Ex situ conservation of rare and endangered species in mushroom culture collections of Ukraine

Abstract

Biodiversity loss, degradation of ecosystems and other global concerns emphasize urgent issues in nature conservation. Fungi as an important component of biodiversity need to be protected as much as other living organisms. In the article, two basic strategies in conservation are outlined and recent advances in fungal conservation, both in situ and ex situ, are considered. The key role of mushroom culture collections for ex situ fungal conservation is highlighted. Conservation of species diversity and genetic resources in culture collections provides the essential basis for biotechnological potential. The largest collections of fungi registered in the World Data Center for Microorganisms (WDCM), a unique global network for ex situ preservation of fungal and microbial diversity, are mentioned. Of the existing culture collections of fungi in Ukraine, the IBK and FCKU mushroom culture collections are characterized. A list of the species maintained in the IBK and FCKU collections, evaluated in the European countries against the IUCN criteria and categories and available at the European Council for Conservation of Fungi (ECCF) website as the preliminary European Red List of endangered macrofungi, is provided. A special attention paid in the IBK and FCKU collections to cultures of rare species of fungi, particularly of those listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine, as well as the opportunity of the reintroduction into natural habitats are briefly discussed. Some examples of other rare species of fungi from these collections, potential candidates for national red-listing, are presented.

First record of Hericium flagellum (Basidiomycota) from the “Olbina” nature reserve in Wielkopolska Voivodship, Poland

“…In spite of its wide distribution range, H. flagellum is regarded as rare [15,26,27,38]. Both in Poland and in many other European countries, this fungus is included on the red lists of fungi and assigned to various threat categories, e.g., E (critically endangered) in Poland [39], EN (endangered) in Bulgaria [40] and Croatia [41], VU (vulnerable) in Austria [18] and Switzerland [42], NT (near threatened) in the Czech Republic [43], R (rare) in Ukraine [27], and "rare" or "near threatened" in Russia, depending on the region [44,45]. In Germany, H. flagellum is ranked as threatened in various threat categories depending on the federal state [46][47][48].…”

“…Thus far, H. flagellum has not been reported from the northern part of Poland, despite the presence of numerous mature stands of silver fir growing in the region of Pomerania, outside the native range of this tree [17]. Within the natural range of silver fir in Europe, H. flagellum was also recorded in Austria [18], Bulgaria [19], Croatia [20], France [21], Germany [3,22], Switzerland [2], the Czech Republic [23], Italy [21], Romania [24], Slovakia [25: p. [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31], Spain [26], and Ukraine [21,27]. Outside the natural range of silver fir, this fungal species was found in the Asiatic area of Russia [5].…”

Biology, morphology, and phylogeny of some strains of the Pleurotus eryngii species complex

“…Preservation of the natural diversity of macromycetes ex situ is currently evaluated by the world mycological community as a promising and effective approach. The main idea is to preserve the gene pool of macromycetes in pure culture in specialized collections [1][2][3]. Based on culture collections, work is underway to preserve the mycobiota gene pool, study the biological properties of fungal species, find reliable means of maintaining them under artificial conditions and develop fundamental research in systematics, phylogenetics and other areas of mycology.…”

“…Kholodny Institute of Botany includes a total number of 1340 strains belonging to 265 species of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota and it is the largest official specialized culture collection of macromycetes in Ukraine. Activities of the IBK are focused on the preservation of the gene pool of macrofungi in vitro and fundamental research into the systematics, phylogeny, biology and biotechnology of edible and medicinal mushrooms [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

Fomitopsis officinalis (Polyporales): are there any records of the fungus known from Ukraine?

“…Incidentally, there are three strains of F. officinalis in the IBK Mushroom Culture Collection of the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, NAS of Ukraine; however, they are of various geographical origin outside Ukraine (Mykchaylova et al, 2017;Bisko et al, 2018).…”