MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

Multilocus Phylogeny- and Fruiting Feature-Assisted Delimitation of European Cyclocybe aegerita from a New Asian Species Complex and Related Species

Summary

This research revealed that what was thought to be a single mushroom species found worldwide is actually two distinct groups – one European and one Asian. This discovery has important implications for both science and cultivation. Impacts on everyday life: – Improved understanding for mushroom farmers growing these species commercially – Better potential for developing new medicinal compounds from different strains – More accurate identification of wild mushrooms for foragers and mycologists – Enhanced ability to develop new cultivation techniques specific to each group – Greater potential for discovering novel enzymes useful in industrial applications

Background

Cyclocybe aegerita is a widely cultivated edible mushroom species that serves as a model fungus for studying basidiome formation and producing useful natural products and enzymes. Previously thought to be nearly cosmopolitan in distribution, recent evidence suggested potential differences between strains from different continents.

Objective

To conduct a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of C. aegerita strains from different continents and related Cyclocybe species using multiple genetic markers, combined with characterization of fruiting properties, to better understand species relationships and diversity.

Results

The analysis revealed that ‘C. aegerita sensu lato’ splits into two well-supported monophyletic geographic lineages: a European clade and an Asian clade (preliminarily designated as Cyclocybe chaxingu agg.). The European clade was closely associated with the Chinese species C. salicaceicola, while the Asian lineage formed a species complex clustering with the Pacific species C. parasitica. Fruiting properties differed between clades – Asian strains tended to form larger basidiomes with bigger caps and longer stipes, while European strains showed more variable fruiting productivity with generally smaller caps and shorter stipes.

Conclusion

The study demonstrates clear phylogenetic and phenotypic differences between European C. aegerita and a newly delimited Asian species complex, representing an example of biogeographic diversity within what was previously considered a homogeneous cosmopolitan species. This finding has important implications for research using C. aegerita as a model organism and suggests the potential for discovering novel genes and compounds in the Asian species complex.
  • Published in:Mycological Progress,
  • Study Type:Phylogenetic Analysis,
  • Source: 10.1007/s11557-020-01599-z
Scroll to Top