Diversity and Evolutionary History of Phanerochaete in Korea with the Discovery of Two New and Nine Unrecorded Species

Diversity and Evolutionary History of Phanerochaete in Korea with the Discovery of Two New and Nine Unrecorded Species

Minseo Cho1, Yeonjae Yoo1, Sang Hyun Lee1, Dae Young Kwon1, Hyeongsub Shin1, Changmu Kim2, Young Min Lee1, Sun Lul Kwon1,3*, and Jae-Jin Kim1*

1Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

2Biological Conservation Research Division, National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon, Republic of Korea

3Division of Wood Engineering, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul, Republic of Korea

*Email: funwood24@korea.kr, jae-jinkim@korea.ac.kr

Phanerochaete is one of the largest genera in the family Phanerochaetaceae (order Polyporales) and is known for producing ligninolytic enzymes as white-rot saprotrophs. Although 123 species have been reported worldwide, only 13 species have previously been recorded in Korea. To investigate the diversity of this genus, specimens were collected nationwide from 2008 to 2024. A comprehensive morphological and multilocus phylogenetic analysis was conducted using the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS), nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (nLSU), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1), RNA polymerase Ⅱ largest subunit (rpb1), and RNA polymerase Ⅱ second largest subunit (rpb2) regions. Based on 72 specimens, nine unrecorded species—Phanerochaete albocremea, P. australis, P. cystidiata, P. fusca, P. parmastoi, P. porostereoides, P. rhizomorpha, P. subcarnosa, and P. taiwaniana—and two novel species were identified. In addition, divergence time estimation using BEAST suggested that the genus Phanerochaete originated approximately 101.66 Mya during the Early Cretaceous, with subsequent diversification of major clades during the Late Cretaceous (approximately 77.48–85.80 Mya). This study expands the known diversity of Phanerochaete in Korea and provides new insights into the evolutionary history and phylogenetic relationships of the genus.