Mieke Verbeken

Ghent University | UGhent · Department of Biology

Arthropods are hosts to a variety of parasitic fungi, including those within the order of Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniomycetes). Species in the genus Hesperomyces are specialized in growing on ladybirds (Coccinellidae). Recent studies have uncovered multiple cryptic species within the Hesperomyces virescens species complex. They found tha...

Nanopore raw read accuracy has improved to over 99%, making it a potential tool for metabarcoding. For broad adoption, guidelines on quality filtering are needed to ensure reliable taxonomic unit recovery. This study aims to provide those guidelines for a fungal metabarcoding context and to apply them to a case study of ectomycorrhizae in the decay...

The present study investigates the species boundaries, evolutionary relationships, and host-parasite interfaces of dimorphic mycoparasites that were previously assigned to Achroomyces soranus, Occultifur internus, and Platygloea mycophila based on morphological similarities. Our comparison of recently collected and cultivated samples with the type...

Nanopore raw read accuracy has improved to over 99%, making it a potential tool for metabarcoding. For broad adoption, guidelines on quality filtering are needed to ensure reliable taxonomic unit recovery. This study aims to provide those guidelines for a fungal metabarcoding context and to apply them to a case-study of ectomycorrhizae in decaying...

Basidiomycota is one of the major phyla in the fungal tree of life. The outline of Basidiomycota provides essential taxonomic information for researchers and workers in mycology. In this study, we present a time-framed phylogenomic tree with 487 species of Basidiomycota from 127 families, 47 orders, 14 classes and four subphyla; we update the outli...

Among the over 31,000 recognized species within Basidiomycota, approximately 200 are documented as parasites of other fungi, so-called mycoparasites. They exhibit a remarkable diversity in morphological characteristics, host-parasite interaction structures, and phylogenetic affiliations. Mycoparasitism as a trophic strategy in Basidiomycota has rec...

Fungal conservation is gaining momentum globally, but many challenges remain. To advance further, more data are needed on fungal diversity across space and time. Fundamental information regarding population sizes, trends, and geographic ranges is also critical to accurately assess the extinction risk of individual species. However, obtaining these...

A new saprotrophic species was discovered during our fungal inventory at the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (Massachusetts), which consists of 34 islands and peninsulas. Simocybe ramosa sp. nov. (Agaricales, Crepidotaceae) is described based on morphology and molecular phylogenetic data. The holotype collection was found in a Quercu...

Citizen science is an increasingly powerful tool to gather large quantities of biological data and to engage the public. The number of citizen science initiatives has rapidly increased in the last 15 years. Invasive alien species such as the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), provide a particularly good opportunity f...

How the multiple facets of soil fungal diversity vary worldwide remains virtually unknown, hindering the management of this essential species-rich group. By sequencing high-resolution DNA markers in over 4000 topsoil samples from natural and human-altered ecosystems across all continents, we illustrate the distributions and drivers of different lev...

How the multiple facets of soil fungal diversity vary worldwide remains virtually unknown, hindering the management of this essential species-rich group. By sequencing high-resolution DNA markers in over 4000 topsoil samples from natural and human-altered ecosystems across all continents, we illustrate the distributions and drivers of different lev...

This paper describes and illustrates five new species of Gloeandromyces (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales) associated with tropical American bat flies (Diptera, Streblidae). These are Gloeandromyces cusucoensis sp. nov. from Trichobius uniformis in Costa Rica and Honduras, G. diversiformis sp. nov. from Strebla wiedemanni in Costa Rica, G. plesiosaurus s...

The Neotropics have recently emerged as an important region for studies of tropical ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. Specific neotropical areas with high ECM host tree densities have ECM fungal diversities rivaling those of higher-latitude forests. Some forests of the Guiana Shield are dominated by endemic ECM trees of the Fabaceae, including species o...

Macrofungal explorations undertaken to several Sal (Shorea robusta) dominated tropical forests of West Bengal and Jharkhand (India) yielded various wild mushrooms. Studies on these collections revealed an interesting and novel taxon of Lactifluus subg. Lactariopsis which is proposed herein as Lactifluus tropicalis. The new species is presented with...

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here we used high‐resolution sequencing to assess endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas...

The biogeography of neotropical fungi remains poorly understood. Here, we reconstruct the origins and diversification of neotropical lineages in one of the largest clades of ectomycorrhizal fungi in the globally widespread family Russulaceae. We inferred a supertree of 3285 operational taxonomic units, representing worldwide internal transcribed sp...

Fungi play pivotal roles in ecosystem functioning, but little is known about their global patterns of diversity, endemicity, vulnerability to global change drivers and conservation priority areas. We applied the high-resolution PacBio sequencing technique to identify fungi based on a long DNA marker that revealed a high proportion of hitherto unkno...

Dry dipterocarp forests are among the most common habitat types in Thailand. Russulaceae are known as common ectomycorrhizal symbionts of Dipterocarpaceae trees in this type of habitat. The present study aims to identify collections of Russula subsection Amoeninae Buyck from dry dipterocarp forests in Thailand. A multi-locus phylogenetic analysis p...

