Surprising discovery of Sedecula pulvinata in Central Europe – is it really a species endemic to the western USA?

Abstract

Sedecula pulvinata ( Basidiomycota : Boletales ) is a hypogeous fungus reported as a rare and endemic species in the dry conifer forests of the western United States. Surprisingly, fruitbodies found in the Czech Republic, Central Europe, in 2011 match this species based on ITS rDNA sequences (99.3% sequence similarity) and morphology. Additional records attributable to this species based on sequence similarity were found in the GlobalFungi database of environmental metabarcoding data. This search expands the currently known geographical range in the western USA and adds new records from one Canadian and one Pakistani environmental DNA soil sample. These records challenge the assumption of its endemicity in the western United States. The European find, along with some from the USA and one from Canada, which significantly differ in habitat, suggests a broader ecological flexibility of this species. Further investigations are needed to determine the relationships between North American and European populations. Additionally, historical records and potential synonymy with other fungal species from Europe warrant further research into the taxonomy and systematics of this genus and related taxa.