Termite mutualistic symbiosis with edible fungus – Termitomyces (Agaricales, Basidiomycota)

The genus <em>Termitomyces </em>R. Heim is of significant importance both economically and ecologically. It is cultivated by termites of the subfamily Macrotermitinae and is widely distributed in Africa and Asia. However, there is limited understanding of <em>Termitomyces </em>species due to insufficient morphological descriptions and a lack of DNA sequence data. Moreover, the misuse of <em>Termitomyces </em>names has contributed to confusion regarding the taxonomy of <em>Termitomyces </em>species. In this study, taxonomic and phylogenetic studies on species of <em>Termitomyces</em>, we examined 131 collections, including 44 Chinese, 51 Thailand and 36 specimens were obtained on loan from the Herbarium, the diversity of <em>Termitomyces </em>in China and Thailand are evaluated by employing both morphological and phylogenetic analysis. A multi-locus phylogenetic analysis was performed using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the mitochondrial rDNA small subunit (mtSSU), partial nuclear ribosomal large subunit (nrLSU), partial second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (<em>rpb2</em>), translation elongation factor 1-a (<em>tef1-a</em>) and minichromosome maintenance complex component 7 (<em>mcm7</em>). A total of 500 sequences were used in the phylogenetic analyses, of which 411 were newly generated, including 67 sequences of ITS, 76 sequences of nrLSU, 77 sequences of mrSSU, 68 sequences of <em>rpb2</em>, 60 sequence of <em>tef1 </em>and 63 sequences of <em>mcm7</em>. Sixty-four species of <em>Termitomyces </em>are treated in this study, including 16 novel species and 49 known taxa, and 16 new <em>Termitomyces </em>species were found in China and Thailand, <em>viz.</em>, <em>Termitomyces brunneocarpu</em>, <em>T. jizongjun</em>, <em>T. longicystidiatus</em>, <em>T. longipes</em>, <em>T. microcarpoides</em>, <em>T. miniatofloccosus</em>, <em>T. miniatoumbonatus</em>, <em>T. mutabilis</em>, <em>T. niveus</em>, <em>T. pseudobulborhizus</em>, <em>T. rubripes</em>, <em>T. stramineus</em>, <em>T. thailandicus</em>, <em>T. torosus</em>, <em>T. umbrosus</em> and <em>T. zangmui</em>, a key <em>Termitomyces </em>species, molecular phylogenies, a summary of species diversity, description and illustrate are provided.

<em>白蚁伞属（Termitomyces）</em>R. Heim在经济与生态领域均具有重要价值。该属真菌由大白蚁亚科（Macrotermitinae）的白蚁培育，广泛分布于非洲与亚洲地区。然而，由于形态学描述不足且DNA序列数据匮乏，学界对白蚁伞属物种的认知仍较为有限。此外，白蚁伞属学名的误用进一步加剧了该属分类学上的混乱。
本研究针对白蚁伞属物种开展分类学与系统发育学研究，共检视131份馆藏标本，其中44份采自中国，51份采自泰国，剩余36份标本由标本馆借阅获得。本研究结合形态学与系统发育分析方法，对中国与泰国的白蚁伞属物种多样性进行了评估。
本研究采用多基因座系统发育分析策略，选取的分子标记包括：内部转录间隔区（internal transcribed spacer, ITS）、线粒体核糖体DNA小亚基（mitochondrial rDNA small subunit, mtSSU）、部分核核糖体大亚基（partial nuclear ribosomal large subunit, nrLSU）、RNA聚合酶II第二大亚基部分序列（<em>rpb2</em>）、翻译延伸因子1-α（translation elongation factor 1-α, <em>tef1-α</em>）以及微型染色体维持复合体7号组分（minichromosome maintenance complex component 7, <em>mcm7</em>）。系统发育分析共纳入500条序列，其中411条为本次研究新生成的序列，具体包括67条ITS序列、76条nrLSU序列、77条mtSSU序列、68条<em>rpb2</em>序列、60条<em>tef1-α</em>序列以及63条<em>mcm7</em>序列。
本研究共处理64种白蚁伞属真菌，其中包含16个新种与49个已知类群；在中泰两国境内共发现16个白蚁伞属新种，分别为：<em>Termitomyces brunneocarpu</em>、<em>T. jizongjun</em>、<em>T. longicystidiatus</em>、<em>T. longipes</em>、<em>T. microcarpoides</em>、<em>T. miniatofloccosus</em>、<em>T. miniatoumbonatus</em>、<em>T. mutabilis</em>、<em>T. niveus</em>、<em>T. pseudobulborhizus</em>、<em>T. rubripes</em>、<em>T. stramineus</em>、<em>T. thailandicus</em>、<em>T. torosus</em>、<em>T. umbrosus</em>与<em>T. zangmui</em>。本研究同时提供了白蚁伞属物种的检索表、系统发育树、物种多样性总结、形态描述与图解。