ALBERT

Description: Species of the ectomycorrhizal genus Lactifluus, and often entire sections, are typically unique to a single \ncontinent. Given these biogeographic patterns, an interesting region to study their diversity is Central America and \nthe Caribbean, since the region is closely connected to and often considered a part of the North American continent, but biogeographically belong to the Neotropical realm, and comprises several regions with different geologic \nhistories. Based on a multi-gene phylogeny and morphological study, this study shows that Central America, Mexico \nand the Caribbean harbour at least 35 Lactifluus species, of which 33 were never reported outside of this region. \nIt was found that species from the Caribbean generally show affinities to South American taxa, while species \nfrom the Central American mainland generally show affinities to Northern hemispheric taxa. We hypothesise that \nhost specificity and/or climate play a crucial role in these different origins of diversity. Because of these different \naffinities, Caribbean islands harbour a completely different Lactifluus diversity than the Central American mainland. \nThe majority of species occurring on the islands can be considered endemic to certain islands or island groups. In \nthis paper, detailed morphological descriptions are given, with a focus on the unique diversity of the islands, and \nidentification keys to all hitherto described Lactifluus species occurring in Central America and the Caribbean are \nprovided. One new section, Lactifluus sect. Nebulosi, and three new species, Lactifluus guadeloupensis, Lactifluus \nlepus and Lactifluus marmoratus are described.

Description: Russula subgenus Compactae is a group of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes, usually with large pileate \nfruitbodies. European members of the group are characterised by the absence of bright colours on the surfaces of \ntheir pilei, the context turning grey to black after cutting, the abundance of short lamellulae in the hymenophore, and \nspores with an inamyloid suprahilar spot and with low reticulate ornamentation. Our multi-locus phylogenetic study \nconfirmed that this morphological delimitation corresponds to a well-supported clade. Within this clade, 16 species \nare recognised in Europe, of which five belong to the R. albonigra lineage and were described in a previous study, \nwhile eleven are fully described in this study. The application of the names R. acrifolia, R. adusta, R. anthracina, \nR. atramentosa, R. densissima, R. nigricans and R. roseonigra is based on the position of sequences retrieved from \ntypes or authentic material. Based on type sequences, R. fuliginosa is synonymised with R. anthracina and two \nvarieties of R. anthracina are considered synonyms of R. atramentosa. The application of the name R. densifolia \nis based on a morphological match with the traditional species interpretation and the neotype specimen. Three \nspecies are described as new, R. marxmuelleriana sp. nov., R. picrophylla sp. nov. and R. thuringiaca sp. nov. This \nstudy recognises three major lineages and two species with isolated positions within the European Compactae \nand a morphological barcode was assigned to the species using an analysis of 23 selected characters. A search of \npublicly available sequences from the UNITE database revealed that the majority of species are host tree generalists and widely distributed in temperate and Mediterranean areas of Europe. Russula adusta is the only species so \nfar proven to form ectomycorrhiza exclusively with conifers.

Description: Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia, Austroboletus asper on soil, Cylindromonium alloxyli on leaves of Alloxylon pinnatum, Davidhawksworthia quintiniae on leaves of Quintinia sieberi, Exophiala prostantherae on leaves of Prostanthera sp., Lactifluus lactiglaucus on soil, Linteromyces quintiniae (incl. Linteromyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Quintinia sieberi, Lophotrichus medusoides from stem tissue of Citrus garrawayi, Mycena pulchra on soil, Neocalonectria tristaniopsidis (incl. Neocalonectria gen. nov.) and Xyladictyochaeta tristaniopsidis on leaves of Tristaniopsis collina, Parasarocladium tasmanniae on leaves of Tasmannia insipida, Phytophthora aquae-cooljarloo from pond water, Serendipita whamiae as endophyte from roots of Eriochilus cucullatus, Veloboletus limbatus (incl. Veloboletus gen. nov.) on soil. Austria, Cortinarius glaucoelotus on soil. Bulgaria, Suhomyces rilaensis from the gut of Bolitophagus interruptus found on a Polyporus sp. Canada, Cantharellus betularum among leaf litter of Betula, Penicillium saanichii from house dust. Chile, Circinella lampensis on soil, Exophiala embothrii from rhizosphere of Embothrium coccineum. China, Colletotrichum cycadis on leaves of Cycas revoluta. Croatia, Phialocephala melitaea on fallen branch of Pinus halepensis. Czech Republic, Geoglossum jirinae on soil, Pyrenochaetopsis rajhradensis from dead wood of Buxus sempervirens. Dominican Republic, Amanita domingensis on litter of deciduous wood, Melanoleuca dominicana on forest litter. France, Crinipellis nigrolamellata (Martinique) on leaves of Pisonia fragrans, Talaromyces pulveris from bore dust of Xestobium rufovillosum infesting floorboards. French Guiana, Hypoxylon hepaticolor on dead corticated branch. Great Britain, Inocybe ionolepis on soil. India, Cortinarius indopurpurascens among leaf litter of Quercus leucotrichophora. Iran, Pseudopyricularia javanii on infected leaves of Cyperus sp., Xenomonodictys iranica (incl. Xenomonodictys gen. nov.) on wood of Fagus orientalis. Italy, Penicillium vallebormidaense from compost. Namibia, Alternaria mirabibensis on plant litter, Curvularia moringae and Moringomyces phantasmae (incl. Moringomyces gen. nov.) on leaves and flowers of Moringa ovalifolia, Gobabebomyces vachelliae (incl. Gobabebomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Vachellia erioloba, Preussia procaviae on dung of Procavia capensis. Pakistan, Russula shawarensis from soil on forest floor. Russia, Cyberlindnera dauci from Daucus carota. South Africa, Acremonium behniae on leaves of Behnia reticulata, Dothiora aloidendri and Hantamomyces aloidendri (incl. Hantamomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Aloidendron dichotomum, Endoconidioma euphorbiae on leaves of Euphorbia mauritanica, Eucasphaeria proteae on leaves of Protea neriifolia, Exophiala mali from inner fruit tissue of Malus sp., Graminopassalora geissorhizae on leaves of Geissorhiza splendidissima, Neocamarosporium leipoldtiae on leaves of Leipoldtia schultzii, Neocladosporium osteospermi on leaf spots of Osteospermum moniliferum, Neometulocladosporiella seifertii on leaves of Combretum caffrum, Paramyrothecium pituitipietianum on stems of Grielum humifusum, Phytopythium paucipapillatum from roots of Vitis sp., Stemphylium carpobroti and Verrucocladosporium carpobroti on leaves of Carpobrotus quadrifolius, Suttonomyces cephalophylli on leaves of Cephalophyllum pilansii. Sweden, Coprinopsis rubra on cow dung, Elaphomyces nemoreus from deciduous woodlands. Spain, Polyscytalum pini-canariensis on needles of Pinus canariensis, Pseudosubramaniomyces septatus from stream sediment, Tuber lusitanicum on soil under Quercus suber. Thailand, Tolypocladium flavonigrum on Elaphomyces sp. USA, Chaetothyrina spondiadis on fruits of Spondias mombin, Gymnascella minnisii from bat guano, Juncomyces patwiniorum on culms of Juncus effusus, Moelleriella puertoricoensis on scale insect, Neodothiora populina (incl. Neodothiora gen. nov.) on stem cankers of Populus tremuloides, Pseudogymnoascus palmeri from cave sediment. Vietnam, Cyphellophora vietnamensis on leaf litter, Tylopilus subotsuensis on soil in montane evergreen broadleaf forest. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes.