two of Luteoporia, one of Lyomyces, one of Meruliopsis, four of Phlebiopsis, one of Resinicium, one of Sistotremastrum, one of Subulicystidium, five of Trechispora, two of Vararia, two of Xylobolus, one of Xylodon, and two new genera. Among the jelly fungi, two new species of Calocera, two of Dacryopinax, two of Tremella and two new genera are introduced. In the poroid fungi, we present one new species of Henningsia and one of Ceriporia and three new genera; additionally, two synonyms are solved, one confirmed and one old name is recovered. Among the clavarioid fungi, one new species of Clavulinopsis and one of Ramariopsis are introduced. The results indicate the high, but still undiscovered mycodiversity in the Brazilian forests and also that the addition of Brazilian specimens in the phylogenies improves the delimitation of taxa.

Collapse
Poster Session

Cophylogeny of the lichenicolous Tremella species and their hosts: disentangling a species complex mainly based on cospeciation

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-189
Authors
  • S. Freire Rallo
  • M. Wedin
  • P. Diederich
  • A. Millanes

Abstract

Abstract

Cospeciation between parasites and their hosts is difficult to demonstrate. One of the signs of cospeciation is that hosts and parasites share a congruent phylogenetic history and their tree topologies mirror each other. However, in the majority of host-parasite systems, other events such as host switching, lineage sorting or extinction are more frequent. High host specificity is well acknowledged within the lichenicolous species in the Tremellales (Basidiomycota, Fungi). Previous studies of Biatoropsis and their Usnea and Protousnea hosts revealed that host-switching is the most probable cophylogenetic event explaining host specificity in this system. With this work we extend these studies to another putative tremellalean lichenicolous species complex (Tremella caloplacae s. lat.) and its hosts, to evaluate if their joint evolutionary histories can be explained by parallel reciprocal speciation. We base this on a multi-loci matrix with data from Blunt-End Illumina® libraries. For species delineation we combine morphological, ecological and molecular data, as well as different molecular-based species delimitation methods. For the coevolution study we use a combination of event-cost methods, distance methods and dependence between phylogenies testing. Our results suggest that Tremella caloplacae is a species complex formed by at least six independent lineages, here interpreted as species. Each of these lineages grows on a distinct host clade, demonstrating high host specificity. Cospeciation is the most plausible cophylogenetic event to explain the joint evolutionary histories of T. caloplacae s. lat. and its hosts since it can explain the origin of five of the six independent lineages.

Collapse
Poster Session

Which criteria should be considered when appraising ectomycorrhizal communities for forest research?

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-93
Authors
  • C. Perini
  • D. Barbato
  • S. Maccherini
  • P. Leonardi
  • A. Zambolnelli
  • M. Iotti
  • E. Salerni

Abstract

Abstract

Forests host a large part of terrestrial biodiversity and provide a wide range of ecosystem services; they regulate local, regional and global climate, store carbon, purify air and freshwater. Plants and their networks with associated ectomycorrhizal fungi play a crucial role in biogeochemical cycles, biodiversity, climate stability and economic growth. Furthermore, ectomycorrhizal fungi are themselves important drivers towards sustainable innovation in many research fields such as food industry, biotechnology, biomedicine and agroforestry. Due to complexity of natural environment, the evaluation of any type of change is often very difficult, since it may not be clear which environmental component will be affected by the stressor, what type of change will occur and what the exposure will be. Before–After Control-Impact (BACI) design overcomes the problem of attributing changes to an impact rather than natural variability. In this context, SelpiBioLife project was established to evaluate the effects of an innovative silvicultural treatment on different biological groups (flora, fungi, bacteria, carabids, nematods and microarthropods) in Pinus nigra plantations. In order to analyze management effects, we adopted a BACI design applied to two study areas, one located in Pratomagno and one in Monte Amiata (Appenines, Italy). Here, our main aim was to demonstrate whether the sampling criteria were appropriate to describe exhaustively the composition of ectomycorrhizal communities, presenting the results of sampling activity before any type of silvicultural treatment. Diversity and abundance of ectomycorrhizal fruiting bodies (EMFb) were determined using mycocoenological analysis. Soil sampling was set up to test ectomycorrhizal root tips (EMRt) community. Morphological structure of each morphotype was examined and molecularly identified by means of a direct PCR approach. Analysis of species richness and composition as well as the effect of spatial scale on EMRt and EMFb communities were assessed using rarefaction technique, permutation tests for multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA), Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), Mantel’s tests and similarity Percentage Analysis (SIMPER).Rarefaction curves concerning variation in species richness among fungal communities supported the lowest species richness in EMRt respect to EMFb community. PERMANOVA revealed that spatial-topographic factors significantly affected community composition. The Pair-wise t-test showed significant differences between EMRt and EMFb. NMDS confirmed this trend, showing a clear separation between fungal communities in terms of species composition. Furthermore, Mantel’s test resulted in no correlation in distance matrices of community structure. SIMPER analysis indicated that the average dissimilarity between EMRt and EMFb communities was relevant. In conclusion, these results suggest that the adopted sampling criteria are appropriate to exhaustively and quickly appraise the composition of ectomycorrhizal communities for forest research.

Collapse
Poster Session

Fifty strains of black: Resequencing of the melanised polyextremotolerant yeast Aureobasidium pullulans

Session Number
1.1
Location
Ballroom A 3rd Floor, Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date
07/17/2018
Time
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM
Presentation Number
1.1-170
Authors
  • C. Gostinčar
  • M. Turk
  • J. Zajc
  • N. Gunde-Cimerman

Abstract

Abstract

Aureobasidium pullulans (de Bary) G. Arnaud is a melanised yeast-like fungus of considerable interest due to its ubiquitous distribution, polyextremotolerant physiology and large biotechnological potential. It is best known as an epiphyte on various plant surfaces, but it is also frequently found in domestic environments and in food, in hypersaline water, in certain types of glacial ice, and a number of other habitats. It is used for the production of pullulan and aureobasidin A and is commercially available as a biocontrol agent for limiting the damage caused by several plant pathogens (both bacterial and fungal) in agriculture. In 2014 we published a de novo genome sequence of A. pullulans and three closely related species, revealing a redundancy in several gene families that could be linked to the nutritional versatility of these species and their particular stress tolerance. To build upon these initial genomic discoveries and investigate the population genomics of the species, we recently re-sequenced fifty additional A. pullulans strains from our culture collection, which includes isolates from various habitats and with a wide geographic distribution. Initial analyses of the data showed that the genomes share a high degree of similarity in their size and the number of predicted genes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (relative to the reference genome) cover approximately 2% of the sequence. No clear population structure was detected with several methods and these results could possibly be explained by a fair amount of recombination within the species. The genome of A. pullulans contains a well-defined mating locus, but the teleomorph of the fungus has never been described. In addition to population genomics and evidence for recombination, other presented results will be focused on genomic traits linked to the polyextremotolerant character and biotechnological use of this interesting and useful black yeast.

Collapse