INTRODUCTION

Gotjawal, which is a compound word comprising “Got” (meaning forest) and “jawal” (meaning a land scattered with stones and pebbles in Jeju), is the name of a forest in South Korea with irregularly scattered volcanic rock masses [1]. Gotjawal is divided into four terrains: Hangyeong-Andeok, Aewol, JocheonHamdeok, and Gujwa-Seongsan Gotjawal [2]. Moreover, Gotjawal is recognized worldwide for its high ecological value because this region has diverse ecosystems that host complex biodiversity [3,4].

Although the diversity of mushroom species is expected to be high in Gotjawal, research on unrecorded species has mainly been conducted only in the Jocheon-Hamdeok terrain; thus, further research in other Gotjawal terrains is required in this aspect [5-9].

Here, we describe one specimen each from the genera Gymnopilus P. Karst. (1879; Hymenogastraceae), Marasmius Fr. (1836; Marasmiaceae), and Mycena (Pers.) Roussel (1806; Mycenaceae), which has not been previously recorded in Hwasun Gotjawal and Jeju Gotjawal Provincial Park of the HangyeongAndeok terrain, by comparing the morphological characteristics and molecular analysis results of species. The results serve as baseline data that can be used to describe the diversity of mushroom species in Gotjawal.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS

Comparison of the ITS sequences from our collected Gymnopilus, Marasmius, and Mycena specimens with other sequences from GenBank revealed 100.0%, 99.1%, and 98.9% homology to G. dilepis (LC743755), Ma. tenuissimus (EU935568), and My. seminau (KF537250), respectively.

The phylogenetic analysis further confirmed the grouping of the Gymnopilus, Marasmius, and Mycena species with G. dilepis, Ma. tenuissimus, and My. seminau, respectively (Figs 1, 2, and 3).

DISCUSSION

In this study, morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses identified one specimen each of the genera Gymnopilus, Marasmius, and Mycenaas an unrecorded species in South Korea.

In the Mycena specimen, the appearance and microstructure were similar to those in the original description by Chew et al. [13]. One difference was that the pleurocystidia were slightly smaller than those in the original description. This may be due to insufficient data because of the difficulty in observing pleurocystidia. Additionally, the basidia observed in our specimens were larger than those observed in the original description.

The ITS sequences of the Marasmius and Mycena specimens showed 99.1% homology with Ma. tenuissimus (EU935568) and 98.9% homology with My. seminau (KF537250), respectively. They were also included in the Ma. tenuissimus and My. seminau groups of each phylogenetic tree with high bootstrap values (Figs. 2 and 3).

Most morphological characteristics of Gymnopilus, Marasmius, and Mycena specimens were similar to those described in other studies, with only slight differences, and the molecular analysis results supported the morphological identification.

Therefore, herein, we report three species, G. dilepis, Ma. tenuissimus, and My. seminau, which have not been recorded previously in South Korea.

Additionally, the number of mushroom species reported in Jeju Island stands at 82 families, 293 genera, 841 species, as announced by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province in 2019 [28]. Since that announcement, new and previously unrecorded species have been discovered in Jeju. With the addition of regional survey data, including the three unrecorded species mentioned in this study, there appears to be a need to update the tally of mushroom species on Jeju Island.