DNA Barcoding of Pleurotus cyatheae, an “Extinct” Mushroom Species from Japan

Abstract

The type specimens of Pleurotus cyatheae, one of 25 mushrooms in Japan listed as an “extinct” species, were extracted for DNA and successfully sequenced for the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region. Phylogenetic analyses strongly indicated its position in the P. djamor complex, tightly clustered with the materials from the southern Pacific. The extinction status of P. cyatheae was rejected based on the existence of some recent collections from southern islands of Japan with nearly identical DNA sequences.