This file contains an alignment and tree file for the tef1 gene region for Russula subsection Xerampelinae from Noffsinger et al. The tree file is included in brackets at the end of the alignment. All in nexus format.
Abstract Crepidotus is a genus of common saprotrophic fungi well known especially in the Northern Hemisphere, but distribution patterns of individual species are not sufficiently understood. We redefined a taxonomic circumscription of Crepidotus cinnamomeus based on morphological and molecular congruencies between the type material and recent collections. The species is well delimited from other similar and currently accepted species of the genus. Crepidotus cinnamomeus was found to have a broad holarctic distribution with occurrences in North America, Europe and Asia where it grows on twigs and branches of deciduous trees and shrubs in preferably cold humid habitats. Here we present the first multilocus phylogeny of the genus, including portions of the RPB2 gene. Our study highlights the importance of sufficient sampling from broader areas supported by sequence data, which is essential for estimation of species delimitation, distribution and correct name assignment for Crepidotus species.
This file contains the LSU alignment and phylogeny in nexus format for Russula subsection Xerampelinae. The tree file is included in brackets at the end of the alignment.
This includes the alignments and phylogenies of Russula subsection Xerampelinae from Noffsinger et al. (in press). All files are in nexus format and the phylogeny is included in brackets below each alignment.
Mushrooms and other fleshy fungi are important components of arctic and alpine habitats where they enhance nutrient uptake in plants and replenish poor soils through decomposition. Here we assemble the 200-year (1819–2019) record of their discovery in North America, beginning with early Arctic sailing expeditions, followed by intense taxonomic studies, and concluding with the molecular era, all of which highlight the difficulty of exhaustively revealing their biodiversity in these extreme, cold-dominated habitats. Compiled biogeographic data reveal that a majority of arctic fungi have large intercontinental distributions with disjunct alpine populations. A newly compiled checklist of 170 species of Basidiomycota in fifty-one genera and twenty families in the Rocky Mountain alpine zone provides current baseline data prior to expected environmental shifts.
The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) region has been widely used in fungal diversity studies. Environmental metabarcoding has increased the importance of the fungal DNA barcode in documenting fungal diversity and distribution. The DNA barcode gap is seen as the difference between intra- and inter-specific pairwise distances in a DNA barcode. The current understanding of the barcode gap in macrofungi is limited, inhibiting the development of best practices in applying the nrITS region toward research on fungal diversity. This study examined the barcode gap using 5146 sequences representing 717 species of macrofungi from eleven genera, eight orders and two phyla in datasets assembled by taxonomic experts. Intra- and inter-specific pairwise distances were measured from sequence and phylogenetic data. The results demonstrate that barcode gaps are influenced by differences in intra- and inter-specific variance in pairwise distances. In terms of DNA barcode behavior, variance is greater in the ITS1 than ITS2, and variance is greater in both relative to the combined nrITS region. Due to the difference in variance, the barcode gaps in the ITS2 region are greater than in the ITS1. Additionally, the taxonomic approach of "splitting" taxa into numerous taxonomic units produces greater barcode gaps when compared to "lumping". The results show variability in the barcode gaps between fungal taxa, demonstrating a need to understand the accuracy of DNA barcoding in quantifying species richness. For taxonomic studies, variability in nrITS sequence data supports the application of multiple molecular markers to corroborate the taxonomic and systematic delineation of species.
Russula (Russulales) is an important ectomycorrhizal fungal genus in Arctic and alpine regions where it occurs with Salix, Betula, Dryas, and Polygonum, yet a complex phylogenetic analysis of the genus in these habitats is lacking. This research compared collections of Russula from the Rocky Mountain alpine (Colorado, Montana, Wyoming) with reference specimens from Arctic and alpine habitats, mostly in Europe, using an in-depth morphological study and a phylogenetic analysis of the nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer region ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (ITS barcode) and the second largest subunit of the RNA polymerase II gene (rpb2). One hundred thirty-nine Russula collections were sequenced, including type material. Ten species are reported from alpine or treeline habitats in the Rocky Mountains. This is the first formal report of R. cf. altaica, R. saliceticola, and R. subrubens from the Rocky Mountains and of R. purpureofusca in North America. Russula laevis is reported for the first time under this name with a voucher, and not as an environmental sample. Previous reports of R. nana and R. laccata are molecularly confirmed. Two species are reported from subalpine habitats at treeline: R. montana with conifers and R. cf. altaica with Betula. In this study, R. laccata, R. subrubens, and R. laevis were collected in alpine habitats but have been reported below treeline in Europe; these species may also be present at lower elevations in North America. Most species have an intercontinental distribution and have been reported in other alpine or Arctic habitats. Two unidentified and potentially new species were only found in North America and are discussed. A key to the alpine Russulas of North America is provided.