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ABSTRACTHere we present the results of taxonomic and systematic study of the rare truffle-forming genera Destuntziaand Kjeldsenia. Truffle-forming fungi are difficult to study due to their reduced morphological features and their cryptic, hypogeous fruiting habits. The rare occurrence of Destuntziaand Kjeldseniafurther compounds these difficulties due to the lack of adequate material for study. Recent forays in North Carolina and Tennessee recovered new specimens of another rarely collected fungus, Octaviania purpurea. Morphological and phylogenetic analysis revealed that Octaviania purpureais a member of the genus Destuntzia, and this led us to reevaluate the taxonomic status and systematic relationships of other Destuntziaspecies. We performed a multilocus phylogenetic analysis of Destuntziaspecimens deposited in public fungaria, including all available type material, and environmental sequences from animal scat and soil. Our analyses indicate that Destuntziais a member of the family Claustulaceae within the order Phallales and is a close relative of Kjeldsenia. Results of our phylogenetic analysis infer that three species originally described in the genus Destuntziaare members of the genus Kjeldsenia. We propose three new combinations in Kjeldseniato accommodate these species as well as a new combination in Destuntziato accommodate Octaviania purpurea. We also describe a new genus in Claustulaceae, Hosakaea, to accommodate a closely affiliated species, Octaviania violascens. Finally, we transfer the genus Destunziainto the family Claustulaceae and emend the description of the family. The newly proposed combinations in Destuntziaand Kjeldseniasignificantly expand the known geographic ranges of both genera. The data from metabarcode analysis of scat and soil also reveal several additional undescribed species that expand these ranges well beyond those suggested by basidiomata collections. Systematic placement of Destuntziain the saprotrophic order Phallales suggests that this genus is not ectomycorrhizal, and the ecological implications of this systematic revision are discussed.

ABSTRACTRodents are the most widespread and diverse order of vertebrate mycophagists and are key to the dispersal of mycorrhizal fungi. Rodents consume and subsequently disperse fungi through their feces on every continent except Antarctica. This study examines the fungal taxa consumed by the Hastings River mouse (Pseudomys oralis), an endangered Australian endemic rodent from the family Muridae. We analyzed 251 fecal samples collected over a 19-year period between 1993 and 2012 at sites throughout the distribution of the animal in New South Wales and Queensland. We show that at least 16 genera of mycorrhizal fungi are eaten by this species and that it is therefore playing an important role as a vector of ectomycorrhizal truffle-like fungi in eastern Australia. Similar to the fungal diets of other mammals in eastern Australia, seasonal fungal consumption was greatest in autumn and winter. The dietary diversity of P. oralisalso appeared to follow a geographic trend from south to north; samples collected at sites in the southern part of the species’ range had greater diversity than those from sites in the northern part of the range, and overall, diets from southern sites yielded more fungal taxa than did northern sites. This study provides novel insights into the diet of P. oralisand highlights the importance of previously overlooked ecosystem services this species provides through its dispersal of mycorrhizal fungi.

ABSTRACTMany animals have been shown to eat fungi and most truffle-like fungi depend on animals for spore dispersal via mycophagy. Although these interactions are widespread, they are understudied in many habitats. In this study, we show that bonobos (Pan paniscus) forage and feed on an undescribed truffle species in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Based on morphological and molecular assessment of collections, we show that the species eaten by bonobos is a previously undescribed taxon described here as Hysterangium bonobo. This species is known in the local Bantu language (Bongando) as simbokilo and is used for baiting traps to catch several species of small mammals. Our findings highlight the need for further research into mycophagy and systematics of sequestrate fungi in Africa.

ABSTRACTThe myxomycetes associated with samples of dead plant material collected from arid habitats in northeastern South Australia were investigated with the use of the moist chamber culture technique. Since myxomycetes are usually associated with relatively moist conditions, one would not anticipate them to be very common in arid areas. However, 69% of the cultures prepared yielded some evidence (either plasmodia or fruiting bodies) of myxomycetes. A total of 26 species of myxomycetes representing 10 different genera were recorded, including one species (Licea succulenticola) not previously reported from Australia and 11 others that appear to represent new records for South Australia. The distribution of the myxomycetes associated with substrates in arid areas of northeastern South Australia is discussed.

An abundant fruiting of a black morel was encountered in temperate northwestern New South Wales (NSW), Australia, during a mycological survey in Sep 2010. The site was west of the Great Dividing Range in a young, dry sclerophyll forest dominated by Eucalyptusand Callitrisnorth of Coonabarabran in an area known as the Pilliga Scrub. Although the Pilliga Scrub is characterized by frequent and often large, intense wildfires, the site showed no sign of recent fire, which suggests this species is not a postfire morel. Caps of the Morchella elata-like morel were brown with blackish ridges supported by a pubescent stipe that became brown at maturity. Because no morel has been described as native to Australia, the collections were subjected to multilocus molecular phylogenetic and morphological analyses to assess its identity. Results of these analyses indicated that our collection, together with collections from NSW and Victoria, represented a novel, genealogically exclusive lineage, which is described and illustrated here as Morchella australianaT. F. Elliott, Bougher, O’Donnell & Trappe, sp. nov.

ABSTRACTRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) produces intense pulmonary inflammation, in part through its ability to induce chemokine synthesis in infected airway epithelial cells. RANTES (regulated upon activation, normally T-cell expressed and presumably secreted) is a CC chemokine which recruits and activates monocytes, lymphocytes, and eosinophils, all cell types present in the lung inflammatory infiltrate induced by RSV infection. In this study, we analyzed the mechanism of RSV-induced RANTES promoter activation in human type II alveolar epithelial cells (A549 cells). Promoter deletion and mutagenesis experiments indicate that RSV requires the presence of five different cisregulatory elements, located in the promoter fragment spanning from -220 to +55 nucleotides, corresponding to NF-?B, C/EBP, Jun/CREB/ATF, and interferon regulatory factor (IRF) binding sites. Although site mutations of the NF-?B, C/EBP, and CREB/AP-1 like sites reduce RSV-induced RANTES gene transcription to 50% or less, only mutations affecting IRF binding completely abolish RANTES inducibility. Supershift and microaffinity isolation assays were used to identify the different transcription factor family members whose DNA binding activity was RSV inducible. Expression of dominant negative mutants of these transcription factors further established their central role in virus-induced RANTES promoter activation. Our finding that the presence of multiple cisregulatory elements is required for full activation of the RANTES promoter in RSV-infected alveolar epithelial cells supports the enhanceosome model for RANTES gene transcription, which is absolutely dependent on binding of IRF transcription factors. The identification of regulatory mechanisms of RANTES gene expression is fundamental for rational design of inhibitors of RSV-induced lung inflammation.