New records and barcode sequence data of wood-inhabiting polypores in Benin with notes on their phylogenetic placements and distribution

B A Olou; E Langer; L Ryvarden; F-S Krah; G B Hounwanou; M Piepenbring; N S Yorou

doi:10.3114/fuse.2023.11.02

New records and barcode sequence data of wood-inhabiting polypores in Benin with notes on their phylogenetic placements and distribution

Fungal Syst Evol. 2023 Jan:11:11-42. doi: 10.3114/fuse.2023.11.02. Epub 2023 Jan 23.

Authors

B A Olou¹, E Langer², L Ryvarden³, F-S Krah⁴, G B Hounwanou¹, M Piepenbring⁵, N S Yorou¹

Affiliations

¹ Research Unit Tropical Mycology and Plants-Soil Fungi Interactions (MyTIPS), Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou, BP 123 Parakou, Benin.
² Department of Ecology, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, Kassel, Germany.
³ Institute of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066, Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
⁴ Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Conservation Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
⁵ Department of Mycology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Biologicum, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Abstract

Wood-inhabiting fungi (WIF), such as polypores, are extremely species-rich and play vital roles in the functioning of forest ecosystems as decomposers. Despite the importance of polypores, our knowledge of the diversity and distribution of these fungi is still poor in general and especially for West Africa. To advance our knowledge we here summarise results from field collections between 2017 and 2021 and present (i) a taxonomic overview, (ii) phylogenetic placements and (iii) an illustrated catalogue of wood-inhabiting polypore fungi with colour pictures. During the field sampling campaigns, we collected 647 specimens. Based on morphological characteristics and molecular barcode data, 76 polypore species belonging to six orders, 15 families and 39 genera were identified. Of the 76 species, 30 are new to the West Africa, 69 new to Benin, and two new combinations Fuscoporia beninensis and Megasporia minuta are proposed. With this summary, we provide new data for further research. Citation: Olou BA, Langer E, Ryvarden L, Krah F-S, Hounwanou GB, Piepenbring M, Yorou NS (2023). New records and barcode sequence data of wood-inhabiting polypores in Benin with notes on their phylogenetic placements and distribution. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 11: 11-42. doi: 10.3114/fuse.2023.11.02.

Keywords: catalogue; diversity; new taxa; phylogeny; polypore; tropical Africa; wood-inhabiting fungi.