A phylogenetic overview of the Hydnaceae (Cantharellales, Basidiomycota) with new taxa from China

The family Hydnaceae (Cantharellales, Basidiomycota) is a group of fungi found worldwide which exhibit stichic nuclear division. The group is highly diverse in morphology, ecology, and phylogeny, and includes some edible species which are popular all over the world. Traditionally, Hydnaceae together with Cantharellaceae, Clavulinaceae and Sistotremataceae are four families in the Cantharellales. The four families were combined and redefined as “Hydnaceae”, however, a comprehensive phylogeny based on multiple-marker dataset for the entire Hydnaceae sensu stricto is still lacking and the delimitation is also unclear. We inferred Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian phylogenies for the family Hydnaceae from the data of five DNA regions: the large subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nLSU), the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS), the mitochondrial small subunit rDNA gene (mtSSU), the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2) and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene (TEF1). We also produced three more phylogenetic trees for Cantharellus based on 5.8S, nLSU, mtSSU, RPB2 and TEF1, Craterellus and Hydnum both based on the combined nLSU and ITS. This study has reproduced the status of Hydnaceae in the order Cantharellales, and phylogenetically confirmed seventeen genera in Hydnaceae. Twenty nine new taxa or synonyms are described, revealed, proposed, or reported, including eight new subgenera (Cantharellus subgenus Magnus, Craterellus subgenus Cariosi, subg. Craterellus, subg. Imperforati, subg. Lamelles, subg. Longibasidiosi, subg. Ovoidei, and Hydnum subgenus Brevispina); seventeen new species (Ca. laevihymeninus, Ca. magnus, Ca. subminor, Cr. badiogriseus, Cr. croceialbus, Cr. macrosporus, Cr. squamatus, H. brevispinum, H. flabellatum, H. flavidocanum, H. longibasidium, H. pallidocroceum, H. pallidomarginatum, H. sphaericum, H. tangerinum, H. tenuistipitum and H. ventricosum); two synonyms (Ca. anzutake and Ca. tuberculosporus as Ca. yunnanensis), and two newly recorded species (H. albomagnum and H. minum). The distinguishing characters of the new species and subgenera as well as their allied taxa are discussed in the notes which follow them. The delimitation and diversity in morphology, ecology, and phylogeny of Hydnaceae is discussed. Notes of seventeen genera which are phylogenetically accepted in Hydnaceae by this study and a key to the genera in Hydnaceae are provided.