Russula albonigra is considered a well-known species, morphologically delimited by the context of the basidiomata blackening without intermediate reddening, and the menthol-cooling taste of the lamellae. It is supposed to have a broad ecological range and a large distribution area. A thorough molecular analysis based on four nuclear markers (ITS, L...

Following the publication of the original article [1], we were notified of a few inconsistencies between the pdf version and the html version with regards to the Key to the European species of Russula subgen. Compactae (pg. 25). In the online version for steps 3(2), 9(8) and 12(10): part of first option was gone and combined with the second option....

Fungi are highly important biotic components of terrestrial ecosystems, but we still have a very limited understanding about their diversity and distribution. This data article releases a global soil fungal dataset of the Global Soil Mycobiome consortium (GSMc) to boost further research in fungal diversity, biogeography and macroecology. The datase...

Taxonomy of Basidiodendron caesiocinereum complex is revised based on morphological and molecular methods (with the use of nc LSU rDNA, ITS and TEF1 regions). The basidiospore ornamentation is justified as a key morphological character for the species recognition in the group. As redefined here, B. caesiocinereum is an angiosperm-dwelling species w...

About 90% of all land plants form mycorrhiza to facilitate the acquisition of essential nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and sometimes carbon. Based on the morphology of the interaction and the identity of the interacting plants and fungi, four major mycorrhizal types have been distinguished: arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EcM)...

Basidiomycota constitute a major phylum of the kingdom Fungi, distributed in 4 subphyla, 18 classes, 68 orders and 241 families. Advances in molecular phylogeny over the past years have resulted in numerous changes to their classification at a rapid pace. Consequently, a vast amount of taxonomic information is available in many publications. The we...

Species delimitation is one of the most fundamental processes in biology. Biodiversity undertakings, for instance, require explicit species concepts and criteria for species delimitation in order to be relevant and translatable. However, a perfect species concept does not exist for Fungi. Here, we review the species concepts commonly used in Basidi...

Dry dipterocarp forests are among the most common habitat types in Thailand. Russulaceae are known as common ectomycorrhizal symbionts of Dipterocarpaceae trees in this type of habitat. The present study aims to identify collections of Russula subsection Amoeninae Buyck from dry dipterocarp forests in Thailand. A multi-locus phylogenetic analysis p...

Lactifluus (Pers.) Roussel is an ectomycorrhizal genus that was recently recognized to be distinct from the genus Lactarius. To date, 226 Lactifluus species have been reported worldwide. Misidentification of Lactifluus species is common because of intraspecific morphological variation, cryptic diversity, and the limited number of taxonomic keys ava...

Neotropical cloud forests are biologically and ecologically unique and represent a largely untapped reservoir of species new to science, particularly for understudied groups like those within the Kingdom Fungi. We conducted a three-week fungal survey within Cusuco National Park, Honduras and made 116 collections of fungi in forest habitats at 1287–...

Societal Impact Statement Edible mycorrhizal fungi (EMF) have been consumed since ancestral times by humans either as food, medicine or for ceremonial use. Nowadays, they are a non‐timber forest product and a diverse genetic resource with great ecological, sociocultural, economic, medicinal and biotechnological relevance around the world. Therefore...

The identity of Achroomyces effusus is re-established with the use of morphological and DNA methods, and a neotype is selected. The species is conspecific with Colacogloea peniophorae, the generic type of Colacogloea, and has a priority over it. A new combination, C. effusa, is proposed.

Lactifluus (Pers.) Roussel is an ectomycorrhizal genus that was recently recognized to be distinct from the genus Lactarius . To date, 216 Lactifluus species have been reported worldwide. Misidentification of Lactifluus species is common because of intraspecific morphological variation, cryptic diversity, and the limited number of taxonomic keys av...

There were errors in the name of author László G. Nagy and in affiliation no. 31 in the original publication. The original article has been corrected.

Russula albonigra is considered a well-known species, morphologically delimited by the context of the basidiomata that is blackening without intermediate reddening, and the menthol-cooling taste of the lamellae. It is supposed to have a broad ecological amplitude and a large distribution area. A thorough molecular analysis based on four nuclear mar...

The cryptic lifestyle of most fungi necessitates molecular identiication of the guild in environmental studies. Over the past decades, rapid development and afordability of molecular tools have tremendously improved insights of the fungal diversity in all ecosystems and habitats. Yet, in spite of the progress of molecular methods, knowledge about f...

Species of the ectomycorrhizal genus Lactifluus , and often entire sections, are typically unique to a single continent. Given these biogeographic patterns, an interesting region to study their diversity is Central America and the Caribbean, since the region is closely connected to and often considered a part of the North American continent, but bi...

Fungi are a keystone component of all ecosystems on earth and have shaped the structure and functioning of nature for eons. Their body is made up of an interwoven mass of threadlike filaments, individually called hyphae and altogether known as mycelium. When fungi form spore-forming structures, the so-called mushrooms, these are also built up of hy...

