First Report of Agrocybe retigera and Scleroderma albidum from Sri Lanka based on Morphological and Molecular Identification

Abstract

The diversity of macrofungi in Sri Lanka remains largely unexplored, with many species yet to be documented. This study provides the first report of Agrocybe retigera and Scleroderma albidum from the Badulla District, Sri Lanka, based on morphological and molecular data. Macrofungal specimens were collected from different localities within the mid‐country intermediate zone and the up‐country intermediate zone in the Badulla District. Morphological characterization was conducted based on macroscopic and microscopic features. Molecular characterization was performed after extracting genomic DNA and amplifying the fungal internal transcribed spacer region using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Phylogenetic analysis was performed using the maximum likelihood method, which confirmed that the two fresh isolates clustered within the well‐supported A. retigera clade. In contrast, another isolate clustered within the S. albidum clade. Notably, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular confirmation of A. retigera and S. albidum from Sri Lanka. Descriptions, illustrations, and phylogenetic analysis results of the two species are presented in this article.

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