Fedor Bucholtz, mycologist and his herbarium

Beginning shortly after the death of Fedor Bucholtz in 1924 correspondence was initiated by Roland Thaxter with Alexander Bucholz, mycologist Fedor Bucholtz’s son, concerning the purchase of his father’s herbarium and library. This began an exchange that lasted for six years and resulted in the purchase of the library and part of the herbarium of Fedor Bucholtz for the Farlow Reference Library and Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany. About 5200 specimens and about 800 books and reprints were received. These purchases are documented through correspondence, which also throws light on the difficulties Bucholtz and his family endured in the wake of World War 1.

Draft genome sequence of the globally distributed cockroach-infecting fungus herpomyces periplanetae strain D. Haelew. 1187d

Herpomyces periplanetae is an obligate biotroph of Periplaneta americana, the American cockroach. Its nearly cosmopolitan distribution is shaped by its globally invasive host and the international pet trade. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of H. periplanetae, based on a thallus from P. americana collected in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Systemic Infection of Medeola virginiana (Liliaceae) by the Fungus Medeolaria farlowii (Ascomycota: Leotiomycetes)

Primers were designed to specifically amplify ITS rDNA regions of the fungus Medeolaria farlowii. The fungus was shown to be present not only in stem lesions but in apparently uninfected leaves, stems and rhizomes of the host plant, Medeola virginiana. Since the plant reproduces clonally it is likely that the infection is carried in populations of the host plant through systemic infection of vegetative plant parts. The growth patterns of the plant are reviewed and examples are given of long-term perpetuation of the fungus in populations of the plant.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Amanita mansehraensis, a new species in section Vaginatae from Pakistan

A new species of Amanita subgenus Amanita sect. Vaginatae is described and illustrated based on material collected in pine forests in district Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtoonkhaw, Pakistan. Amanita mansehraensis is recognized by the presence of a light brown or light greyish olive pileus with strong brown or deep brown pileus center; non-appendiculate, rimose, sulcate or plicate striate pileus margin; subglobose to ellipsoid basidiospores; and a saccate volva. The internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and large subunit of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nrLSU) were used for the delimitation of this species based on sequence data. The evolutionary relationships of A. mansehraensis with other species of Amanita were inferred by means of Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inferences of the nrLSU dataset and concatenated ITS+nrLSU dataset. Amanita mansehraensis is most closely related to A. brunneofuliginea, A. pseudovaginata, and the recently described A. glarea

Cophylogeny and Biogeography of the Fungal Parasite Cyttaria and Its Host Nothofagus, Southern Beech

The obligate, biotrophic association among species of the fungal genus Cyttaria and their hosts in the plant genus Nothofagus often is cited as a classic example of cophylogeny and is one of the few cases in which the biogeography of a fungus is commonly mentioned or included in biogeographic analyses. In this study molecular and morphological data are used to examine hypotheses regarding the cophylogeny and biogeography of the 12 species of Cyttaria and their hosts, the 11 species of Nothofagus subgenera Lophozonia and Nothofagus. Our results indicate highly significant overall cophylogenetic structure, despite the fact that the associations between species of Cyttaria and Nothofagus usually do not correspond in a simple one to one relationship. Two major lineages of Cyttaria are confined to a single Nothofagus subgenus, a specificity that might account for a minimum of two codivergences. We hypothesize other major codivergences. Numerous extinction also are assumed, as are an independent parasite divergence followed by host switching to account for C. berteroi. Considering the historical association of Cyttaria and Nothofagus, our hypothesis may support the vicariance hypothesis for the trans-Antarctic distribution between Australasian and South American species of Cyttaria species hosted by subgenus Lophozonia. It also supports the hypothesis of transoceanic long distance dispersal to account for the relatively recent relationship between Australian and New Zealand Cyttaria species, which we estimate to have occurred 44.6–28.5 mya. Thus the history of these organisms is not only a reflection of the breakup of Gondwana but also of other events that have contributed to the distributions of many other southern hemisphere plants and fungi.Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyOther Research Uni

A new species of Marcelleina from Italy

Marcelleina mediterranea is described as a new species and is illustrated. It occurs on sandy soil among scattered mosses, in Southeast Sicily (Italy). It differs from other species in size and ornamentation of ascospores. Its ecology and taxonomical relationships are examined.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

New species of Pseudosperma (Agaricales, Inocybaceae) from Pakistan revealed by morphology and multi-locus phylogenetic reconstruction

During fungal surveys between 2012 and 2014 in pine-dominated forests of the western Himalayas in Pakistan, several collections of Pseudosperma (Agaricales, Inocybaceae) were made. These were documented, based on morphological and molecular data. During this work, three new species came to light, which are here formally described as Pseudosperma brunneoumbonatum, P. pinophilum and P. triacicularis. These species belong in the genus Pseudosperma fide Matheny et al. (2019) = Pseudosperma clade fide Matheny (2005) = Inocybe sect. Rimosae s.s. fide Larsson et al. (2009). Macro- and micro-morphological descriptions, illustrations and molecular phylogenetic reconstructions of the studied taxa are provided. The new species are differentiated from their close relatives by basidiospore size and colouration of basidiomata. Molecular phylogenetic relationships are inferred using ITS (ITS1–5.8S–ITS2), nrLSU and mtSSU sequence data. All three newly-described taxa likely share an ectomycorrhizal association with trees in the genus Pinus. In addition, five names are recombined in Inosperma, Mallocybe and Pseudosperma. These are Inosperma vinaceobrunneum, Mallocybe erratum, Pseudosperma alboflavellum, Pseudosperma friabile and Pseudosperma neglectum

Birth of an order: comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study excludes Herpomyces (Fungi, Laboulbeniomycetes) from Laboulbeniales

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A preliminary checklist of fungi at the Boston Harbor Islands

Between December 2012 and May 2017, we conducted a fungal inventory at the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (BHI) in Massachusetts. We extensively sampled 4 sites (Grape Island, Peddocks Island, Thompson Island, and World's End peninsula) and occasionally visited 4 others for sampling (Calf Island, Great Brewster Island, Slate Island, and Webb Memorial State Park). We made over 900 collections, of which 313 have been identified. The survey yielded 172 species in 123 genera, 62 families, 24 orders, 11 classes, and 2 phyla. We report 4 species as new, but not formally described, in the genera Orbilia, Resupinatus, and Xylaria. Another collection in the genus Lactarius may be new to science, but further morphological and molecular work is needed to confirm this conclusion. Additionally, Orbilia aprilis is a new report for North America, Proliferodiscus earoleucus represents only the second report for the US, and Chrysosporium sulfureum, a common fungus of some cheeses, was discovered on woodlice (Crustacea: Malacostraca: Isopoda: Oniscidea). We discuss our findings in the light of DNA-based identifications using the ITS ribosomal DNA region, including the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, and stress the need for biodiversity studies in urbanized areas during all seasons