Mineral composition of hypogeous fungi in Hungary

In the course of the work, 93 samples from 17 hypogeous fungus species belonging to 6 genera were taken from various habitats in Hungary and were analysed for the concentrations of 22 elements using the inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy ICP method. All the measurements were made in three independent replications.The data were compared with the element contents of 625 epigeous fungi, previously determined using the same method. For all the genera, the elements present in the highest concentrations on a dry matter basis were potassium (6990-29590 ppm) and phosphorus (3400-9140 ppm). These were followed by the macroelements calcium (330-2190 ppm), magnesium (810-1000 ppm) and sodium (110-2990), and the microelements aluminium (30-450 ppm), zinc (60-340 ppm), iron (30-120 ppm) and copper (25-75 ppm), in different orders for each genus.Until now the element contents of fungi have mostly been analysed to determine the nutritional value of edible fungi, and the data on other elements for instance total minerals are insuffi cient for further comparisons (MATTILA et al., 2001).Very little work has been published on the mineral contents of hypogeous large fungi, despite the fact that these include commercially important species such as Tuber aestivum and T. melanosporum (IAN et al., 2003). Most of the previous papers exhibited the following characteristics: (1) some species (e.g. Terfezia species, Tuber melanosporum) were investigated more frequently, and others rarely, if at all; (2) the analyses concentrated chiefly on toxicological and/or environmental aspects; (3) measurements were only made on a few elements (important from the nutritional point of view); (4) only cultivated fungi were included in the studies. The aim of the present work was to determine the element contents of various species of hypogeous fungi in order to answer the following questions: (1) Which characteristic differences can be observed between the element contents of hypogeous and epigeous fungi? (2) Which differences characterise the element contents of various genera of hypogeous fungi? (3) Is there any signifi cant difference between the element contents of hypogeous Ascomycota and Basidiomycota genera? (4) Can any significant difference be observed between the element contents of edible and non-edible hypogeous fungi

Species Delimitation in Taxonomically Difficult Fungi: The Case of Hymenogaster

False truffles are ecologically important as mycorrhizal partners of trees and evolutionarily highly interesting as the result of a shift from epigeous mushroom-like to underground fruiting bodies. Since its first description by Vittadini in 1831, inappropriate species concepts in the highly diverse false truffle genus Hymenogaster has led to continued confusion, caused by a large variety of prevailing taxonomical opinions.In this study, we reconsidered the species delimitations in Hymenogaster based on a comprehensive collection of Central European taxa comprising more than 140 fruiting bodies from 20 years of field work. The ITS rDNA sequence dataset was subjected to phylogenetic analysis as well as clustering optimization using OPTSIL software.Among distinct species concepts from the literature used to create reference partitions for clustering optimization, the broadest concept resulted in the highest agreement with the ITS data. Our results indicate a highly variable morphology of H. citrinus and H. griseus, most likely linked to environmental influences on the phenology (maturity, habitat, soil type and growing season). In particular, taxa described in the 19(th) century frequently appear as conspecific. Conversely, H. niveus appears as species complex comprising seven cryptic species with almost identical macro- and micromorphology. H. intermedius and H. huthii are described as novel species, each of which with a distinct morphology intermediate between two species complexes. A revised taxonomy for one of the most taxonomically difficult genera of Basidiomycetes is proposed, including an updated identification key. The (semi-)automated selection among species concepts used here is of importance for the revision of taxonomically problematic organism groups in general

The most recent results on orchid mycorrhizal fungi in Hungary

Symbionts and endophytes of Hungarian orchids were studied at diverse habitats. Mycobionts of roots and in situ germinated protocorms of 15 orchid species were identified by molecular methods. Four fungal groups could be distinguished from orchids living at diversely wet treeless habitats: Ceratobasidiaceae, Epulorhiza 1, Epulorhiza 2 and Sebacinaceae. While the groups Ceratobasidiaceae and Sebacinaceae were detected only at habitats with medium water supply, members of clade Epulorhiza occurred at all of the treeless study sites. These observations suggest that fungi belonging to the genus Epulorhiza are more tolerant of water-stress than the other investigated genera. An ascomycetous fungus from the family Pezizaceae could be identified from the roots of Orchis coriophora. Further Ascomycetes were identified at forest habitats. Tuber maculatum was detected from the roots of Epipactis helleborine and Cephalanthera damasonium, and Tuber excavatum from Epipactis microphylla