Photo credit: Manuel Alfaro, at Public University of Navarre

C. olivacea is a wood-decay species belonging to the Coniophora genus, in the order Boletales. It grows on dead wood of conifers and less frequently on hardwood species and it is classified as a brown rot fungus. Also, it is frequently observed causing damage in buildings or construction materials. Morphological differentiation of Coniophora species is difficult because they don’t exhibit phenotypic differences in cultured mycelia and fruitbodies are rare. Thus, molecular methods are often required for species identification. In this sense, it has been suggested that this genus carries an important number of cryptic species harbouring more diversity than previously expected. The very few studies available point to a similar capacity of wood decay by the most common species of this genus, such C. puteana, C. olivacea, C. arida and C. marmorata.

The genome of C. olivacea was sequenced within the framework of the 1000 Fungal Genomes Project, and will offer the possibility of establishing comparisons with other close species such C. puteana, providing insights into the genomic variability of this genus at a whole-genome level.  Also, it will contribute to new studies targeting specific gene families of fungal species showing different lifestyles, as well as comparative analyses with more divergent species.