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High Diversity of Morchella and a Novel Lineage of the Esculenta Clade from the North Qinling Mountains Revealed by GCPSR-Based Study

Summary

This research explored the diversity of morel mushrooms in China’s Qinling Mountains region, discovering several new species and a previously unknown lineage. The study has important implications for understanding fungal biodiversity and conservation. Impacts on everyday life: – Helps identify and preserve valuable edible mushroom species – Contributes to sustainable harvesting practices of wild mushrooms – Supports commercial cultivation efforts of morel mushrooms – Aids in preventing misidentification of edible vs. toxic species – Advances our understanding of local food resources

Background

True morel (Morchella spp.) is a highly valuable edible mushroom prized for its nutritional, medicinal and economic value. Species delimitation in Morchella is complex due to morphological plasticity. China has records of about half of the worldwide 61 morel phylospecies, making it rich in natural morel resources.

Objective

To investigate the diversity of Morchella species in the north Qinling Mountains region of China using genealogical concordance phylogenetic species recognition (GCPSR) methods and evaluate the morphological and molecular characteristics of collected specimens.

Results

The study identified a total of nine phylogenetic species including five yellow morels (Mes-8, Mes-9, Mes-13, Mes-25, and a novel species Morchella chensiensis) and four black morels (Mel-2, Mel-6, Mel-10, Mel-12), plus one false morel (Verpa bohemica). Four of the five yellow morel species were new records for the Qinling region. The novel lineage M. chensiensis was found to be distinct from previously reported phylospecies based on molecular analysis.

Conclusion

The Qinling Mountains region hosts high diversity of Morchella species, with multiple new species records and a novel lineage discovered. All collections showed continental endemism and grouped together in rDNA phylogenetic trees, suggesting the region’s importance as a center of morel diversity in China.
  • Published in:Scientific Reports,
  • Study Type:Phylogenetic Analysis,
  • Source: 10.1038/s41598-019-56321-1
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