Phylogeographic divergences of nuclear ITS sequences in Coprinus species sensu lato

Abstract

Phylogeographic divergences of four coprinoid species, Coprinus comatus, Coprinellus disseminatus, Coprinellus micaceus and Coprinopsis lagopus were investigated using nuclear ITS sequences. Each taxon showed genetic variation that corresponds with the geographic origins of collections. Groupings produced from ITS1 and ITS2 sequences were similar together. In C. comatus, East Asian strains were well separated from New Zealand and North American strains. In C. disseminatus, Hawaiian strains formed an independent clade with that from Nepal, separating those from East Asia. And there were two distinct East Asian groups for C. disseminatus. East Asian C. micaceus strains constituted a distinct group from Hawaiian strains. In C. lagopus, Hawaiian and European strains were clearly separated from each other. There was a great genetic diversification in C. disseminatus and C. micaceus from East Asia, suggesting divergence process of these taxa in that region. However, Hawaiian strains lacked genetic variation, which indicated their recent origin in Hawaii.