title: Phylogenetic Analyses of Armillaria Reveal at Least 15 Phylogenetic Lineages in China, Seven of Which Are Associated with Cultivated Gastrodia elata.
abstract: Fungal species of Armillaria, which can act as plant pathogens and/or symbionts of the Chinese traditional medicinal herb Gastrodia elata ("Tianma"), are ecologically and economically important and have consequently attracted the attention of mycologists. However, their taxonomy has been highly dependent on morphological characterization and mating tests. In this study, we phylogenetically analyzed Chinese Armillaria samples using the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region, translation elongation factor-1 alpha gene and beta-tubulin gene. Our data revealed at least 15 phylogenetic lineages of Armillaria from China, of which seven were newly discovered and two were recorded from China for the first time. Fourteen Chinese biological species of Armillaria, which were previously defined based on mating tests, could be assigned to the 15 phylogenetic lineages identified herein. Seven of the 15 phylogenetic lineages were found to be disjunctively distributed in different continents of the Northern Hemisphere, while eight were revealed to be endemic to certain continents. In addition, we found that seven phylogenetic lineages of Armillaria were used for the cultivation of Tianma, only two of which had been recorded to be associated with Tianma previously. We also illustrated that G. elata f. glauca ("Brown Tianma") and G. elata f. elata ("Red Tianma"), two cultivars of Tianma grown in different regions of China, form symbiotic relationships with different phylogenetic lineages of Armillaria. These findings should aid the development of Tianma cultivation in China.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Heilongtan, Kunming 650201, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 401331, China.
authors.forename: Han Chen
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 401331, China.
authors.forename: Wan Qiu
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: General Station of Forest Pest Control, State Forestry Administration, Shenyang 110034, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Heilongtan, Kunming 650201, China.
authors.forename: Zhu L
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D055392:Armillaria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D002681:China; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D031668:Gastrodia / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny