STROPHARIA COELHOI (BASIDIOMYCOTA): A NEW SPECIES FROM BRAZIL

A new species of Stropharia is described from the Atlantic Forest of Rio Grande do Sul State, in southern Brazil. Stropharia coelhoi is distinguished by the smooth dark brown pileus, the presence of hymenial acanthocytes, cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia as chrysocystidia type, and the basidiospore’s size. We include photographs and a taxonomical discussion of the new species

Sclerotium-forming fungi from soils of the Atlantic rainforest of Northeastern Brazil

Background and aims – Many South American ecosystems remain unexplored and neglected as to the occurrence and distribution of fungi. Data about occurrence of sporocarp forming hypogeous fungi in Atlantic rainforests and Caatinga biome are even less frequently published. For this reason, intensive studies on this group are needed. During studies of hypogeous sequestrate fungi in Northeastern Brazil several sclerotium-like structures were encountered in soil and here determined based on phylogenetic affiliation.Methods – The fungal structures in soils were sampled by raking the litter and top soil organic layer at four different forest sites, all located in the Atlantic rainforest or in the 'brejo de altitude' (upland wet forest enclaves) of the Atlantic rainforest remnants within the Caatinga biome. Samples were studied by optical microscopy and molecular analyses. Internal Transcribed Spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS nrDNA) sequences (barcoding of fungi) were used to identify some selected specimens.Key results – Among the nine sclerotium samples, four were related to the /trechisporales lineage, three related to / entolomataceae, and two to the /amylocorticiales lineages.Conclusions – This study provides new information about sclerotium-forming fungi occurring naturally in soils and litter layers from native Atlantic rainforests in Brazil. It is a starting point for more detailed and systematic studies planned for epigeous and hypogeous sequestrate fungi. Such studies are needed to understand the distribution, evolutionary affiliations and trophic modes of those fungi

A new species of Lactifluus (Russulales, Agaricomycetes) from the Brazilian caatinga semiarid region

Lactifluus (Russulaceae) is a genus of ectomycorrhizal fungi, comprising mostly tropical milkcaps with more than 150 described species. In Brazil 24 milkcap species are known, but only three of these are described from the north-eastern region. The north east of Brazil is composed of different types of habitats, namely Atlantic Forest, part of the Cerrado ecoregions and the Caatinga Domain. From the semiarid Caatinga Domain, Lf. caatingae is described in this paper as a new species, using morphological and molecular data. The new species is characterised by the rusty brown to brownish orange basidiomes, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid, rarely globose basidiospores with verrucose ornamentation composed of warts up to 0.6 mu m, that are interconnected by fine lines forming a complete reticulum, and the lampropalisade structure of the pileipellis. Phylogenetic analysis shows that Lf. caatingae belongs to L. subg. Lactariopsis, more specifically to an unnamed clade containing exclusively Neotropical representatives

New records of Brazilian hypogeous sequestrate fungi

Examination of specimens held in three Brazilian herbariums (UFRN, URM, ICN) for the genus Rhizopogon revealed that one collection represented Alpova cf. austroalnicola, a first record of the genus for Brazil. Rhizopogon angustisepta from South Brazil represents a new record for the Western Hemisphere; R. verii is a new record for Southeast and Northeast Brazil; R. nigrescens is tentatively reconfirmed from South Brazil, based on a poorly preserved specimen; and R. marchii is identified from a specimen with confused label information that does not indicate the country of origin.We thank CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) for the graduation scholarship to the first author. This work was supported by project PVE/407474/2013-7. We acknowledge the Herbarium curators, Dr. Leonor C. Maia (URM) and Dr. Mara R. Ritter (ICN), for the loan of specimens; and Dr. Marian Glenn (Seton Hall University) for English revision.Peer reviewe

Hysterangium atlanticum sp. nov., forms ectomycorrhizae with Coccoloba species (Polygonaceae) from the Atlantic rainforest of Northeastern Brazil

Hysterangium basidiomata were collected associated with Coccoloba alnifolia and C. laevis (Polygonaceae), in the GuaribasBiological Reserve in the Atlantic rainforest, of northeastern Brazil during the rainy seasons of 2012?2013. Based on its uniquemorphological and molecular traits, this new taxon is described as Hysterangium atlanticum sp. nov. The most prominentmorphological characters that separate H. atlanticum from other close relatives are the large size of the basidiomata, the whiteperidium that rapidly turns greyish-orange to pale-red where bruised or exposed to air, and the ellipsoid to suboblong spores witha minutely verrucose surface. Molecular analyses of the LSU, SSU, atp6, and EF-1α markers were done. The analyses of theconcatenated atp6?EF-1α matrix confirmed the placement of the new species in the /hysterangium lineage. Moreover, at theinfra-generic level, Hysterangium atlanticum sp. nov. forms a sister cladewith Hysterangium sp. from Dicymbe forests located inneighboring Guyana. Moreover, the ectomycorrhizae (EcM) formed by H. atlanticum and roots of Coccoloba species wasconfirmed, based on identical ITS nrDNA sequences obtained from basidiomata and EcM root tissues. The main conspicuousfeatures of the EcM are: a well-developed plectenchimatous mantle, the ramarioid, abundant emanating hyphae with clamps andcovered with crystals, the presence of oleoacanthocystidia, and the whitish rhizomorphs. This is the first report of a Hysterangiumspecies forming EcM with native members of Coccoloba spp. in South AmericaFil: Sulzbacher, Marcelo A.. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Grebenc, Tine. Slovenian Forestry Institute; EsloveniaFil: Nouhra, Eduardo Ramon. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Giachini, Admir J.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Martín, María P.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Real Jardín Botánico; EspañaFil: Baseia, Iuri G.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte; Brasi

Longistriata flava (Boletaceae, Basidiomycota) – a new monotypic sequestrate genus and species from Brazilian Atlantic Forest

A new monotypic sequestrate genus, Longistriata is described based on collections from the Neotropical forest of Atlantic forest in Paraíba, Northeast Brazil – an area known for its high degree of endemism. The striking features of this new fungus are the hypogeous habit, the vivid yellow peridium in mature basidiomes, broadly ellipsoid basidiospores with a distinct wall that is ornamented with longitudinal striations and lageniform cystidia with rounded apices. Phylogenetic analysis, based on LSU and tef-1α regions, showed that the type species, Longistriata flava, is phylogenetically sister to the monotypic sequestrate African genus Mackintoshia in Boletaceae. Together these two species formed the earliest diverging lineage in the subfamily Zangioideae. Longistriata flava is found in nutrient-poor white sand habitats where plants in the genera Coccoloba (Polygonaceae) and Guapira (Nyctaginaceae) are the only potential ectomycorrhizal host symbionts

Longistriata flava (Boletaceae, Basidiomycota) – a new monotypic sequestrate genus and species from Brazilian Atlantic Forest

A new monotypic sequestrate genus, Longistriata is described based on collections from the Neotropical forest of Atlantic forest in Paraíba, Northeast Brazil – an area known for its high degree of endemism. The striking features of this new fungus are the hypogeous habit, the vivid yellow peridium in mature basidiomes, broadly ellipsoid basidiospores with a distinct wall that is ornamented with longitudinal striations and lageniform cystidia with rounded apices. Phylogenetic analysis, based on LSU and tef-1α regions, showed that the type species, Longistriata flava, is phylogenetically sister to the monotypic sequestrate African genus Mackintoshia in Boletaceae. Together these two species formed the earliest diverging lineage in the subfamily Zangioideae. Longistriata flava is found in nutrient-poor white sand habitats where plants in the genera Coccoloba (Polygonaceae) and Guapira (Nyctaginaceae) are the only potential ectomycorrhizal host symbionts

Molecular and morphological analyses confirm Rhizopogon verii as a widely distributed ectomycorrhizal false truffle in Europe, and its presence in South America

The genus Rhizopogon includes species with hypogeous or subepigeus habit, forming ectomycorrhizae with naturally occurring or planted pines (Pinaceae). Species of the genus Rhizopogon can be distinguished easily from the other hypogeous basidiomycetes by their lacunose gleba without columella and their smooth elliptical spores; however, the limit between species is not always easy to establish. Rhizopogon luteolus, the type species of the genus, has been considered one of the species that are more abundant in Europe, as well as it has been cited in pine plantation of North and South America, different parts of Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. However, in this study, based on molecular analyses of the ITS nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) sequences (19 new sequences; 37 sequences from GenBank/UNITE, including those from type specimens), we prove that many GenBank sequences under R. luteolus were misidentified and correspond to Rhizopogon verii, a species described from Tunisia. Also, we confirm that basidiomes and ectomycorrhizae recently collected in Germany under Pinus sylvestris, as well as specimens from South of Brazil under Pinus taeda belong to R. verii. Thanks to the numerous ectomycorrhizal tips collected in Germany, a complete description of R. verii/P. sylvestris ectomycorrhiza is provided. Moreover, since in this paper the presence of R. verii in South America is here reported for the first time, a short description of basidiomes collected in Brazil, compared with collections located in different European herbaria, is included