Mycobiology.  2016 Mar;44(1):1-6. 10.5941/MYCO.2016.44.1.1.

Taxonomic Position and Species Identity of the Cultivated Yeongji 'Ganoderma lucidum' in Korea

• Kwon OC
• Park YJ
• Kim HI
• Kong WS
• Cho JH
• Lee CS

• KMID: 2312853
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5941/MYCO.2016.44.1.1

Abstract

Ganoderma lucidum has a long history of use as a traditional medicine in Asian countries. However, the taxonomy of Ganoderma species remains controversial, since they were initially classified on the basis of their morphological characteristics. Recently, it was proposed that G. lucidum from China be renamed as G. sichuanense or G. lingzhi. In the present study, phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer region rDNA sequences of the Ganoderma species indicated that all strains of the Korean 'G. lucidum' clustered into one group together with G. sichuanense and G. lingzhi from China. However, strains from Europe and North American, which were regarded as true G. lucidum, were positioned in a clearly different group. In addition, the average size of the basidiospores from the Korean cultivated Yeongji strains was similar to that of G. lingzhi. Based on these results, we propose that the Korean cultivated Yeongji strains of 'G. lucidum' should be renamed as G. lingzhi.

Keyword

Ganoderma lingzhi; Ganoderma sichuanense; ITS rDNA; Phylogeny; Taxonomy

MeSH Terms

Asian Continental Ancestry Group
China
Classification
DNA, Ribosomal
Europe
Ganoderma
Humans
Korea*
Medicine, Traditional
Phylogeny
Reishi
DNA, Ribosomal