Fruiting bodies of Lactarius hengduanensis (scale bar: 10 mm). Image credit: Ran WANG and Fuqiang YU.

This genome was sequenced as part of the JGI CSP "1KFG - Deep Sequencing of Ecologically-relevant Dikarya" and more specifically as a part of the Russulaceae Sequencing Project, which seeks to densely sample members of a diverse lineage of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi to examine functional diversity of ECM fungi with a shared evolutionary history.

Lactarius hengduanensis 84

Lactarius hengduanensis is a recently described new species of Lactarius sect. Deliciosi from montane central and southwestern China (Wang, 2016). It is often confused with L. deterrimus, a sympatric species also growing with spruces and having orange basidiomata, but its vivid orange stipe and paler lamellae, and the spores with more reticulate ornamentation could separate it from the latter. Lactarius hengduanensis is associated with Picea trees and never found in pine forests in the lower montane region. This indicates that L. hengduanensis has high host-specificity, as observed for other Lactarius species. Genome sequencing and comparative study with other ectomycorrhizal clades in and out of Russulaceae would provide insights into its specific genomic and evolutionary features within Russulaceae, and also help understand the general genetic features shared by various ectomycorrhizal lineages.

Biological material production: Dr. Nianwu TANG (KIB, Kunming).

Researchers who wish to publish analyses using data from unpublished CSP genomes are respectfully required to contact the PI (Francis Martin) and JGI to avoid potential conflicts on data use and coordinate other publications with the CSP master paper(s).

Reference:
Wang XH. Three new species of Lactarius sect. Deliciosi from subalpine-alpine regions of central and southwestern China. Mycologie, 2016, 37(4): 493-508.