Milkcaps form a diverse group of widely consumed ectomycorrhizal fungi. Despite their popularity and ubiquity, large gaps still exist in our knowledge of the milkcap genera. This paper summarizes our current state of knowledge of both Lactarius and Lactifluus. Lacunas in our knowledge are indicated, and an overview of their culinary uses is given.

Abstract The ectomycorrhizal genus Lactifluus is known to contain many species complexes, consisting of morphologically very similar species, which can be considered cryptic or pseudocryptic. In this paper, a thorough molecular study is performed of the clade around Lactifluus deceptivus (originally described by Peck from North America) or the dece...

The Basidiomycota constitutes a major phylum of the kingdom Fungi and is second in species numbers to the Ascomycota. The present work provides an overview of all validly published, currently used basidiomycete genera to date in a single document. An outline of all genera of Basidiomycota is provided, which includes 1928 currently used genera names...

Since 2007, the quality of Russula descriptions has improved and the use of molecular support for species delimitation and the number of published new species has increased. However, the description style is not consistent and has regional or author-specific patterns. Most recent publications still favour descriptions of spores compared to hymenium...

Lactarius brunneocinnamomeus found in Shorea robusta (‎ Dipterocarpaceae) dominated forest, is proposed as a new species. The species belongs to L. subg. Russularia, sect. Russularia. It is easily recognized by a light brown to orange brown pileus with concentric zones, milky white latex and a palisade to trichopalisade as a pileipellis. Its phylog...

Lactifluus russulisporus Dierickx & De Crop and Lactifluus caliendrifer Froyen & De Crop are described from eucalypt forests in Queensland, Australia and different forest types in Thailand, respectively. Both species have recently been published on Index Fungorum and fit morphologically and molecularly in L. sect. Luteoli, a section within L. subg....

The genus Lactarius Pers. (Russulales) is a cosmopolitan group of Basidiomycota that forms ectomycorrhizal relationships primarily with both deciduous and coniferous trees. Although the genus has been well-studied in Europe and North America, only fragmentary researches have been carried out on Asian species. In particular, the distribution of Lact...

Lactifluus (Russulaceae) is a genus of ectomycorrhizal fungi, comprising mostly tropical milkcaps with more than 150 described species. In Brazil 24 milkcap species are known, but only three of these are described from the north-eastern region. The north east of Brazil is composed of different types of habitats, namely Atlantic Forest, part of the...

The milkcap genus Lactifluus is one of the most common ectomycorrhizal genera within Central African rainforests. During a field trip to the Dja Biosphere Reserve in Cameroon, a new Lactifluus species was found. Molecular and morphological analyses indicate that the species belongs to LactifluussectionXerampelini and we formally describe it here as...

Eight new species presented are Calostoma areolatum collected in Wuyishan National Park (China), Crinipellis bidens from Hubei Province (China), Lactifluus sainii from Himalayan India, Inocybe elata from Yunnan (China), Inocybe himalayensis from Pakistan. Specimens previously identified as Massalongia carnosa represent a new species, namely M. pata...

The ectomycorrhizal milkcap genus Lactifluus (Russulaceae) is commonly found in tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia. During several sampling expeditions in Thailand, multiple collections of Lactifluus (Lf.) species with pleurotoid or small agaricoid basidiocarps were found. A molecular study was combined with a morphological study, i...

Two new heterobasidiomycetes species belonging to the genera Helicogloea and Spiculogloea (Pucciniomycotina) are described from Belgium. Helicogloea jozefii sp. nov. and Spiculogloea inaequalis sp. nov. are proposed with descriptions and illustrations of macroand microscopical features. The latter species grows as an intrahymenial parasite in Sisto...

Among 45 Russula species and infraspecific taxa described by J. Blum, only few are currently accepted. Here we present a case study on R. formosa nom. illeg. (homotypic synonym of R. blumiana), R. decipiens var. ochrospora nom. inval. and R. roseobrunnea. The study is based on sequences and morphological observations of authentic herbarium material...

A look-alike of Lactifluus kigomaensis, described in 2012 from primary miombo woodlands in the Kigoma Province of northwestern Tanzania, is proposed here as L. subkigomaensis. The phylogeny based on the molecular markers ITS, LSU, RPB1 and RPB2 shows that L. subkigomaensis is a sister species to L. kigomaensis. Detailed descriptions of both species...

Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological diversity) with nomenclature (an artificial agreement to name biological diversity). Two proposals to am...

Based on morphological, molecular, and ecological data, a new species of Russula sect. Russula, found on several occasions under deciduous trees in Northern Alsace is described and illustrated as: Russula vinosoflavescens, belonging to R. subsect. Sardoninae.

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antarctica: Cadophora antarctica from soil. Australia: Alfaria dandenongensis on Cyperaceae, Amphosoma persooniae on Persoonia sp., Anungitea nullicana on Eucalyptus sp., Bagadiella eucalypti on Eucalyptus globulus, Castanediella eucalyptigena on Eucalyp...