Home • Panus rudis PR-1116 ss-1 v1.0
Panus rudis
Photo credit: Jaya Sathiya Seelan at Clark University

Within the framework of the CSP 'Metatranscriptomics of Forest Soil Ecosystems' project, we are aiming to explore the interaction of forest trees with communities of soil fungi, including ectomycorrhizal symbionts that dramatically affect bioenergy-relevant plant growth, and saprotrophic soil fungi impacting carbon sequestration in forests. We are sequencing the genome of the most abundant fungal species harvested on studied long-term observatories to provide sufficient taxonomic coverage of fungal genomes to identify and analyze DNA and RNA samples sequenced from environmental samples.

Panus rudis

Panus rudis belongs to the order Polyporales in the phylum Basidiomycota, a group of mushroom-forming fungi with outstanding wood-decay capabilities. Panus rudis is found on various tree species throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of the first colonizers of dead hardwood and thus plays an important role in the succession of saprobic fungi on dead plant material.

The genus Panus produces spores on gills, parallel structures underneath the cap, which aim to increase the useful surface for basidiospore production. The enlargement of spore-bearing surfaces (hymenophore) is one of the most peculiar and important innovations of mushrooms. There is a wide range of hymenophore morphologies in mushrooms, ranging from smooth to gilled, pored or toothed. Within the Polyporales, hymenophore morphologies have switched between these major groups several times during evolution. A close relative of Panus is the genus Polyporus, of which P. arcularius has also been sequenced at JGI. Polyporus arcularius has a hymenophore composed of large rectangular pores, which resembles a transition between gilled and pored hymenophores. Sequencing these species will advance our understanding of the functional and genetic bases as well as the directionality of hymenophore evolution in mushrooms.

The CSP 'Metatranscriptomics of Forest Soil Ecosystems' project is a large collaborative effort, led by the PI of this project, Francis Martin (INRA), aiming for master publication(s). As always, please contact the PIs associated with unpublished 1KFG genomes for permission prior to the use of any data in publications.

Genome Reference(s)