Kavinia alboviridis fruiting body when fresh, with characteristic greenish ting and rhizomorphic margin. The genome strain derives from this individual collected on rotten Betula log in Helsinki, Finland (collection Miettinen 22923.1). [Photo credit: Otto Miettinen]

In the "1KFG: Deep Sequencing of Ecologically-relevant Dikarya" project (CSP1974), we are sequencing keystone lineages of plant-interacting fungi and saprophytic fungi that are of special ecological importance for understanding terrestrial ecosystems. In addition, comparative genome analysis with saprotrophic, mycorrhizal and pathogenic fungi will provide new insights into the specific and conserved adaptations associated with each fungal lifestyle.

Kavinia alboviridis OMC1854

Kavinia alboviridis is a soil and wood-inhabiting basidiomycete fungus with a wide temperate to boreal distribution in the northern hemisphere. Its fruiting bodies are effused and spiny, so it is a hydnoid corticioid species. The greenish color of the fruiting body is rare among corticioid fungi, so this species is easy to identify in the field. It is not easy to spot, though, since it is far from abundant, even considered rare, and the small fruiting bodies develop under much decayed wood or in soil.

Kavinia alboviridis belongs to the family Lentariaceae in the order Gomphales, Phallomycetidae, Agaricomycetes (Hosaka et al. 2006). Members of the Lentariaceae appear to be saprotrophs and able to decay wood. Their type of rot has not been studied. A few other genomes of saprotrophic Phallomycetidae have been published and would indicate white rot: Sphaerobolus stellatus of the Gaestrales (Kohler et al. 2015), as well as litter decomposing Gomphales species Ramaria rubella and Gautieria morchelliformis (Miyauchi et al. 2020). As the first Lentariaceae genome, Kavinia alboviridis will help to understand diversity and evolution of wood decay in the Agaricomycetes, the most important group of wood decay fungi.

The heterokaryotic genome strain OMC1854 derives from a spore print of a fruiting body collected in Helsinki, Finland, where it grew on a decayed birch log (herbarium specimen Miettinen 22923.1, H).

Researchers who wish to publish analyses using data from unpublished CSP genomes are respectfully required to contact the PI and JGI to avoid potential conflicts on data use and coordinate other publications with the CSP master paper(s).