Researchers successfully sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of four commonly cultivated medicinal mushroom species in the Ganoderma genus. They identified two specific genes, atp9 and nad4L, as reliable molecular barcodes that can accurately distinguish between different Ganoderma species. These DNA barcodes serve as a universal identification tool, similar to product barcodes in supermarkets, helping to identify and classify Ganoderma species for medicinal and commercial purposes.