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

The genus Termitomyces 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 Termitomyces species due to insufficient morphological descriptions and a lack of DNA sequence data. Moreover, the misuse of Termitomyces names has contributed to confusion regarding the taxonomy of Termitomyces species. In this study, taxonomic and phylogenetic studies on species of Termitomyces, we examined 131 collections, including 44 Chinese, 51 Thailand and 36 specimens were obtained on loan from the Herbarium, the diversity of Termitomyces 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 (rpb2), translation elongation factor 1-a (tef1-a) and minichromosome maintenance complex component 7 (mcm7). 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 rpb2, 60 sequence of tef1 and 63 sequences of mcm7. Sixty-four species of Termitomyces are treated in this study, including 16 novel species and 49 known taxa, and 16 new Termitomyces species were found in China and Thailand, viz., Termitomyces brunneocarpu, T. jizongjun, T. longicystidiatus, T. longipes, T. microcarpoides, T. miniatofloccosus, T. miniatoumbonatus, T. mutabilis, T. niveus, T. pseudobulborhizus, T. rubripes, T. stramineus, T. thailandicus, T. torosus, T. umbrosus and T. zangmui, a key Termitomyces species, molecular phylogenies, a summary of species diversity, description and illustrate are provided.鸡枞菌属（Termitomyces 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）白蚁培育种植，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，学界对鸡枞菌属物种的认知仍十分有限；此外，鸡枞菌属学名的误用进一步加剧了该类群的分类学混乱。 本研究针对鸡枞菌属物种开展分类学与系统发育学研究，共检视131份标本，其中包括44份采自中国的标本、51份采自泰国的标本，另有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，对中国与泰国的鸡枞菌属物种多样性进行了评估。 系统发育分析采用了多个分子标记位点，包括内转录间隔区（internal transcribed spacer, ITS）、线粒体核糖体DNA小亚基（mitochondrial rDNA small subunit, mtSSU）、核核糖体大亚基部分序列（partial nuclear ribosomal large subunit, nrLSU）、RNA聚合酶II第二大亚基部分序列（partial second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, rpb2）、翻译延伸因子1-α（translation elongation factor 1-a, tef1-a）以及微型染色体维持复合体7号组分（minichromosome maintenance complex component 7, mcm7）。本次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，包括67条ITS序列、76条nrLSU序列、77条mtSSU序列、68条rpb2序列、60条tef1-a序列以及63条mcm7序列。 本研究共处理鸡枞菌属64个物种，其中包含16个新种与49个已知类群；在中国与泰国境内共发现16个鸡枞菌属新种，分别为：棕褐盖鸡枞菌（Termitomyces brunneocarpu）、鸡枞菌（T. jizongjun）、长囊体鸡枞菌（T. longicystidiatus）、长柄鸡枞菌（T. longipes）、小果状鸡枞菌（T. microcarpoides）、淡红絮状鸡枞菌（T. miniatofloccosus）、淡红脐突鸡枞菌（T. miniatoumbonatus）、可变鸡枞菌（T. mutabilis）、雪白鸡枞菌（T. niveus）、假鳞茎柄鸡枞菌（T. pseudobulborhizus）、红柄鸡枞菌（T. rubripes）、稻草色鸡枞菌（T. stramineus）、泰国鸡枞菌（T. thailandicus）、块状鸡枞菌（T. torosus）、暗褐鸡枞菌（T. umbrosus）以及藏氏鸡枞菌（T. zangmui）。本研究提供了鸡枞菌属的分种检索表、分子系统发育结果、物种多样性汇总、形态描述及图解说明。