Taxonomy and Diversity of Early-diverging Pinus-decaying fungi
Jiyun Choi, Lupala Abel, and Young Woon Lim*
School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Biodiversity, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
*Email: ywlim@snu.ac.kr
Early-diverging Agaricomycetes wood-decaying fungi, such as Auriculariales, Cantharellales, Trechisporales, Sistotremastrales, and Hymenochaetales, exhibit high species diversity worldwide. A considerable proportion of these fungi utilize pine trees (Pinus spp.), which are ecologically dominant in Korean forest ecosystems, as their hosts. Previous studies have largely focused on regional diversity, whereas host-based approaches remain limited. Here, the diversity of early-diverging Agaricomycetes wood-decaying fungi involved in pine (Pinus spp.) decomposition in Korea. Fruiting bodies and isolates obtained from the decayed pine trees were identified based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses using ITS and nrLSU sequences. As a result, early-diverging fungi were identified as belonging to 12 families, 20 genera, and 35 species. Among these, Hymenochaetales represented the highest species diversity (25 species). These fungi varied according to the decay site of pine trees and occurred in diverse morphological forms, including resupinate and pileate types, actively contributing to wood decomposition. Our findings are expected to improve understanding of their taxonomy and species diversity in Korea.