| dc.description.abstract | Boletoid
fungi
are
a
monophyletic
group
(Boletales
Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) with members producing basidiomata
that are usually fleshy, stipitate-pileate and with poroid or lamellate
hymenophore. Most of the species form ectomycorrhizal associations
with higher plants. Many are edible. Boletoid fungi have been studied in
detail from around the world. In India, boletoid fungi have been fairly
documented
from
northern
states.
However,
there
are
no
comprehensive studies on the Boletales of South India. Hence, a
documentary study of the boletoid fungi of Kerala was conducted during
the period 2018-2024.
Morphological characterisation along with molecular phylogenetic
analyses of the collected specimens were conducted. Boletoid specimens
were collected from different parts of Kerala State. Molecular
characterization of collected specimens were done using various gene
regions (ITS, 28S and RPB2). Phylogenetic trees were generated by using
Maximum Likelihood method.
A total of 185 boletoid taxa were collected during the five-year
period. Significant number of bolete collections were obtained from
Kuruva Islets and the Thurayilkotta Sacred grove. Forty bolete species
belonging to 29 genera of eight families (Boletaceae, Boletinellaceae,
Gyroporaceae,
Paxillaceae,
Pisolithaceae,
Serpulaceae,
Sclerodermataceae, Suillaceae) were recorded. Fourteen species were
found to be hitherto undescribed. Five species were formally published
and other
undescribed species are in the process of publication. A collection was found to belong to a genus new to science. Out of the
total taxa documented, nine were new records to India and 18 were new
records to Kerala. All the specimens, including holotypes are maintained
at Zamorin’s Guruvayurappan College Herbarium (ZGC). A total of 50
gene sequences were generated from the collections during the study
and were used for molecular phylogenetic analyses. Newly generated
gene sequences were deposited in open repository. This taxonomic
treatment provides descriptions, comparisons, taxonomic keys and
molecular phylogenetic analyses of boletes along with macroscopic and
microscopic photographs. | en_US |
