Review on the Research of Termitomyces Taxonomy in China

摘要

Termitomyces is a genus of fungi, which lives in an obligate symbiosis with termites of the subfamily Macrotermitinae. So far, 23 Termitomyces and 5 Sinotermitomyces taxa have been reported from 17 provinces in China. However, the status of Sinotermitomyces as a natural group has always been questioned. The existing molecular phylogenetic results do not support the taxonomic status of Sinotermitomyces and suggest Sinotermitomyces should be a synonym of Termitomyces. Meanwhile, due to the morphological variation observed in this genus, there is much controversy on the recorded Termitomyces species in China. In recent years, molecular phylogeny has been applied to Termitomyces classification and the traditional morphological taxonomy of Termitomyces has been revised. In addition, phylogenetic relationships among species could be influenced by both the sampling method and the genomic region sequenced, which subsequently would affect Termitomyces taxonomy. As a result, more comprehensive sampling and the comparative analyses of molecular phylogeny based on reliable genomic regions will be needed to clarify Termitomyces taxa in China.