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[Newsletter No.34] Genetic Information of 181 Soil Fungi Newly Identified
CBD-CHM Newsletter Vol. 34
Genetic Information of 181 Soil Fungi Newly Identified
The National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR) of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has newly identified genetic information for 181 species of soil fungi belonging to 32 genera through an analysis of soil samples collected from 643 sites across Korea.
Since 2019, NIBR has been conducting the "Research on Species Diversity of Native Soil Fungi" in collaboration with a research team led by Prof. Young Woon Lim of Seoul National University. As of 2024, the team has identified a total of 4,479 species.
※Diverse fungi grows in the form of hyphae in soil, and species can be identified by analyzing fungal communities─known as the Mycobiome─present in specific environments such as soil.
Through this study, researchers obtained genetic information for 181 soil fungi (fruiting body). Among them, 141 are potential new species previously unknown worldwide, and the remaining 40 are potential unrecorded species in Korea.
A notable example is the genus Tuber, which includes truffles that are highly valued as culinary ingredients. Until now, only three Tuber species had been reported in Korea, but this study confiremd the presence of 18 new species.
The study also identified 18 potential new species and six potential unrecorded species belonging to the genus Elaphomyces, fungi that grows in symbiosis with plants and support plant growth.
NIBR plans to submit the research findings to BMC Microbiology, a prestigious international journal within this month.
NIBR president stated "By conducting a nationwide analysis of soil fungi and identifying their distribution and fungi that form symbiotic relationships with plants, we expect these findings to be widely applicable to species conservation, soil ecosystem management, and related fields."
