Investigation of the Fungal Diversity of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Construction of an Updated Fungal Inventory

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is an island country in the western Pacific and is a known biodiversity hotspot. However, a relatively small number of fungi (236 species) have been reported till July 2021. Since fungi play major ecological roles in ecosystems, we investigated the fungal diversity of FSM from various sources over 2016 and 2017 and constructed a local fungal inventory, which also included the previously reported species. Fruiting bodies were collected from various host trees and fungal strains were isolated from marine and terrestrial environments. A total of 99 species, of which 78 were newly reported in the FSM, were identified at the species level using a combination of molecular and morphological approaches. Many fungal species were specific to the environment, host, or source. Upon construction of the fungal inventory, 314 species were confirmed to reside in the FSM. This inventory will serve as an important basis for monitoring fungal diversity and identifying novel biological resources in FSM.

密克罗尼西亚联邦（Federated States of Micronesia, FSM）是西太平洋岛国，亦是公认的生物多样性热点区域。然而截至2021年7月，仅报道过236种真菌物种。鉴于真菌在生态系统中承担着重要生态功能，本研究于2016至2017年间通过多种采样来源调查了密克罗尼西亚联邦的真菌多样性，并构建了本地真菌名录，该名录同时纳入了此前已报道的真菌物种。研究人员从多种寄主树木上采集了真菌子实体，并从海洋与陆地环境中分离得到真菌菌株。研究团队结合分子生物学与形态学方法，共鉴定出99个物种级别的真菌类群，其中78种为密克罗尼西亚联邦的新记录物种。多数真菌物种表现出环境、寄主或采样来源的特异性。完成该真菌名录构建后，现已确认密克罗尼西亚联邦境内共分布有314种真菌。本真菌名录将成为密克罗尼西亚联邦开展真菌多样性监测、发掘新型生物资源的重要基础。