Population Genomics of a Rare and a Common Wood–Inhabiting Fungal Species Across Europe

Many species have become threatened during the Anthropocene, requiring conservation strategies based on biological evidence. Wood-inhabiting fungi face multiple threats due to a complex interplay of a short lifespan, removal of dead wood as a resource and climate change. Furthermore, rare fruiting events might restrict dispersal via spores, leading to a significant population genetic structure. Yet, little is known about the genetic structure of both rare and common wood-inhabiting fungal species across Europe. Here, we investigate the rare polypore fungus Antrodiella citrinella, which co-occurs with the common wood-decay fungus Fomitopsis pinicola. We analysed a total of 149 individuals of both species across 13 countries, sequenced their genomes and analysed single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Based on a broad set of analyses, we found a very weak population structure in A. citrinella, suggesting historically wide dispersal and effective gene flow across Europe. In contrast, we found support for two moderately differentiated populations following a southwest-northeast separation in F. pinicola, possibly due to dispersal limitation through its relatively larger spores, a more intense forest use history in southern Europe and a post-glacial history of co-immigration with the main host tree species, Norway spruce. While the weak to moderate genetic structure of wood-inhabiting fungi suggests historically sufficient habitat connectivity, conservation measures should consider strategies providing deadwood as an important habitat to restore and maintain connectivity throughout Europe.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Molecular Ecology
Published
2026-02-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.70260
Primary Topic
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Population Genomics of a Rare and a Common Wood–Inhabiting Fungal Species Across Europe

Hermann Voglmayr, Mathias Scharmann, Kaisa Junninen, Alfons R. Weig et al.
Molecular Ecology
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
article

Population Genomics of a Rare and a Common Wood–Inhabiting Fungal Species Across Europe

Hermann Voglmayr, Mathias Scharmann, Kaisa Junninen, Alfons R. Weig, Václav Pouska, Daniel Dvořák, Kadri Runnel, Jan Holec, Max Zibold, Armin Mešić, Antonis Athanasiadis, Zdenko Tkalčec, Reda Iršėnaitė, Harald Kellner, Sundy Maurice, Vladimír Kunca, Claus Bässler, Irmgard Krisai‐Greilhuber, Johannes Meier, Enrico Büttner, Pablo Schäfer, Franz‐Sebastian Krah, Otto Miettinen
article en

Abstract

Many species have become threatened during the Anthropocene, requiring conservation strategies based on biological evidence. Wood-inhabiting fungi face multiple threats due to a complex interplay of a short lifespan, removal of dead wood as a resource and climate change. Furthermore, rare fruiting events might restrict dispersal via spores, leading to a significant population genetic structure. Yet, little is known about the genetic structure of both rare and common wood-inhabiting fungal species across Europe. Here, we investigate the rare polypore fungus Antrodiella citrinella, which co-occurs with the common wood-decay fungus Fomitopsis pinicola. We analysed a total of 149 individuals of both species across 13 countries, sequenced their genomes and analysed single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Based on a broad set of analyses, we found a very weak population structure in A. citrinella, suggesting historically wide dispersal and effective gene flow across Europe. In contrast, we found support for two moderately differentiated populations following a southwest-northeast separation in F. pinicola, possibly due to dispersal limitation through its relatively larger spores, a more intense forest use history in southern Europe and a post-glacial history of co-immigration with the main host tree species, Norway spruce. While the weak to moderate genetic structure of wood-inhabiting fungi suggests historically sufficient habitat connectivity, conservation measures should consider strategies providing deadwood as an important habitat to restore and maintain connectivity throughout Europe.

Molecular EcologyVol. 35(3)
University of Vienna (AT), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE), University of Oslo (NO), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ), Masaryk University (CZ), National Museum (CZ), Bavarian Forest National Park (DE), State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe (DE), Technická univerzita vo Zvolene (SK), Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Institute (CZ), Ruđer Bošković Institute (HR), RIKA (Austria) (AT), Nature Research Centre (LT), Finnish Museum of Natural History (FI), Metsähallitus (Finland) (FI), International University Institute (IHI) Zittau (DE), University of Bayreuth (DE), University of Tartu (EE)
Nationalpark Schwarzwald, Biodiversa+, Eesti Teadusagentuur, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Hrvatska Zaklada za Znanost, Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 68%
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.