DR. SHOME MEMORIAL LECTURE-DIVERSITY OF CANTHARELLACEAE FROM WESTERN HIMALAYA REGION AND THEIR ASSOCIATED BACTERIA-Deepika Kumar et al.

36th Ann. Meeting of MSI & Nat. Seminar on Fungal Biodiversity & Bioprospecting….. Goa, India Oct., 29-30, 2009

DR. SHOME MEMORIAL LECTURE

DIVERSITY OF CANTHARELLACEAE FROM WESTERN HIMALAYA REGION AND THEIR ASSOCIATED BACTERIA

Deepika Kumar, R.C. Upadhyay* and M. Sudhakara Reddy
Department of Biotechnology, Thapar University, Patiala 1470 04, India
*National Research Centre for Mushroom, Solan 173 213, India.

Members of the Cantharellaceae, popularly known as chanterelles, have been prized since antiquity for their esculent qualities, and are currently an economically significant sector of the increasingly lucrative wild edible mushroom industry. Chanterelles are diviede into two genera: Cantharellus and Craterellus. Currently, a paucity of information exists on the diversity of highly delicious fungi of Cantharellaceae family in Himalayan region. In the present study an attempt has been made to give an assessment of the species diversity of fungi of Cantharellaceae family of the temperate forests of Western Himalaya.
Fruit bodies of Basidiomycetous fungi of Cantharellaceae family were collected throughout between 2007 and 2009 growing seasons, identified using taxonomic keys, and photographed. To evaluate taxonomic diversity, phylogenetic analyses were performed. DNA was extracted from dried specimens of the Cantharellaceae and rDNA ITS region was amplified and cloned followed by its sequencing. Sequence analysis revealed that at least 16 species of Cantharellaceae during this study. The present study records four new species viz. Cantharellus indicus nom prov., Cantharellus neolateritius nom prov., Cantharellus longipes nom prov. and Craterellus indicus nom prov., which are new to world and also reports nine taxa of Cantharellus Adans Fries, namely C. formosus, C. cibarius var. multiramis, Craterellus cantharellus var. intermedius Peck, C. cibarius var. longipes Peck, C. ianthinoxanthus, C. isabellinus Heinem, C. rhodophyllus Heinem, Craterellus cinerius and C. viscosus Berk, which have been reported for the first time from India. Besides these fungi Cantharellus appalachiensis Petersen, Cantharellus minor Peck and C. cibarius Fries are also reported in this study.
Knowledge of the bacterial associations of Cantharellaceae is the key to understanding the ecological characteristics needed for its conservation. Further interactions between bacteria and fungi can have dramatic effects on the survival, colonization and pathogenesis of these organisms. The diversity of the culturable bacteria associated with fruiting bodies of ectomycorrhizal fungi was studied. Physiological characterization and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the majority of isolates of the endophytic bacterial community of Cantharellaceae belong to the genera of Pseudomonas, Hafnia, Ewingella and Sphingomonas.