Succession of fungi on dead and live wood in brackish water in Brunei

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The 2024 Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa

With the simultaneous growth in interest from the mycological community to discover fungal species and classify them, there is also an important need to assemble all taxonomic information onto common platforms. Fungal classification is facing a rapidly evolving landscape and organizing genera into an appropriate taxonomic hierarchy is central to better structure a unified classification scheme and avoid incorrect taxonomic inferences. With this in mind, the Outlines of Fungi and fungus-like taxa (2020, 2022) were published as an open-source taxonomic scheme to assist mycologists to better understand the taxonomic position of species within the Fungal Kingdom as well as to improve the accuracy and consistency of our taxonomic language. In this paper, the third contribution to the series of Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa prepared by the Global Consortium for the Classification of Fungi and fungus-like taxa is published. The former is updated considering our previous reviews and the taxonomic changes based on recent taxonomic work. In addition, it is more comprehensive and derives more input and consensus from a larger number of mycologists worldwide. Apart from listing the position of a particular genus in a taxonomic level, nearly 1000 notes are provided for newly established genera and higher taxa introduced since 2022. The notes section emphasizes on recent findings with corresponding references, discusses background information to support the current taxonomic status and some controversial taxonomic issues are also highlighted. To elicit maximum taxonomic information, notes/taxa are linked to recognized databases such as Index Fungorum, Faces of Fungi, MycoBank and GenBank, Species Fungorum and others. A new feature includes links to Fungalpedia, offering notes in the Compendium of Fungi and fungus-like Organisms. When specific notes are not provided, links are available to webpages and relevant publications for genera or higher taxa to ease data accessibility. Following the recent synonymization of Caulochytriomycota under Chytridiomycota, with Caulochytriomycetes now classified as a class within the latter, based on formally described and currently accepted data, the Fungi comprises 19 Phyla, 83 classes, 1,220 families, 10,685 genera and ca 140,000 species. Of the genera, 39.5% are monotypic and this begs the question whether mycologists split genera unnecessarily or are we going to find other species in these genera as more parts of the world are surveyed? They are 433 speciose genera with more than 50 species. The document also highlights discussion of some important topics including number of genera categorized as incertae sedis status in higher level fungal classification. The number of species at the higher taxonomic level has always been a contentious issue especially when mycologists consider either a lumping or a splitting approach and herein we provide figures. Herein a summary of updates in the outline of Basidiomycota is provided with discussion on whether there are too many genera of Boletales, Ceratobasidiaceae, and speciose genera such as Colletotrichum. Specific case studies deal with Cortinarius, early diverging fungi, Glomeromycota, a diverse early divergent lineage of symbiotic fungi, Eurotiomycetes, marine fungi, Myxomycetes, Phyllosticta, Hymenochaetaceae and Polyporaceae and the longstanding practice of misapplying intercontinental conspecificity. The outline will aid to better stabilize fungal taxonomy and serves as a necessary tool for mycologists and other scientists interested in the classification of the Fungi

Assessment of wood decay, fungal interactions and colonisation

Marine mycology: a practical approac

Species abundance patterns of two wood decay basidiomycete communities

Wood decay basidiomycetes from fallen Eucalyptus branches were sampled from two patches of native Australian vegetation over two years. Thirty-six species were identified at two sites. Species richness was higher at the site with dense vegetation and higher moisture levels. Species abundance curves are consistent with a community influenced by many unknown factors.link_to_OA_fulltex

Distribution of fungi on wood in the Totong River, Brunei

Five sites along the Tutong river and its tributary, the Sungai Kelakas, were sampled for fungi on decaying wood. Sixty-six taxa were found including two new genera and two new species. Nearly half of these (48%) are new records for Brunei. Although common taxa were generally not unique to any particular site, species distributions were correlated to the salinity gradient. These findings are consistent with previous studies showing that some marine fungi are tolerant to less saline conditions and that some freshwater species are tolerant to more saline conditions. Some species could be potentially classified as brackish water species. The ratio of ascomycetes to anamorphic fungi was higher in marine than freshwater sites. A checklist of fungi found in aquatic habitats in Brunei is included.link_to_OA_fulltex

Evidence of in situ competition between fungi in freshwater

Five species of fungi, isolated from submerged wood collected from a Brunei peat swamp forest, were tested for their competitive ability. Annulatascus velatisporus, Beverwykella pulmonaria, Dactylella sp., Monodictys pelagica and Pleurophragmium sp. were paired in all possible combinations on wood and agar in the laboratory. In addition, autoclaved wood blocks were inoculated with these isolates and placed back into water in the peat swamp forest. On agar, there was a competitive hierarchy of Dactylella sp. > Pleurophragmium sp. > A. velatisporus > B. pulmonaria > M. pelagica. In the inoculated blocks exposed in the peat swamp forest however, M. pelagica, A. velatisporus and B. pulmonaria were the only species to significantly reduce the colonisation of other fungi, showing a strong disparity between field and laboratory results. Laboratory studies on wood revealed that A. velatisporus reduced the reproductive capability of other fungi. This study demonstrates the influence of interspecific competition in fungal colonisation of submerged wood.link_to_OA_fulltex

The effect of human disturbance on fungal diversity in the tropics

An understanding of the effect of human disturbance on fungal diversity in the tropics is of paramount importance if we are to conserve renewable resources effectively. Sustainable development may provide renewable resources, but what is the effect of sustainable practices on fungal diversity? Are the fungi of a secondary rainforest as diverse as those found in a pristine forest? Do agriculture practices conserve fungal diversity? What is the effect of water pollution on aquatic fungi? In this paper an attempt is made to examine the effect of human disturbance on fungal diversity in the tropics. The fundamental lack of even basic knowledge of fungi in the tropics means that it is very difficult to explore this question and only a limited number of studies are available to provide relevant data. Fungal diversity appears to be related to plant diversity and therefore, loss of the plant diversity is likely to result in loss of fungal diversity. Fungal diversity may also be related to disturbance. Fungi on palms in a tropical pristine forest are a diverse assemblage. Fungi on agricultural palms or palms in botanical gardens, on the other hand, lack diversity and comprise a probable fungal weed component. We present the need for organized studies to look at the effect of human disturbance on fungal diversity.link_to_OA_fulltex