Phylogeny, divergence time and historical biogeography of Phanerochaete (Basidiomycota, Polyporales), with a description of two new species in Korea

The genus Phanerochaete ( Basidiomycota , Polyporales ) is a member of corticioid fungi. Recent phylogenetic studies have reclassified Phanerochaete species into other genera and delimited the core Phanerochaete . However, phylogenetic studies using multi-locus datasets comprising nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS), nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (nLSU), translation elongation factor 1–α ( tef1 ), RNA polymerase II largest subunit ( rpb1 ) and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit ( rpb2 ) are still limited and the divergence time estimation and historical biogeography are under-represented for the genus Phanerochaete . To address this gap, we conducted the first integrative evolutionary study of Phanerochaete using a five-locus dataset. Of the 72 specimens, 14 species were identified, including two novel species: Phanerochaete koreana sp. nov ., characterised by coriaceous basidiome and the absence of leptocystidia and Phanerochaete membranacea sp. nov ., characterised by an ochraceous membranaceous basidiomata and heavily encrusted leptocystidia. Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis, divergence time estimation and historical biogeographic analyses suggest that Phanerochaete originated during the Early Cretaceous, with a mean crown age of 101.66 Mya [95% highest posterior density (HPD): 98.38–104.86 Mya]. This study elucidates the evolutionary relationships between Phanerochaete and allied genera within Polyporales and explains the global diversity, phylogeny and evolution of the genus.