In the last two decades, tens of thousands of fungal species have been detected in soil samples via DNA sequencing. A vast number of them are known only from soil sequences and remain unnamed. This is a challenge to traditional fungal taxonomy based on physical fungal specimens. In this project, we intend to fill the gap between specimen-based species and unnamed soil fungi in the basidiomycete orders Agaricales, Atractiellales, and Trechisporales. They contain a large amount of corticioid species (fungi with smooth, prostrate fruitbodies) which we will target. The project is based on integration of two methods: 1) extensive sequencing of fungal specimens and comparison to sequences of unnamed soil fungi; 2) intensive collecting of corticioid fungi in the previously revealed hotspots of the unnamed taxa and their study with morphological and DNA methods. These new data will extend our current knowledge of ecology and diversity of corticioid fungi and soil biota in general.

2024

2028