Fruiting bodies of Lactarius pseudohatsudake 88 (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 pseudohatsudake 88

Lactarius pseudohatsudake, a new species of Lactarius sect. Deliciosi (Russulaceae), was isolated recently from mountains in central and southwestern China (Wang, 2016). Its basidiomata resemble Asian L. hatsudake but with crowded lamellae. L. pseudohatsudake is the second described species in China having vinaceous-red latex and grayish red-dominant basidiomata, after L. hatsudake. However, phylogenetically, it seems more closely related to the L. deterrimus-L. fennoscandicus complex and L. hengduanensis, but not L. hatsudake. Lactarius pseudohatsudake invariably grows in subalpine spruce forests and has never been found in pine forests in the lower montane regions, thus indicating its high host-specificity. Genome sequencing and comparison study with other ectomycorrhizal clades in and out of Russulaceae would gain 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Researchers who wish to publish analyses using data from unpublished CSP genomes are respectfully required to contact the PI (Francis Martin) and JGI to avoid potential conflicts on data use and coordinate other publications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, X. H. (2016). Three new species of Lactarius sect. deliciosi from subalpine-alpine regions of central and southwestern China. Cryptogamie Mycologie, 37(4), 493-508.